How is "Shcotty" (as you put it for some strange reason) showcasing himself by leading Sanchez to a terrible year so far? You are simply playing the players coach vs. the disciplinarian. An article that I read in SI this week.
This is the road I would begin to go down when describing what bothers me about Rex the most. Hopefully, Rex did get advise from Parcells and others that were on his list about what he needs to fix..and it has nothing to do with roster. Those problems are much more obvious. Rex has walked a very fine, unsuccessful, line up to this point when it comes to the message he puts out to his players. He says in the press its ok for players to talk shit as long as they back it up...and when they do not back it up....he does nothing about it. Quite honestly, I do not really care about what happens behind closed doors. When my neighbor doesnt do his leaves and they blow all over my damn property every year...me bitching out my wife about it doesnt solve the problem. There are some players on this team that have talked a ton of crap and have had really shitty seasons. Then there are guys like Revis who have only defended themselves...and are truly the guys you want to build a team around. Guys like Rhodes and Scott for example are allowed to run out of dressing rooms making little comments as possible. Yet what player showed up on Rexs radar this week as the guy he needs to take charge of? Sanchez...who has been friggin miserable.....I agree. A rookie, who has shown respect to every player he has played against. Asking a rookie to not make mistakes down 24...hes a rookie. He is asked to do veteran stuff that Ben didnt...Ryan didnt...Flaco didnt. His defense..and I truly could give two shits where its ranked...has come out the last two games and played horribly. Words cant describe what pussys they have looked like...going up to New England and playing scared. I believe Rex sent a message this week for players to shut the f up. Too little too late for this season. Saving seasons isnt as easy as it looks (See Parcells when Vinny went down game 1...who even admitted he sulked and grabbed control of the reins too late when we finished the season very strong that year). With that said...I give Rex a hell of a lot of leeway this year. Its learning on the job and he will get it right next year. I truly believe that. Im just stunned it took him so long to realize he is a head coach...not an assistant coach who can buddy up to players that are not performing at all.
My problem with Ryan the head coach is that he came out of the gate at a sprint and once he realized it was a marathon he got winded and lost some heart. He's a rookie, so he gets a season from me to learn the ropes and figure out some sort of formula to incorporate his brand of leadership and management into the team to produce wins that result from exactly what he is asking for - a violent beating and an aggressive approach. So far, they started out playing exactly like he wanted them to, and once teams had film to prepare for them, the adjustments on both sides of the ball take longer and longer to become successful. One thing I don't like about Rex's leadership is that he does not inspire professionalism. Getting your players to be confident is one thing. I like confidence. But a while ago I had an argument with winston about the players acting like punks, and WB saw it before I did, unsurprisingly. You can be a confident professional or you can be a confident punk. So far, I see a number of players leaning toward the punk side of things. I think that has as much to do with coaching leadership as it does with player leadership, however. Rex has decided to name a different group of team captains in the lockerroom each week - I don't like that idea, and I hope it changes after this season. I think that he mainly did it because he didn't truly know his lockerroom leaders in the Jets clubhouse and didn't want to name his Ravens refugees, Scott and Leonhard, the captains because it might not bode well for the existing players' attitudes. While that is a nice way of feeling out your lockerroom and being diplomatic, we don't need a diplomat and we don't need indecision. Rex may teeter too far into the realm of 'Player's Coach' and fail to be an inspiring leader. He needs to be decisive, and he needs to be their coach, not their buddy. You find the guys who the players look to most, and you make them your lieutenants. Hopefully that will happen very soon, because when I look at the players on the field on Sunday, I don't see any real field generals. (Not that I know who the leaders in the lockerroom are, but I wouldn't mind finding out next season that the defensive captains end up being David Harris, Jimmy Leonhard and Darrelle Revis.) Rex also needs to be far more involved in the head coaching aspects of his job than in the defensive side of things, although I in know way want him to go hands-off with the defense. I think he is realizing this and I think he's making a valid attempt to rectify that. As far as my problems with Rex as a defensive coordinator... well, I hate to say it, but since I do call Schotty out for his gimmicks and trickery, I have to be objective and impartial about it - there is a bunch involved with Rex's attacking style that reeks of trickery. It's boom or bust with his philosophy, overload and attack-attack-attack, and when that doesn't work and his defense has to rely on zone defense or base schemes, the only players that seem prepared to come through in the clutch are the three usual suspects - Harris, Revis and Leonhard. The rest of the D seems unprepared when they don't have the QB running for his life or when they aren't completely shredding one side of an O-line to attack a run. The defense lacks in fundamental soundness just as much as the offense. Year one hasn't been a complete disaster to me as it has been to a lot of other Jets fans, but I am looking for progress as much from the head coach as I am looking for it from his rookie signal caller. Here's to progress.
