Rex Ryan getting ready to meet woody Johnson. http://farm1.static.flickr.com/80/227071426_bb0c046b51.jpg?v=0 Should be good news for the NewJersey Restaurants .
That's hilari-no, that's funn-no, that's just a picture of a pig. Oh, I get it, Rex is fat! That IS hilari-no
I'll say this, as a Ravens fan, I'm not even somewhat distraught over losing Ryan. Sure, he's a decent coordinator, and the guys really like him, but I'm afraid Rex may just be another part of the system. We've lost Nolan, Lewis, Singletary, Del Rio, and others, and the defense has survived, if not thrived. Furthermore, our entire front office has been dismantled over the years as other teams and picked and chosen, but Ozzie Newsome has been able to continue to plug in players and personnel. While I'm not trying to sound haughty, Ozzie Newsome is an absolute genius, and he continues to plug in the right players, coaches, and FO members. Five of our defensive starters were out for most of the year, and the Ravens were still second in the league throughout the entire 2008 campaign. Baltimore is top five every year, regardless of the coordinator. Rex may be unique because he is very personable and can be considered a "players coach," but I'm not sure I'd be completely sold on the guys. If you're going to get excited over Rex, focus on how much the players like him, and not how much of a "defensive mastermind" he is, because quite frankly, Ryan has had some of the worst schemes for our team when it counts. Again, I'm not trying to rain on your parade for no reason, but don't expect Rex to bring in guys like Jim Leonhard, because I'll tell you right now that Ryan wasn't the one scouting those players.
I'd rather my HC be a fat pig, than my starting QB. By the way, did Cable lose some weight I am not aware of?
Interesting perspective. I'm not sold on Rex, but I like the aggression and the attitude his defenses have had. If he blew the CS and ownership away, good. I want a guy who they trust. I know he had a lot of talent there, and that defense was always good. That's why I worry about him being just an interchangeable part. Still, I like his bloodlines, his attitude, and his likability. That's a good start.
Now Pettine is good, he is a solid coach. Mike comes from a great football family, and he has been the guy on our team who has really ushered the Ravens into the "new era" of film study and breakdowns via extensive video use. Obviously his work speaks for itself as Pettine has coached Thomas, Suggs, Lewis, and Scott, but I really believe that Mike had a strong influence over those guys. I will say, though, that you can't really trust coaches coming out of Baltimore because nearly everyone who has left, coaches, players, and FO members alike, have failed miserably. It won't let me post links, but if you search "Mike Pettine" on google, your second option should be a video of Q Ismail conversing with Pettine.
It's so interesting that Mike Pettine's name comes up. I saw an intertesting documentary on his dad several yesterday. It showed on ESPN as part of their "The Season" series. His dad was Mike Pettine Sr, and the documentary was called "The Last Game" Mike Jr was featured prominently. This is a 10-year-old movie that you can find on Netflix. His dad was a hardcore coach who didn't take any crap. I personally didn't like him, which made the movie hard to watch. But you can't argue that his nature got results. He had like 15 undefeated seasons at Central Bucks West High School in Pennsylvania. Mike Jr. seemed like a good coach who tried desperately to get out from his dad's shadow. Small world huh...?
Nice avatar? Jabba the Hut is looking a little pink, though. I've been wary of the elite personnel making the CS in Baltimore look better than it is, and I'm past trusting rookie HCs before they prove their worth, but I am very optimistic about Pettine if he ends up with the Jets. We need a lot of help with the LBs. If our linebacking corps can produce at a high level, we easily have enough talent in the other units on defense to be top 10, even top 5 with the right conditioning and discipline. Unforunately, we have no decent coverage linebackers. Or none that have been developed. So, if Pettine comes with Ryan, that's what I am looking forward to. On the other side of the LOS, I'm far less optimistic that Ryan probably got the job with the condition that he had to keep Brian Schottenheimer as his OC. This has been the Jets' MO since Woody's true regime took hold after Parcells skipped town. I wish we could have a guy like Ozzie Newsome on the staff, but that would probably be true of any other franchise in the league, the guy and his staff are wizards in the draft. One of the smaller things I am interested in is something I heard Billick say in an interview this morning. He got all excited when they asked about Ryan and kind of described the guy's personality and then said 'he's a true football coach, he knows how to get across to the players'. That's not always true with NFL HCs, the Jets haven't had a guy like that since Parcells and Groh left. First we went with the charismatic politician HC-being-groomed in Herm, then we went with the 'prodigy football nerd' who climbed the ranks of the Belichick regime without seeming to get the whole coaching angle worked out first. I watched Mangini in camp at practice and from what I saw, he's not really that involved in the practices except for occasional comments, he wanders around talking to an assistant, doesn't seem to interact in an regulr basis. Both of those guys seemed more like hands-off type HCs, and I hate that.
Honestly, I would be cool with either one of them, Butler is my first choice as DC, but then, I am no GM and don't know his qualifications as a DC versus position coach. Same with Pettine. I'd like someone who will focus on making the front 7 an aggressive force versus the passive gameplans we've seen recently.
I'm not sold on Rex either. I think I would have rather kept Mangini for the remainder of his contract and make a serious attempt at bringing Cowher in here [next year]. I don't necessarily like "player's coaches". I don't like the fact that he allows players to police themselves. It rarely works. Ray Lewis is a madman, work-aholic with a ton of talent that gets that D fired up more than anything. We'll see, but I am going on record right now: Rex Ryan will be a bust.
Jeaux, it's funny how you are ready to throw rocks at our pick for HC... at least our team has people willing to interview for the job. At least our selections won't be coming from the Ringling Brothers Circus... :wink:
