Mike Wallace AFC Championship Week - Ingles

January 12, 2011

Do you expect the Jets to change how they played you from last game?

It’s the playoffs, so I guess you never really know what to expect. You can always expect a few wrinkles, a few new things, but not really. I think they are who they are. They’re a man team. They like to play man and mix in a little bit of zone, but I think for the most part they are going to try to lock up on us.

How do you feel like you can attack the Jets defense, and what is key?

Just winning one-on-one battles, everybody, they have two outstanding corners on the outside, but also in the slots they bring in the safeties and the corners, they bring them down and let you take everybody one on one. So that’s the main thing, if you can win one-on-one battles I think we’ll have a chance.

Do you think Darrelle Revis didn’t cover you last game because he was coming off a hamstring injury?

I don’t know. I don’t know why he didn’t cover me. I think (Antonio) Cromartie is a really good player himself, so I had to worry about him the whole game. It really doesn’t matter who covers me, I have to go with him on 6:30 on Sunday.

Do you expect more Darrelle Revis this time?

I expect anything. You have to expect anything, but I’m not sure what they’re going to do. Whatever they do, I will be ready.

Would you like to see more of Darrelle Revis?

I would just like to see us win the AFC Championship, really. I don’t care who is on me. Whoever takes me, like I said, it’s going to be a long day for whoever takes me.

How much would a good game from Rashard Mendenhall help the passing game?

A lot, I think it goes hand in hand. I think if he has a really good game, it can help the passing game, and I think if we have a really good game it can help him. I think he will have a pretty good game because our offensive line has really been doing a good job out there making some holes for him. I think he’ll hit it this game. We have a lot on the line. I think he knows what’s going on, and he’ll be ready.

Re: The Jets defensive backs and contact down the field.

I think everybody is going to hold because that’s on every team. I don’t think it’s that team that does that. When you are in as many one-on-one situations that they are, you have to expect that sometimes. But they do a really good job of doing it, and if the referees don’t call it, obviously it’s not a penalty.

What was it like going up against Ike Taylor in training camp, and does he rank with (the Jets corners)?

I think he’s one of the best. He’s going to get overlooked, I guess, because he doesn’t have as many interceptions as everybody else, but I think he does just as good of a job as any of those guys in one-on-one situations. We put him on the best player every week, and I don’t ever really hear too much about him. I think he’s doing a really good job out there.

Why do you feel you lost to the Jets last time?

We didn’t make the plays at the end of the game to win a ballgame. It was on the offense at the end of the game last time, and we just didn’t come up with the plays. I think if we make one or two more plays in the red zone we win the ballgame.

Have you seen more zone coverage from the Jets the past two weeks?

Yes. Last week when I watched the game they did, especially last week. They have a mix of zones. They’re still going to blitz, but they disguise them a little bit better and they drop into zones and still blitz. So they’re doing a lot more zone blitzing instead of cover zero blitzes.

How does it change how Revis and Cromartie play him and Hines Ward if the Jets play more zone?

I think they’ll still play the same way. Even if they’re in zone, they can still man up on the outsides as well if they want to. They have a lot of different ways they can run zone, so with their coach, he’s a real good coach. You never know what to expect.

If the Jets play man on the outside, can it make it tougher on them if Roethlisberger scrambles outside of the pocket?

Most definitely, because I think that’s what you’re going to get with Ben anyway. It’s going to be hard to bring him down, so either way it goes, man or zone; they’re still going to have to cover because he can always extend the plays.

How much do you work as receivers for when plays break down?

We work on it quite often. I think it’s becoming in us just to know to scramble, even at practice when somebody doesn’t get the ball at first to just keep working. I think it’s in us just because we know what type of team we have and what kind of quarterback that we have, so I think it’s just natural for us to scramble.