How Rex Ryan may be hurting the Jets By K.C. Joyner It is an unquestioned fact that Rex Ryan is one of the most brilliant defensive playcallers in the NFL. For proof, one needs look no further than how well he has dealt with the multitude of problems thrown his way this season. The Jets do not have a great pass rusher, lost their dominant run-stuffing nose tackle (Kris Jenkins) in the first week and didn't get the services of linebacker Calvin Pace until Week 5. Ryan also had to make due without shutdown cornerback Darrelle Revis for multiple games. The cavalry could have come to save the day in the form of Kyle Wilson, the highly touted cornerback taken with this year's first-round draft pick, but he has performed so poorly that he has been relegated to fourth-string status. Throw in a schedule that included matchups against Baltimore, New England, Denver, Green Bay, Houston and Cincinnati, and most defenses would be happy to have just survived the onslaught. Ryan's D did more than survive; it has thrived against this daunting task. The Jets rank third in the league in total yards allowed, fourth in rushing yards allowed -- and, most important, fourth in points allowed. It is this type of achievement that all but certainly confirms to Ryan that playcalling is the key to success. Effective game-planning works, regardless of your own personnel situation or the personnel level of your opponent. For all of the success this playcalling regimen has provided the Jets, it also could be hurting the team by impacting the way offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer attacks Gang Green's opposition. To be fair, the Jets' offense has posted solid numbers in many areas, ranking 11th in overall yards, second in rushing yards and tied for 10th in points per game. The troubling part comes when one takes a closer look at the missed opportunities Schottenheimer's game plans have seen in the area of targeting personnel weaknesses in the opposing secondary. The first signs of this came in the opener, against the Baltimore Ravens; they were starting Fabian Washington as one of their cornerbacks. Washington was coming off a 2009 campaign where he posted an 11.2 yards per attempt (YPA) total. That placed him 96th out of the 100 cornerbacks measured in that metric, meaning he was by far one of the worst coverage players in the league. That kind of weakness practically begs to be targeted, but Mark Sanchez threw only one pass Washington's way. A similar thing occurred in the Week 11 contest against the Houston Texans. Kareem Jackson, one of their corners, is having an awful season. To get an idea of how poorly Jackson has played, consider that he was pretty much personally responsible for putting San Diego Chargers rookie fifth-string wide receiver Seyi Ajirotutu on the radar screen of every fantasy football coach in Week 9. Jackson gave up 98 yards and two touchdowns on a mere four passes in coverage against Ajirotutu. The Texans did not bench Jackson after this implosion, so it sounded like a perfect opportunity to send a ton of passes his way with either Santonio Holmes or Braylon Edwards, both of whom are a lot more talented and more seasoned than Ajirotutu. It didn't happen. Jackson was targeted only four times and one of those passes came against Patrick Turner, a fourth-string wideout for the Jets. Those two instances are concerning enough, but it was the Week 12 game against the Cincinnati Bengals that really set off the alarm bells. Cincinnati's secondary had been hit with an unbelievable slew of injuries. They had just placed their starting free safety (Chris Crocker) on injured reserve. Their starting nickel cornerback (Adam Jones) went on IR many weeks before this and his backup (Morgan Trent) hit the IR wire Nov. 15. The Bengals' starting strong safety (Roy Williams), starting left cornerback (Johnathan Joseph) and third-string nickel corner (Brandon Ghee) were also going to miss the contest because of injuries. This means the Bengals would be playing with two backup safeties, a fourth-string nickel cornerback (who would technically be a seventh-string cornerback on the roster) and a backup left cornerback (Jonathan Wade) who was not even on an NFL roster the week before the game. One could not ask for a more favorable set of passing game matchups -- and yet the Jets had a 37/28 pass to run ratio and threw only eight vertical passes all game. That is odd enough, but they also targeted Leon Hall, the only starter in the entire Bengals' secondary and a very good coverage player in his own right, for four passes. It is a key reason they were actually down 7-3 at halftime to a team they should have been dominating. There are many possible explanations for why Schottenheimer didn't attack this secondary more aggressively, but the one that keeps coming to my mind is that being around Ryan and his own approach to playcalling has affected Schottenheimer's playcalling mindset. If that is the case, Schottenheimer would do well to alter his philosophy going into the huge Monday night showdown against the New England Patriots. New England is on pace to allow more passing yards than any team in league history. If the Jets try to beat this team with a heavy dose of runs and a smattering of passes, it will mean giving away a huge personnel advantage without a fight. That kind of approach can work against an injury-depleted Bengals roster but it will almost certainly backfire against Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unfortunately the article really doesn't go much into WHY our playcalling is being affected by Rex so I don't really buy it. But in any case, I think it does make a good point about how we've had some pretty suspect playcalling this season.
