Tag: Rex Ryan (Page 21 of 23)

Rex Ryan: ‘I’m not intimidated by Bill Belichick.’

Jets head coach Rex Ryan isn’t afraid to speak his mind and apparently isn’t afraid to take a couple swipes at a rival head coach who has three Super Bowl wins on his resume either.

From 670 The Score:

Ryan said during a radio interview a few months ago that he didn’t come to New York “to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings.” He explained Tuesday what he meant, and might have provided more bulletin board material.

“When I said that about Belichick, I’m just letting him know I’m not intimidated by him,” Ryan said.

“He’s got the same position I have. We’re both head coaches in this league. He just happens to have a hell of a lot more Super Bowl wins. I don’t have a win. I understand that, but we’re not going to tiptoe our way through this thing.

“You don’t line up and beat a Bill Belichick-coached team by tiptoeing in there.”

Comments like these are exactly why Jets players have come to love and respect their new head coach. It’s hard not to want to play for a guy who isn’t afraid to speak his mind and let the proverbial bullies of the AFC East know that he and his team won’t be intimated.

That said, Ryan has yet to win a game, while Belichick has compiled 153 victories, three Super Bowl titles and is a two-time AP NFL Coach of the Year winner (2003, 2007). While Ryan’s attitude is brash and refreshing, he probably should be a bit more diplomatic in what he says in his first year.

Belichick has a way of humbling fellow head coaches and while he’ll never play the quote game with Ryan through the media, I’m sure he has taken stock of what Ryan has said.

Jets glad Ryan is in, Mangini is out

According to an article by the Los Angeles Times, there’s an overwhelming notion that Jet players are happy that Rex Ryan is now their head coach, and not Eric Mangini.

As for the Jets, the mantra uttered in every corner of their camp is that the relaxed Ryan “treats us like men,” with the implication that the rigid Mangini didn’t.

Without naming Mangini, specifically, guard Damien Woody said not being afforded that respect “is almost degrading.”

“Here I am 31 years old, I’ve got my own kids, and I’m married, and here’s someone that’s not that much older than me — or whatever the case may be — telling me what I can and can’t do,” Woody said. “It’s so regimented where the game is just not a game anymore. It’s not fun. Even when you win it’s not fun.”

Mangini seems to be a wanna be Bill Belichick in the way he runs his team, which is understandable given that Mangini used to work under Belichick in New England. And who can blame Mangini if he did want to run his team that way given how many Super Bowls Belichick has won.

That said, there’s an underlining notion that Mangini doesn’t treat his players with enough respect. Woody isn’t the only one who has griped about Mangini’s standoffish attitude, as Browns defensive tackle Shaun Rodgers also had a run-in with the head coach when Manigini was hired in Cleveland.

Then again, maybe the players doing the griping are the ones who can’t handle a head coach who doesn’t give them cake and ice cream after every practice. After all, Romeo Crennel was a nice guy and he didn’t win. Ultimately, players will respect their head coach if his process works. Mangini’s process didn’t work the past couple years in New York, so players turned on him and his approach to coaching.

The same will happen to Ryan if he doesn’t prove that he can win.

2009 fantasy football is coming aoon—a look back at 2008 defenses

Last month we started looking at last season’s statistics for position players in fantasy football land, and today we’ll look at a position many often overlook. That’s fantasy defenses, which can sometimes put up just enough points to earn your team a victory once in a while. It’s always smart to try and grab one of the top units, although as we’ve seen before, things change, sometimes drastically, from year to year with fantasy D’s. Me? I like to grab my defense before my kicker. This list is based on point totals from one of my leagues, so keep in mind that stats vary from year to year.

