Tag: Rex Ryan (Page 6 of 23)

Rex Ryan’s new book upsets Giants

May 9, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Not everyone is a fan of Rex Ryan’s brash behavior. In fact, most non-Jet fans are tired of his act and probably wish he’d shut up already.

As Gary Myers of the New York Daily News writes, this includes Pat Hanlon, the Giants vice president of communications.

Rex Ryan was relentless on two points on the book tour that just wouldn’t end: The Jets are going to win the Super Bowl; and that he basically considers the Giants and their three Super Bowl championships – the last one just three years ago – a whole bunch of yesterday’s news. Pat Hanlon, the Giants vice president of communications, took several shots at Ryan on Twitter, including, “Tom Coughlin wrote a book, too. It was about a team and an HC that won a Super Bowl.”

I don’t mind Rex Ryan in the least. I understand why people are tired of hearing about him and I don’t bemoan anyone for taking on the opinion that he should shut his mouth until he’s won something. But while I don’t know him personally, I get why he says the things that he does. It’s not so much that he’s intentionally trying to piss everyone off; I think he’s an intelligent person and all of his moves are calculated.

That’s not to suggest that he doesn’t believe in what he says. On the contrary: I think he very much believes that the Jets are going to win the Super Bowl every year under his command. And you know what? You need to have that fire and attitude in sports. Nice guys don’t always finish last (look at the Spurs’ dynasty in the NBA over the past decade). But at some point teams need to have that killer instinct and swagger if they’re ever going to raise their game to another level. Ryan’s teams do that thanks in large part to how he treats his players and how he instills confidence in them with what he says.

Granted, Hanlon’s response to Ryan’s book was excellent. The Giants don’t have to take a backseat to anything that Ryan says: They won a Super Bowl in the past five years while the Jets have come up short the past two seasons. Gang Green has had some success under Ryan but Coughlin and Co. has the hardware (which does all of their talking for them).

At some point Ryan needs to win a Super Bowl so his words don’t become just a bunch of hot air (if they haven’t already). But in the meantime, his brash bravado is still intriguing.

External Sports, NFL

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The reason why Josh Freeman isn’t a Jet

May 9, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

In his latest edition of “Monday Morning Quarterback,” SI.com’s Peter King has an interesting tidbit about how Rex Ryan and the Jets wound up choosing Mark Sanchez over Josh Freeman in the 2009 NFL Draft.

Ryan tells an interesting story in the book about pursuing a franchise quarterback once he got the Jets job. The choice came down to USC’s Mark Sanchez and Kansas State’s Josh Freeman. “We sent both of them a mini-playbook and asked them to learn what they could from it before they met with us,” Ryan told me. “They both blew the doors off us when we got them in a room. We’d ask about out formations and bam-bam-bam, they knew it all quick. Both very, very sharp guys.”
But in telling the story in the book, Ryan says one of the factors that swayed the Jets was how Sanchez was regarded by his peers. He said 24 high school and college mates showed up to catch balls for Sanchez. When they’d been to Kansas State to work out Freeman, two of his receivers showed up. “Honestly,” Ryan told me, “that might have been what separated them — the immense respect we sensed from the people who played with Mark and knew him so well.”

While some still have their doubts about Sanchez’s overall abilities, the Jets’ decision worked out for not only them, but the Bucs as well. In two seasons, Sanchez has led Gang Green to back-to-back AFC title game appearances and Freeman has the Bucs on the cusp of making the playoffs as well. It’s not a stretch to think that both teams are happy with the way the situation turned out.

It’s always interesting to hear how teams go about scouting prospects and inevitably how they decide on a player. It may sound rather obtuse for Ryan to make a decision on a franchise quarterback based on how many people showed up to the prospect’s workout, but sometimes that’s what it comes down to. Atlanta GM Thomas Dimitroff ultimately made the final decision to choose Matt Ryan over defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey because Ryan blew him away in the interview room – not on film. Granted, Ryan’s on-field abilities also factored heavily into the decision. But Dimitroff trusted his gut after interviewing the former Boston College product and while some in Atlanta wanted Dorsey, obviously the GM made the right decision in the end to go with Ryan.

This isn’t to suggest that an interview with a prospective player is something to be overlooked. But sometimes for teams it comes down to the simplest of factors when it comes to deciding on a prospect.

External Sports, NFL

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Could Randy Moss wind up with the Jets next season?

April 12, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

There have been a couple of interesting reports surrounding the Jets over the last couple of days, specifically their receiving corps.

On Saturday, Santonio Holmes told ESPN New York’s Rich Cimini that he won’t sign his restricted free agent tender if the 2010 work rules remain in place for 2011. The Jets placed a first-and-third-round restricted free agent tender on Holmes last month, but he says he wants a long-term deal and will sign with the highest bidder if he hits the open market as an unrestricted free agent.

On Tuesday, Greg A. Bedard of the Boston Globe noted that Randy Moss could eventually wind up in a Jets uniform this year.

