If there's one day that was the longest day in Rex Ryan's life, my guess was it was yesterday. First he had his long press conference taking question from all of the media outlest. Than he made the rounds. He seemingly was interviewed by every single media outlet in New York City. He was on Michael Kay on 1050, Mike Francessa on WFAN, the Boomer show on MSG, I'm sure he was on SNY, he was on the NFL Network, he was on Sportscenter last night, he was on Boomer & Carton this morning, he was on Mike and Mike in the morning, etc, etc, etc. If Ryan doesn't have to take another interview for the next 6 months, I'm sure he'd be fine with that. Anyway, I heard the press conference, and the interviews with Kay, Francessa, Mike & Mike, Boomer and Carton and Sportscenter, so here are some of my takeaways.1. He Doesn't Really Want Brett Favre But He Can't Say That
He was very complemantary to Favre through on the day and during his press conference said rhetorically, "Who wouldn't want Brett Favre?". This is easily answered by the majority ME. The truth however lay in the other interviews, specifically Boomer and Carton where Carton intentionally asked several questions to pry it out of him including, and I'm paraphrasing, "In an ideal world who's your Quarterback next year, Brett Favre, a free agent, or one of the two youngsters on the roster." His answer was very very very non-commital. He even muttered something like "you know I can't answer that". I don't think it's a passionate "get this old bastard off my team", but I do think that's the way he's leaning.
2. He Thinks He Can Get Schotty to Stay
He went through the same shit last year where he applied for the head coaching job when he was already on staff but didn't get the job. I think he truly believes he can gconvince Schotty to stay, but I think he's 100% ok with just slotting Bill Callahan in that position if Schotty leaves.
3. He's Going to Run the Defense
He was very complimentary of Mike Pettine, whom he is taking with him from Baltimore to work has his defensive coordinator, but make no bones about it, he's going to run the defense.
4. RUN, RUN, RUN, RUN, RUN
Don't be surprised if the Jets slowly morph into the Ravens conservative style of football on offense. They already have a solid offensive line, two running backs, and possession wide receivers. They are going to focus on the run and not turning the ball over. The Jets offense is probably not going to average in the mid 20s any time soon.
5. SMASH THEM IN THE FACE
Rex Ryan wants to smash people in the face. The Jets did not do that last year and maybe they don't have the players to do it right now. Rest assured that if you are on the Jets and you play soft, you won't be there for long.
6. The Jets Are Going to Draft Defense
I could be wrong on this, but I think the Jets are going to draft defense in the first round again. Probably someone to slot in at the opposite cornerback spot or someone to slot in at DE, a massive 3-4 DE. The focus of the Jets is going to be shutting down the opposition and putting their defense in the best spot to win ball games and I don't think spending the 1st round pick on a fringe playmaking wideout (especially with Crabtree and Maclin gone) is going to happen.
7. He'll Be More Entertaining than Mangini
Unlike Mangini, Ryan is going to be straight forth with questions. He's either going to answer it directly or tell you straight up that he can't answer the question. Listening to an interview with him will actually be entertaining and worth a listen, whereas Mangini was unable to answer a single question ever.
8. He's Gonna Try to Make Gholston Suggs
While this is doubtful, turning a player who was useless in his rookie year into a perennial pro bowler, anything Gholston does in 2009 will be better than what he did in 2008. He obviously has the strength and speed, hence why he was a top 10 pick. He just needs to develop the skillset.
9. I Have No Idea What to Expect from the Team
You'd hope that the defense would be better, but honestly who knows? He doesn't have Ed Reed. Can he morph Kerry Rhodes into a psuedo Ed Reed? I hope so. He doesn't have Terrell Suggs. Can he morph Gholston or Pace into a psuedo Suggs? I hope so. He doesn't have Ray Lewis. Got me who could possibly take that leadership role or build that type of internal player accountability / if you disappoint me I'm gonna shiv you in the locker room. The Jets were 9-7 this year and lost several winnable games. But honestly it once again all comes down to the quarterback. Even the Ravens with the best defense on the planet have been bad the past 5 years because they've had no QB. So for right now I'm happy with the Defensosaurus, but we shall see how the offseason goes before I make a decision on where to place my expectations.
Anyway here's his ESPN interview:
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