Ryan downplays Ellis' departure, talks up Jets' young players

New York Jets coach Rex Ryan will miss Shaun Ellis, who recently signed with the New England Patriots. But Ryan isn't kept awake at night worrying about the defensive end providing an advantage to the Jets' AFC East rivals.

"I don't think he can bring secrets. He can bring mentality," Ryan said Tuesday in an interview with WEPN-AM. "He can talk about the way we are going to approach games against New England and things like that."

Ellis was selected by the Jets in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft, and he was the longest-tenured player on the team in 2010. Despite that background, Ryan said Ellis wasn't exposed to playbook information that could compromise the Jets if it fell into the wrong hands.

"As far as the playbook, if that was (safety) Jim Leonhard going over there or somebody that was in the back end that knows the front coverage and all that (it would have an effect)," Ryan said. "Shaun's role was basically in a phone booth, so it was obvious he did a great job for us. I really don't worry about that."

Ryan wished Ellis health but not necessarily success. The coach believes his team will be able to compensate for the loss on the field.

"I think (Ellis) was an excellent football player, but just wait until everybody sees these young guys play," Ryan said. "I don't think you have to worry about our defense."

Ryan also touched on the Jets' reworked receiving corps. Braylon Edwards, Jerricho Cotchery and Brad Smith all have moved on, and veteran Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason joined the fold.

Ryan said Mason plays nothing like the 37-year-old he is, and he also spoke of getting to know Burress, the former Giants Super Bowl hero who's making an NFL comeback following a 20-month prison sentence on gun charges.

"I do like him. He loves the game," Ryan said. "He's also a fan of baseball, basketball. He's kind of an interesting guy. You can tell he loves football just the way he talks. He fits right in."

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Rodgers downplays sloppy practice showing by Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Asked about a sloppy showing by the Packers' offense the previous night, Aaron Rodgers channeled his inner Allen Iverson.

"Practice?" the quarterback said Tuesday in a deadpanned tribute to the NBA star's oft-imitated rant. "We're talking about practice? Not talking about the game, talking about practice, right?"

Rodgers acknowledged that Green Bay's offense made too many mistakes Monday night, but he didn't see any sense in dwelling on it.

And Rodgers firmly dismissed the notion that the reigning Super Bowl champions made a mistake by not coming together for informal practice sessions during the lockout, offering only a one-word answer: "No."

Rodgers will be talking about a game -- well, sort of -- instead of practice soon enough, as the Packers open preseason play Saturday at Cleveland after visiting the White House on Friday.

"I'm not sure how much we're going to play," Rodgers said. "Usually it's not a whole lot. Just get that timing back, maybe take a couple hits. Maybe one. And just get back into the swing of things."

Packers coach Mike McCarthy had harsh words for his team Monday night, saying they were "not close to where we need to be as a football team" after a practice filled with mental mistakes, penalties and fumbles by running backs James Starks and Ryan Grant.

McCarthy said at the beginning of camp that he didn't have an issue with the fact that his players didn't organize informal offseason workouts. Several teams did -- including the team the Packers will play in their regular-season opener, the New Orleans Saints.

Given the disjointed nature of the offseason, McCarthy said it might be expected that players across the league would make more mistakes in camp. Still, McCarthy said he's holding his players to the same standard he always does and now needs them to "mentally tighten it down."

Rodgers didn't want to overreact to one sloppy practice, but he did show frustration at mental mistakes by the offense -- something he believed might be the result of players not showing up in shape, although he didn't call his teammates out by name.

"To me, this is a self-motivated league," Rodgers said. "In order to be successful, you have to be willing to put the time in on your own. And part of that is coming into camp in shape. I think you saw last night, we got tired last night and there was a lot of mental mistakes. So we've got to pick up the urgency I think."

Rodgers hasn't been perfect himself, throwing an interception to undrafted rookie Brandian Ross in Saturday's rain-shortened Family Night event.

"It surprised me, too, I don't know what he's doing jumping that route," Rodgers joked. "Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good in a situation like that."

Rodgers said the defense generally is one step ahead of the offense at this point in camp, as the offense installs some of its more complex concepts.

The NFL free agency cycle is in full effect, with teams and players agreeing to terms fast as training camps open. Get the latest on all the news right here.

"So I'm not overly concerned about a practice like last night," Rodgers said. "I think the thing that you think about is the tempo and urgency. I feel good about where I'm at, I feel like I'm moving well in the pocket, the ball's coming out well. It'll be nice to get back on the field and start running stuff that we're going to run during the season."

Packers safety Nick Collins said the offense and defense try to make practices as competitive as possible -- both to get each other ready for the regular season and break up some of the monotony of camp.

"We feel, as a team, we give each other the best look for our opponents," Collins said. "We kind of make it interesting, have fun, crack little jokes."

An indication of that competitiveness: When an offensive player makes a shoestring catch in practice, defensive players on the sideline immediately yell and point to the ground, lobbying for an incompletion.