It's a small thing and certainly not the most important but I hate the way he handles team captains... at least 1 guy on the D (Revis? Harris? Scott? Leonhard?), 1 guy on the O (Mangold? Cotchery? TJ?) and 1 ST (Feely for sure) should be team captain for EVERY SINGLE GAME. It's ok to rotate the others but you have to give your team a leader to look up too when things go bad on the playing field. Sure it all made us laugh when he put O'Connell captain but in what why will that help us win?
Excellent post, I agree with everything you said! Thanks for saving me the time of writing the same things
How is he going to get in Shotty's and Mark's head and ears after they come off after a disastrous offensive series if he continues to want call defensive signals? Give that responsibility to Mike Pettine. He has worked under Rex long enough to understand how he operates, plus maybe he can add some new, fresh wrinkles of his own.
A lot of great responses to this thread, all valid, but to me the above two are easily the most concerning/frustrating. There is no excuse for us coming out flat week in and week out, and this most egregious for the Jax game, after the coaching staff had two weeks to prepare (the players got 6 days off, but I'm pretty sure I remember him saying that the CS had their time off starting Thursday of the first week, so that's at least 10 good days of prep work). The fact that we seem to be making the right adjustments after the half indicate that we don't have morons on the staff, so why can't they apply that kind of work the entire week, that way we're not stuck with trying to win a game in 30 minutes instead of having the full 60. As for the penalties, I think that feeds into what others have been posting, it's a lack of accountability by the players, who obviously aren't scared for their jobs. With a rookie QB who is going to make mistakes, it's terrible when the few times he does awesome, its called back due to something completely unnecessary
i don't have many concerns about Rex. i think as a rookie coach his bad game management in particular use of timeouts has hurt the jets on several occasions. i really love his style, but my concern is is this.. When you have a freedom type of style you need the right kind of guys. The jets have some players that obviously cant work without restrictions. Kerry Rhodes is the best example. hes been awful, I never thought he was that great, but particular this year he been terrible, yet despite his awful play hes been fantastic at running his mouth, acting like a fool. hes the weak link on the defense, yet in his mind hes the anchor.. that the drawback when you preach confidence to guys that don't work and believe theirs nothing more for them to do. hes been regressing over the past couple years, now hes just dreadful. i think the biggest concern the jets have for the future is safety position. with all that Rhodes bashing said, I hope at the end of the season when rex evaluates his performance he realizes not every guy out there can be responsible enough to follow him. hes needs hungry responsible guys who are ready to work with out him telling them to do so. he needs guy with big heart not big egos. Rex has to in the future be careful of the monster he creates. he didn't make Rhodes better he made him worse accidentally. hopefully he can alter his style a little bit for guys like Rhodes in the future or preferably avoid them all together.
I really do not have any concerns about him right now, only because it's been 10 games, he is actually improving in my eyes because he is has tried different things to get this team going, and now he is actually taking the steps necessary to be a HC and manage the team, Offense, Defense, and ST along with the media and everything that goes along with it. Forgive me for mentioning this but Bill Belichick learned this lesson over a longer period of time, he is a great DC but he has become a great HC because it is done his way and once he realized this, along with acquiring some talent he was able to move the team forward. It's not three different pieces run by three different people, it's three pieces managed by one individual. Personally I think he is learning this very quickly. :wink: :jets:
Maybe Rex should stop telling the players how great they are and how loved they are while, even when they were undefeated in 2007, Bellichick always tells his players what they need to do to improve. Then Rex should just shut up about being disrespected after he goes out of his way to try and start crap with opposing coaches and players. After trying to play himself up as this cocky/bully type, Rex is starting to seem petty, whiny, and small.