Randy Moss in a Jets uniform? It could happen. Among several free agents, the Jets have receivers Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards. They have said re-signing Holmes is a priority. Edwards would likely have to agree to a contract with the Jets that might be less than market value. And he might very well balk at that and cash in elsewhere. Enter Moss, another big target. Only one team, the Titans, put in a claim for him when he was released by the Vikings. And considering his performance in Tennessee, most teams aren’t going to waste their time with a 34-year-old receiver with diminishing skills, let alone one who’s known as a problem child. But coach Rex Ryan could be interested. Ryan has enough cachet where he could keep Moss in line, and the Jets would probably enjoy tweaking the Patriots. Ryan spoke highly of Moss last month. “Randy Moss, I’ve said all along, is a great vertical receiver,’’ Ryan said at the owners’ meetings. “And you have to roll coverage. Most teams would have to roll coverage to him. We never did, but we got burned for a touchdown. But he was a weapon. A vertical weapon down the field.’’ Curiously, when Ryan began to speak about Moss, he checked first with team spokesman Bruce Speight to see if it would be tampering.

Even though Moss would probably sign a one-year deal for cheap (assuming he even wants to play for Ryan and the Jets), I don’t see how New York can sign Holmes, Edwards and Moss in one offseason. And why would they want to? This isn’t “Madden” and there’s only one football to go around.

Receiver will be a priority this offseason, but the Jets also need help at defensive end, linebacker and guard, too. Giving Holmes a long-term deal, signing Moss for cheap and allowing Edwards to walk probably makes the most sense (again, assuming that both Moss and the Jets are interested in each other). That would allow the Jets to concentrate on other areas as well.

External Sports, NFL

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Rex Ryan guarantees the Jets will win the Super Bowl next year

February 24, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Pardon the cliché but there are three things we can all count on in life: Death, taxes and Rex Ryan making a bold statement when he has a microphone in front of his face.

At his press conference on Thursday from the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, Ryan told the media: “I thought we were going to win the Super Bowl the first two years. I guarantee we’ll win it this year.”

Ah, whatever. Wake me when Mike Smith, Lovie Smith or another one of the more conservative coaches guarantees a Super Bowl victory for their team. Ryan could show the media the most intricate details about how he’s going to rob a bank tomorrow and I would just shrug my shoulders and say, “Oh that crazy Rex Ryan. Always talking.”

Still, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: I think Rex Ryan is good for the NFL. The stuffy MLB doesn’t want to let Mark Cuban anywhere near the game of baseball, which I think is a shame. I take my sports as seriously as the next guy, but in the end it’s just entertainment. While they can get on people’s nerves at times, guys like Ryan and Cuban entertain people, which is good.

I’d rather listen to Ryan guarantee Super Bowl victories, watch him dress up like his brother Rob or even talk about his recent appearance on CSI then be fed the same cookie-cutter responses from the other 31 head coaches. What did Ron Rivera say on Thursday that anyone didn’t expect him to? “We are exploring a quarterback (at No. 1).” No sh*t, even though you have Jimmy Clausen atop your depth chart right now?

By no means is that a knock on Rivera, I’m just pointing out that I like a little spice with my meal. I like that Ryan just went Broadway Joe Namath on everybody, even though the act will probably eventually get tired.

External Sports, NFL

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Mendenhall powers the Steelers back to the Super Bowl

January 23, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Here are five quick-hit observations on the Steelers’ 24-19 win over the Jets in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.

1. Mendenhall ran like he was mad at the ground.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Rashard Mendenhall run with more determination than he did Sunday night. He shredded the Jets for 95 rushing yards in the first half and finished with 121 yards on 27 carries and one touchdown. He also caught two passes for 32 yards and would have scored on one of those receptions had he stayed on his feet. He now has three touchdowns this postseason and has provided the Steelers’ offense with balance. Against the Jets, he rarely went down on first contact and he flashed terrific speed on a 35-yard jaunt in the first half. No running back has ever rushed for more yards against the Jets since Rex Ryan took over as head coach in 2009. Mendenhall set the tone for Pittsburgh’s win.

2. Bruce Arians shows some stones.
Pittsburgh fans have had a roller coaster relationship with offensive coordinator Bruce Arians over the years, but they had to have loved his gutsy 3rd and 6 pass call with less than two minutes remaining. How many times do teams run the ball in that situation, get stopped, punt and then have to rely on their defense to close out the game? Arians knows he has a great defense so if the clock is stopped because of an incompletion, so what? But thanks to Ben Roethlisberger’s 14-yard competition to Antonio Brown (how big has this kid been the last two weeks?), the Steelers were able to pick up a first down and run the rest of the clock out. They didn’t even give the Jets an opportunity to win. Great call.

External Sports, NFL

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Tag: Rex Ryan (Page 6 of 23)

Rex Ryan’s new book upsets Giants

The reason why Josh Freeman isn’t a Jet

Could Randy Moss wind up with the Jets next season?

Rex Ryan guarantees the Jets will win the Super Bowl next year

Mendenhall powers the Steelers back to the Super Bowl

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