On if S Eric Smith should’ve have taken a wider rush on his blitz to provide more containment… "When you look at it, it’s a tough thing on him. I’ll just say this, it’s a tough assignment, there is no question. Quite honestly, I’ll take Eric Smith every day of the week. He’s a tremendous player. Could we have said, "Hey, have him be wider. Should the end be wider? Everybody be wider"? Maybe you could’ve, but you have to give Tebow credit. He made the play. I will say this — Eric sold out. Eric laid it on the line for us and we came up a little empty, made a diving stab at him, but he never quite got him on the ground. Again, when you look at it, I think it’s easy to obviously second-guess, but we need to start looking forward instead of behind us." It's hard to take Rex seriously when he makes these sort of comments. By the time E. Smith caught up with Tebow and dove at him he was already at the 5 yard-line. Even if he makes the tackle it's 1st and goal at the 5.
Rex doesn't throw his players under the bus to the media. So i don't know what you expected Rex to say in this instance.
That was a heat of the moment thing.. when he is at a press conference and relaxed, he never has a bad word to say about his players. Just look what he said about Sanchez after saying the "dumbest thing" comment when he spoke to the media the next day.
As shitty of a play as E. Smith made, Rex/Pettine should shoulder all the blame on that one for selling out on the blitz in the first place - and for putting one of our slowest players on the edge to try to contain a play that everyone in the fuckin country was expecting. Did Smith completely botch the play? Yes, but he never should have been put in that position in the first place - the coaches have to play to their players' strengths and they very obviously didn't in that instance.
So are we to believe this is how Rex really feels about Eric Smith, or does he feel forced to start him every week because it's at that point where we have no one else to do so?
I would rather he say -"ERIC has to make a better play than that " or "Eric did not play that as well as he SHOULD have " I don't expect him to publicly lambast ONE GUY or Guys BUT AT LEAST SAY "it'S UNacceptable " you cannot look at guys like Smith and Hunter and say "that was a tough spot " or "They are doing good" when everyone ant their mother knows thats not the case!!!!
If military service taught me anything, that is, you must not humiliate your own subordinates in public. So I have absolutely no problem with the way Rex has handled Eric Smith foul ups. Of course, you can give him hair dryer treatment for all I care - that belongs behind the scenes, where public eyes cannot reach.
Maybe one of the problems with the Jets right now is that Rex Ryan can't see his players as any worse than he wants them to be? Maybe he really believes in his guys to a fault and so he doesn't do the things that successful coaches routinely do and put his players in fear of their careers? There's a long-standing idea, basically Bill James idea I think, that teams that under-achieve under disciplinarian coaches and are then given a player's coach over-achieve for a couple of years after that until the effect of not being afraid all the time goes away and then they flatten out and sink into the muck. The reason they sink is that professional competition is hard and grueling and you can't hold somebody's hand through it for very long without severely weakening them in the competition. You're better off to kick them in the ass when they're under-performing and give them the feedback that worse is going to happen if they don't straighten out and play well. For the Jets we went from disciplinarian Parcells/Groh to buddy Herm and the Jets played mostly better until injuries laid them low and Herm's handholding didn't help any more. Then we got tough guy Mangini in for a couple of years and things got reset, followed by happy guy Ryan and the Jets took off. The question is can happy guy Ryan get the Jets where they need to be or is the handholding about to cause problems again?
little bit of advice to jet fans: stop taking everything rex ryan says as gold he's the hc of a football team he's not santa clause
I do believe that, the game of football is, much like any combat (surprisingly, if I might add) won in the ranks and files. So if your team fails to be accountable for itself, then you have no business in NFL to start. That said, like I said above, throwing a player under the bus in public is not how you should handle the situation. I don't know how Rex is enforcing the discipline issue - he hasn't done a good job of it, if the number of penalties is any indication. But that aside, I still think the way he has handled it is the correct way to do it. Now, the threat part - it would be ideal if we see a decreasing number of snaps for these players who do not hold himself accountable, but I do not think that is possible with current Jets roster.
Next year E. Smith is set to make 2.5 mill with 0 guaranteed money. At that point we'll see how the CS really feels about him. PS I do agree Rex talks a lot of bullshit to the media and players shouldn't be thrown under the bus. However it's my personal opinion he should make them feel more accountable for their mistakes. Something along the lines of "It's not just Smith's fault, he put in a great effort but we can't let things like that happen"...
play a sport then get back to me on how and what a coach should say, otherwise stick to TMZ and PFT and all that other horseshit you choke down
Much ado about nothing. The film doesn't lie. Smith himself knows he screwed up. What's the point of Rex bashing the guy to the press?? No conclusions can be drawn from this.
Just remember Rex said this last year Blustering coach Rex Ryan anointed Hunter "the best backup tackle in the league" I love Rex to death, but you cant ever believe a single word word he says about a player/prospect. He did the same shit with Gholston
Tom Coughlin had a pretty good press conference---he did not sugar coat it at all----------if I were a Giant fan Coughlin said it just as fans might have said it themselves. he blasted the lack of effort and how his players " talked" before the game-----and blasted the running game as he should have----I thought it was true and from the heart what Coughlin said not coach speak. Rex if he has a fault I believe he is too loyal if there is such a thing---remember Kerry Rhodes sucked yet he played him every week hoping the light would go on----sound like anyone playing now? Does to me