1. Baltimore Ravens—The Ravens’ defense is perennially awesome, and we’ll find out for sure how much of that was due to former coordinator Rex Ryan, who is now the head honcho for the Jets. Ryan took plenty of players with him too, like LB Bart Scott and S Jim Leonhard, but the Ravens still have Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs. Reed just keeps getting better every year, and his sick nose for the ball is one reason the Ravens had a league high 26 picks. They will keep scoring low as always, but their 34 sacks last season isn’t much to get excited about. Bottom line: The Ravens won’t be a number one this year, but are still top 10.

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Ryan, Crowder intensify Dolphins-Jets rivalry with trash talking

Who would have thought that Rex Ryan and Channing Crowder would make for great NFL news in June?

Tuesday night, after Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder first learned about Jets coach Rex Ryan’s unsolicited response earlier in the day regarding comments Crowder made this weekend, the talkative defensive leader returned another round of his own jabs.

But before we get to Crowder’s latest rebuttal (it’s worth the wait), we should first get you up to date on the unprompted comments Ryan made during a news conference earlier in the day when he made it clear he didn’t appreciate Crowder calling out the Jets for getting ahead of themselves in June.

”I don’t know this Channing Crowder,” said Ryan, the Jets’ first-year head coach. “All I know is that he’s all tatted up, so I guess I ought to be nervous about him. The other thing is I think he’s wrong because I do think you win in June. I think you win with your preparation and all that kind of stuff. If I was younger, I’d probably handle him myself.”

So yes, it’s June. And yes, a linebacker and a head coach from rival teams are talking trash. This might be the football equivalent of Christmas in July – and it only gets better. Reached on his cellphone Tuesday, Crowder responded to Ryan’s comments with this:

”Oh, Lord have mercy,” Crowder said Tuesday. “What’s wrong with him? Now he’s talking about preparation? We play them twice this year. If he wants to be prepared, shouldn’t he know the starting middle linebackers of his division rival?”

As for the notion that Ryan would ”handle him myself” if he was ”younger,” Crowder begs to differ.
”He says he’d take care of me if he was younger?” Crowder said. “I’d have beat the hell out of that big old joker. Or if he really wants to get retro, my daddy or my uncle could have handled him. Don’t get big. Win with preparation? Start watching some tape and learn who your rival is. Come on now.”

As a writer, I’m probably inclined to say that Ryan should act more like a coach and not engage with players on other teams. But I’ve got to admit – I’m digging this.

The Jets need a shot of life after the days of Eric Mangini trying to do his best show-no-emotion Bill Belichick impersonation (which he’s moved now moved to Cleveland) and Ryan is giving it to them. I would have to imagine that players in this generation like the fact that their coach is willing to get into it with a mouthy opponent and maybe Ryan is starting to earn his player’s respect. (Albeit it in a backwards kind of way.)

Can’t wait for Ryan v. Crowder III.

Jets interested in Pacman Jones?

According to a report by AOL FANHOUSE, the Jets are interested in cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones.

Cornerback Pacman Jones still wants to play in the NFL.

Whether or not somebody wants him remains to be seen. The Jets have expressed interest, according to someone close to Jones, but are waiting things out.

Jones’ agent Worrick Robinson said he hopes to get his client signed by training camp and wouldn’t discuss which teams are interested.

When asked if the Cowboys, Jones’ last employer, have requested a return engagement, Robinson said no.

If the report is true and the Jets are interested, then Rex Ryan is going to learn his first lesson as a new coach: You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

Every coach thinks that they can be the one that turns a troubled player around. I don’t doubt that Ryan has a strong enough personality to take on a player like Pacman, but why would he want to? The Jets have done a nice job acquiring defensive talent like Bart Scott, Lito Sheppard and Jim Leonhard this offseason, so why add a possible distraction like Pacman?

Before anyone says it, yes, I know Jones has a ton of talent. But after the Cowboys acquired him last year, owner Jerry Jones hired people to watch his every move and Pacman wound up getting into a fight in a hotel room with one of the people paid to look after him. It’s almost becoming fact that given the opportunity, Pacman Jones will screw up.

The Jets should take a pass on this one.

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