By Rich Cimini FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – The first time they sat down together to discuss X's and O's, Rex Ryan and Marty Mornhinweg didn't have much privacy. They were on television. It was January 2007, and their teams — the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively — had been eliminated from the playoffs in the divisional round. They were invited to NFL Films in Mt. Laurel, N.J., to serve as guest analysts to preview the conference championships. "I had a chance to meet him in a different way," Ryan, the New York Jets' head coach, said Thursday of his current offensive coordinator. "I really liked him. He was funny. He was smart. That was obvious." That TV appearance turned out to be a good test of their chemistry. Host Brian Baldinger had to leave after the first segment, leaving Ryan and Mornhinweg alone on the set. They improvised, Ryan breaking down the defensive stuff, Mornhinweg handling the offensive material. "We fed right off each other," Ryan said. Six years later, it hasn't changed. Hiring Mornhinweg was one of Ryan's smartest moves. One year after the Tony Sparano debacle, the Jets actually have a clue on offense. At times, they're not the prettiest, but you never get the feeling that Mornhinweg doesn't know what he's doing. Under him, the Jets have improved in almost every offensive category, significantly in some cases. They're ranked 15th in total offense, averaging 343 yards per game (up from 299). The last time they sniffed the top 10 was 2010, when they finished 11th with Brian Schottenheimer calling the plays and a still-promising Mark Sanchez playing quarterback. We could throw out a bunch of impressive numbers to demonstrate Mornhinweg's impact, but it's plainly obvious the Jets are running it better and throwing it better than the past two years. And — don't underestimate this point — they're doing it with a rookie quarterback, Geno Smith. Plus, we're not talking about an abundance of talent here. The Jets don't have a rusher in the top 15 and they don't have a receiver in the top 50. Smith is 27th out of 33 in passer rating. Despite the lack of star power, they've played well in most of the games. "I think he's done a great job," Ryan said of Mornhinweg. "It's been impressive, without question. He has been impressive." Philosophically, they're a football odd couple. Mornhinweg's affinity for the passing game figured to clash with Ryan's defensive-minded, ball-control style, but they've made it work. Recognizing how the game is changing, Ryan let his hair down, so to speak, leaving Ground & Pound in the past. Mornhinweg has adjusted, too, especially the past three weeks. Without injured wide receiver Santonio Holmes, and with Smith coming off a disastrous game in Tennessee in Week 4, Mornhinweg has leaned more on the running game, featuring his inside receivers (tight end and slot) in the passing game. A team has to throw the ball to score points, according to the Mornhinweg doctrine, but sometimes it takes some dinosaur football to win a game. As Ryan noted in his postgame speech to the team after last Sunday's upset of the New England Patriots, "Our offensive coordinator, seems to me all he wants to do is run, because we ran it 52 times." The players roared. "That's funny," Mornhinweg said Thursday. Ryan hired Mornhinweg because he wanted a coordinator who coached offense the same way he coaches defense — aggressively. He showed that fearlessness last Sunday. Instead of babying Smith after his first-quarter interception was returned for a touchdown, Mornhinweg called a pass on the ensuing first down — a 17-yard strike to Stephen Hill. "We threw the ball a couple of more times right away on purpose, just a 'Let's go,'" Mornhinweg said. "That's just the way we operate." If Sparano had been calling the plays, he would've had Smith in bubble wrap for the rest of the game. Ryan is fortunate. Not many head coaches last long enough to hire a third coordinator. This was a make-or-break hire for Ryan, whose rear end is on the hot seat this season. Mornhinweg, the first to interview for the job, was summoned to the Jets' facility last January. He met for three hours with Ryan, two assistant coaches and center Nick Mangold. It's unusual for a player to be present, but Mangold is respected for his offensive acumen. The interview covered everything from "soup to nuts," Ryan recalled. Before they got into the heavy stuff, they enjoyed a good laugh, remembering their joint TV appearance at NFL Films. Mornhinweg aced the interview. "He had me at hello," Ryan said, "but we were going to do our due diligence." He interviewed a few others and offered the position to Mornhinweg. Once again, they're on TV. Their set is the sideline, and they're feeding off each other. This time, without makeup.
This is just redreshing to read, I know Cimini is a knob, but it's still a good interesting article. Loved this bit....
Puff piece...they're covering their asses. If we lose two in a row, they'll be writing that we suck and they were right and Ryan's the buffoon ringmaster in the messy circus that is the NY Jets. Fuck all of 'em...:rofl:
Marty has been good. I was glad he rode the run game in the NE game. I think if he had done the same in the first NE game would probably would have won it. On a side note, I think the notion that you can't run and win in today's NFL is nonsensical.
Does anyone by chance have a link to the Marty / Rex breakdown? Would be cool to hear, Even if totally irrelevant right now.
And this is why Cimini is still a douche and a hack writer.... No fuck face, Schotty was a holdover from the Mangini era and he decided to keep him at the behest of the GM and probably because he did not want to rock the boat on offense.
Rex may have saved his job by hiring Marty. If he does, hiring Marty will be the main reason. Despite Rex's prior, and probably continuing, preference for "ground and pound", in fact it is Marty's style that is more in tune with Rex's, which as noted is aggression. Marty's approach to the O is like Rex's is to the D. They really are a good match.
I thought the most interesting part of the article was that Nick Mangold was part of the search committee. Some may call the Jets a circus when they march to the beat of their own drummer but there is something to be said about an organization that isn't afraid to throw tradition out the window and do things their own way. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
Marty is definitely that. After Vick threw that long td pass on Monday night football against the Redskins a few years back, every game for the rest of the season he had Vick going long on the first play of the game. Geno keeps developing and if this team can get a top notch receiver, he's going to do it here too. He loves big plays.
I still wouldn't go too overboard about Rex yet. It isn't that long ago that he went 6-10. And IMO a lot of it was on him. Not a good job the past two seasons. I don't excuse him for that record at all. His mishandling of the offense esp at the Qb position was a game killer. We all know the media are the ultimate frontrunners. They were killing Rex and the Jets and now that we're 4-3 and have looked decent they're again jumping on the bandwagon. Remember too that our 4 Ws were extra close you might even say lucky. So lets hold our horses before we get too excited. Or do something stupid like sign Rex to an extension.
I'm pretty sure that Geno already had more 20 yard passes than Mark had in the last couple seasons.. If not all of them combined. I cannot remember one time last year that we got a 20 yard pass play. I'm sure there was a point, but I cannot remember.
OK Big Mike......wadeasegund...wadeasegund...Regs iz a clown....and hez not clazzy like Coage Cofflin foa shoa. Ming wit da flash.....
Cimini do us all a favour and drop dead! You rip the Jets all the while then flip flop when it suits you - you are just a crap journalist who we can all do without.
As I said pre season, it's the perfect pairing...all we have had for years is that outdated Coryell based dinosaur shit. At least this is modern era offense. I'd have preferred something more based on small ball mismatches (see, Patriots, NE), where you almost always have a mismatch at the third WR...but this OC, will utilize those mismatches.