I didn't want to read the whole thing but the gist of it I guess is "Rex = ground n pound...Jets offense =/= ground n pound"?
I'm not sure if I buy that Rex is the reason why our offense fails to take advantage of match-up advantages but I agree with everything else in this article.
thats what i thought it wouldve been, but no its basically shotty is a pussy because of rex defensive playcalling ability. it made it sound like shotty is intimidated or some bs. awful article imo.
Schotty has always been like this, we all know the stat about him and 300 yard passers. I can not peg Schotty, and that scares me I don't know what his endgame is. If I were running the show, with the talent we have, I'd pass to setup the run. PA pass like crazy, many threats deep, and after we have a substantial lead put the nail in the coffin by running it down their throats. To me is still seems like the offense has no identity, and going into week 13 that should not be the case. Pass, Pass, run-
i dont know if i like schotty sometimes he makes great calls and he has always done a great job with the run game. he has made so many suspect calls however, including going back to brett favre, that i dont see how any organization can have any real confidence in him. i understand that we have a great running attack, but sometimes it feels like were giving up when we run on third and long. i dont know if there are better options available though, considering his consistent success with the run, so i guess i understand the choice to stick with him i guess. i dont know if rex is really influencing the offense that much, if anything id be more inclined to think that if he does intervene, it has brought positive results, but thats just cause i like rex so much.
So...either Shotty is a total moron, or he and Rex have found a great way to sandbag and make it look like Shotty's a moron..... ....neither would suprise me. I have never liked Shotty's system....but it is hard to believe that any NFL OC would make stupid, basic, strategic mistakes like that, repeatedly, though.........just sayin'......
I think the article is trying to say that Ryan runs his defense no matter who the opponent is. He doesn't care if he is going against Ryan Fitzpatrick or Tom Brady the gameplan is going to be the same. Go after the QB with tight man coverage behind it. I suppose the article is saying that Schotty has adopted the same mentality which is that offense is going to run it's gameplan regardless of who is on the opposing side. The implication of this would be that the offense doesn't go into a game with a gameplan that looks to exploit certain personnel mismatches but a gameplan designed to exploit mismatches in overall scheme. I don't think I really buy that line of thinking and the writer didn't do a very good job of drawing the parallel.
Playcalling on our part is the key factor in determining how Monday nights game turns out.We have the personnel to whoop NE bigtime its just a matter of using it correctly.
I've been a Schotty supporter since he's been here. However, for the first time I am starting to waiver. There's no way the Jets should be scrambling for points with the weapons we have. I f the OLine is getting a blits look they should be hitting Keller on the quick slants and if they are going cover, send the WR's long. Braylon is a jump ball player and Santonio is just an all out playmaker. I haven't seen Cotch get many outside passes this year either and he is master of the sidelines. Keller should be putting up Tony Gonzales numbers. And with regard to Brian's cutesy plays, he's actually not doing enough. That's right - I said it. This motions and shifts at the line are bullshit. Gte some fucking unexpected plays strung together - even if its a 3 and out. Scare the shit out of the defensive coordinator so he has the whole team playing on their heels. Make mark throw to the end zone on the first play of the first offensive drive...like how the Colts have done before. 7 seconds into the game and you can be up 7 points. Where's the hurry up offense in the 1stQ to throw a defense off. Where's the silent snap count? Put LT in at QB, Sanchez wide, and Brad Smith in at I formation. Run a Flea-flicker and an LT pass to Sanchez. C'mon - who the fuck would expect that!