"That's just the characters that we have on this team," Collins said. "That's why I feel like we have another special group, and the sky's the limit for us. We've just got to go out and grab it, and at the same time, have fun doing it."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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Redskins CB Rogers downplays sore calf, hopes to face Giants

Washington Redskins cornerback Carlos Rogers hopes his nagging sore calf won't sideline him against the New York Giants in the season finale, according to The Washington Post.

Rogers left Sunday's 20-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first half due to the calf injury and did not return.

"It's alright, right now," Rogers told The Post after the game. "It's kind of straining a little bit. I know from the previous one I had last training camp, if I kept going, I was going to pop. And I didn't want to do that."

Rogers intercepted Jaguars quarterback David Garrard on Jacksonville's initial possession to set up the Redskins' first touchdown. It was Rogers' second interception of the season, to go along with 54 total tackles.

The sixth-year veteran leads a banged-up Redskins' defense that played against the Jaguars minus several starters, including linebacker Brian Orakpo and safeties Reed Doughty and Kareem Moore.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Bryant downplays now-infamous dinner tab, cites rookie duty

IRVING, Texas -- Dez Bryant didn't mind picking up the $54,896 dinner tab for his Dallas Cowboys teammates. He's OK with being teased about it.

Apologies from the guys who ran up the bill? Not needed, he insists.

On "Around the League," Pro Bowler Jason Witten gives his thoughts on the Cowboys' start, his knee and if the team has the chemistry it needs to win. More ...

"It was all in fun," Bryant said.

The wide receiver spoke to reporters Thursday for the first time since his rookie dinner became a national topic of discussion, with reactions ranging from laughter to disgust.

Most NFL teams have a tradition of a top draft pick paying for a lavish meal. Rarely, however, does it go to this extreme.

The Cowboys went overboard as payback for Bryant violating another rookie tradition, carrying a veteran's pads at training camp.

Bryant sort of knew it was coming. Still, signing a check that big had to be staggering, even for a guy making $2.8 million this season.

"It is funny. It was always funny," Bryant said. "It's what rookies are supposed to do. Some of the older guys apologized. I felt there was no need for them to apologize because it just happened."

Asked whether he felt his teammates took advantage of him, Bryant said, "No. Not at all."

"It's like trying to fit in, basically," he said. "I felt like those are the things you have to do in order to be a part of the team. The older guys helped me understand that everybody goes through it. It happened. It's no big deal. Everything's fine. Everybody is having fun. That's the great thing about it."

Here's further proof of what a good sport Bryant is about all this: He'll be the guest Monday night on linebacker Bradie James' radio show, which happens to be held at the steakhouse that hosted the now-infamous feast.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones chalked up this incident as an expensive lesson for the rookie.

"Frankly, I think he's handling it very well," Jones said on his radio show this week. "I can tell you right now that that would make my eyes water to have a bill like that, and it should. But by the same token, it's in the spirit of the same thing that Bill Parcells used to have the No. 1 draft pick bring him his water out there. It's that same type of thing that goes on with a team and the kind of rapport that you want to build on the field."

Bryant is growing accustomed to being at the center of sensational stories.

Earlier this year, Miami Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland publicly apologized to Bryant for asking him in a pre-draft interview if his mother was a prostitute. Last fall, Bryant was suspended from Oklahoma State for lying to the NCAA about a meeting with former Cowboys star Deion Sanders, now an NFL Network analyst.

Despite an outstanding combination of size, speed, moves and good hands, Bryant's tendency to draw unwanted attention likely caused him to slide in the draft. The Cowboys nabbed him at No. 24, and Jones immediately anointed Bryant with jersey No. 88, previously worn by Roger Staubach's top target, Drew Pearson, and by Troy Aikman's go-to wideout, Michael Irvin.

Bryant is working his way up Tony Romo's list of favorite receivers. He has 14 catches for 158 yards, with a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown.

"I feel like we have chemistry," Bryant said. "He's been a tremendous leader for us, and he's making sure that everybody is on the right page. ... I feel like I'm doing good. I came along as far as learning everything. There's still a lot, but everything's fine."

Romo sees progress.

"I think Dez being a young guy, every week he's going to continue to get better," Romo said. "He's still going to make young-player mistakes. You just keep accelerating the learning curve a little bit."

Bryant also has dealt with a variety of injuries -- a high ankle sprain that cost him the entire preseason, rib damage during the opener, then hip pain caused when he ran into a cameraman on the sideline during the last game, at Houston a week ago Sunday.

Bryant knew he was hurt when he hit the guy, "but at the same time, I didn't want to show my weakness."

"I had to keep myself together and get back out there on the field," said Bryant, who finished the game before telling the team's athletic trainers he was hurting.

So far, though, the biggest welcome-to-the-NFL hit Bryant has taken came at the steakhouse.

"I'm guessing that one of these linebackers or these safeties are waiting to get this big hit on me to let me know," he said. "I'll be ready for it."

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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