The offense is still evolving for sure. That formula has set up for fail all over it in a game like this. Our run game has been less than stellar. But I agree. I think Mark is ready. They (the coaches) protected him in both the Packer game and the Raven game. I think you need to see what this kid is capable of. But I think L.T. is the key here. I think he will have a monster game underneath coverage. They won't let Santonio & Edwards strike deep. The battle will be covering Keller and L.T. when they blitz. Look for Mark to run for key first downs. If they get cute trying to bait Mark on the short routes I can see Mark burning them deep. The kid has been looking down field all season.
i agree, i feel like all this posturing at the line before the snap does nothing to throw off the opposing d. they know mark isnt calling plays at the line, so they study the movements and can tell what is coming. its as if he thinks just moving around before the play starts is enough to make a decent play great. he is thinking too much about deceiving the opponent rather than outmatching and intimidating the opponent. the jets definitely have the weapons to run that style of offense that commands respect. they have all the players they need to be the team that shows up and scores whenever they want. just look at the final drive of the texans game if you dont think that statement is a truth. im sick of this tiptoeing around trying to find a seam rather than just carving it out with the pass game. we need to use mark sanchez for what he is, a quarterback. he is probably about as good in his second year as you could expect from a quarterback, so why not loosen the chains a little and let him see what its like to be one of the big boys in the league? he certainly works hard enough to deserve the chance, and i honestly wouldnt mind living and dying with our young qb, we do already and he isnt being put in the role he wants or deserves.
In all fairness, The first play of the game was perfectly called. Mark just failed to get enough air under the ball, and had it tipped by a Dlineman who was pushing the RG/T gap. 3 more inches, Braylon scores 6. (They had a single high safety over Edwards on the right side, but when the corner release him and he broke inside, the safety was 10 yards away and would have had a bad angle (coming toward the line at the moment Edwards broke up the field with the ball)
I couldn't have said it any better. We have the horses, time to let 'em run. Imagine if we defer, or Pats take the ball first and we stop them 3 and out and then just unleash on them? The whole stadium goes quiet and we just unload over and over. Please, please, please!
I find the premise for the article ludicrous and baseless, while the gist of it is quite accurate. There is no way in hell Rex is affecting B.S.'s play calling. Rex is all about being a team guy and player's coach...I have to believe if this were the case the players themselves would step up...B.S. wouldn't need to. No sir, this is ALL on B.S. It is quite maddening how he can look brilliant at times and completely clueless at others. It's no secret. He has to be one of the most inconsistent coaches in the league. I agree with the writer, though...they had better give the Pats a HEAVY dose of Edwards, Holmes, Keller, Smith and Cotch/Turner(depends on who plays). In fact, I wouldn't want to see 2 consecutive running plays unless there is no other choice or we are up by 20 at the half. Period. Blame Rex Ryan for B.S's play calling...insane indeed!
I have been wondering those same things. I wonder if Schotty is kind of handcuffed by Rex Because i remember in one of the news conferences, someone brought up the fact that Mark Sanchez looks better in a 2 min/no huddle offense. They asked if he would consider using that more. And he pretty much said that we are a running team, we are ground a pound team(not in those exact words). Personally, i don't get why he is so attached to that "ground & pound", when we have those talented receivers & a qb who has looked good in that situation.
This article is a total crock of sheeot......... if anyone has watched the JETS the past few years they'd know this has been an issue with Shotty long before Rex was here. 2008 was the biggest example of that.
His playcalling has been fine for the most part outside of the Baltimore game which I blame completely on rex b/c he was scared of that Raven defense.
