I agree. It's nauseating how EVERYTHING has to be flipped into a negative. If Maybin gains weight, it's steroids. If Bart Scott loses weight, he's addicted to diet pills. Rex has only been here 3 years. 4-2 playoff record in that time and one mediocre season where they missed the playoffs. That's decent, and even though the Jets set the bar low, how can you not be excited about that? We are moving in the right direction. Darksiders can all jump off a cliff for all I care. They aren't real fans. They are just cranky butthurt people that are angry and bitter because the Jets haven't done shit in 40 years, so they cling onto this franchise simply so they can predict failure and say "I told ya so" if it happens, projecting their piss poor attitude on everybody else. Stop wallowing in misery. It helps absolutely nothing and only drags the rest of the fan base down and makes all Jets fans look bad. Just stop it. You can talk crap about Boston or Philly fans, but Jets fans hands down are the worst, because over half of them are old cranky has beens that think their opinion matters. You don't have to paint the team as rainbows and pixie dust or blindly predict superbowls, but just support them instead of reaching and reaching for negativity despite things being better the last 3 years than they've been in a while.
Funny thing about the SOJF's. They're the ones who throughout the years bought the season tickets and showed up to watch this team find new ways to lose in big spots. They're the ones keeping this team financially afloat today as they spend real money while most bandwagon/sunnies buy a jersey here, polo shirt there and use the Rex Ryan approach. That is, talk the talk.. SOJF's buy the PSL's. They spend the real money so yeah, you're damn right they have the right to bitch all they want. The SOJF's reflect the reality of this team's fanbase instead of the bandwagoners, johnnycomelatelys, pollyanna hyper-optimistic fans that THINK they're "Real" Jet Fans. They rate right up there with the Tebots that have washed up onshore in Jetland. This franchise owes alot to the SOJF's. If it wasn't for SOJF support throughout the decades of shit results on the field, they would be the LA Jets by now.
The NFL treats coaches according to a what have you done for me lately standard. There is no tenure. Imagine what would happen in Boston if Brady retired or had to quit due to injury and the Pats started, as I expect they will, playing at a 5-11 level or worse. How long would Belichik last? I agree with those here who say that Ryan would have to lose the locker room and have something south of a break even record to be out this year, the further south the more likely that becomes. But what those who talk about his going to two Champ Games miss is that last year was a step back. How much of that does Ryan get the blame for? And in this media market, with a non-football person such as Woody not only owning the team but being in on decisions like this up to his not very perceptive eyeballs, the way things look will mean more than the fundamentals. Having been a Ryan supporter, last year I was quite concerned about some of his post game pressers, and that Sanchez, who Ryan has so much invested in, played at the level he did. Add in the ill advised SB predictions, the foot fetish thing, the giving the finger incident, and the losing the locker room story, and Ryan is far less secure now than he was this time last year. Going forward, I do not know what percentage, if any, of responsibiity goes to Ryan for the choice of Sparano to be OC, the Jets leaving the O in Sparano's sole hands after Todd Haley turned them down, bringing Tebow to the Jets, and imo the apparent lack of adequate personnel to play a run oriented O, Hunter still the starting RT, add up the list. The point is if some, most or all of those decisions go badly, this could be a very bad year for the Jets, and what will that do to Ryan's standing? Well, it wouldn't be good even if Ryan were not primariy responsible for some or all of those decisions - that's the way it works. Having said that, I expect this year will be neither great nor awful. And that kind of ambiguous result will probably give Ryan one more year, but would set the stage for his really being on the hot seat next year.
QFT x 2 I don't think this FO will give Cowher 13 years to try and win an SB as the Jets HC either. If the FO, mainly Woody is smart, they will let Rex have a long leash. He's been pretty successful and this team is lacking serious stability at the HC position. Hermie would have stayed after the 2005 season since he earned himself 3 PO appearances but decided to leave for browner pastures. I'm not insinuating that Rex is bullet proof but he's earned himself some more time. A playoff birth again this year will show that the team is still competitive in a tough division and if Rex is allowed to maintain the HC position for a reasonable amount of time, he will eventually have a roster full of his players and will break through that glass ceiling. I absolutely love when people bring up getting Cowher as a coach. What everyone fails to realize is that it took him 13 years to win an SB. You're telling me a single AFCCG win and Super Bowl loss in 1995 gave him an ADDITIONAL 10 year leash? If that's the case then Rex deserves at least 5 ~ 7 years regardless, even if the results are a 1-15 season this year.
Funny thing, very few owners ever fire themselves. I don't think Rex proclaiming some of these marginal players as great will help him down the road.
I think Ryan's obvious effort to tone things down in terms of Super Bowl predictions will buy him some time if things don't go well this season. It would take an unadulterated disaster for Rex to be out before 2013. If he kept talking, and continued to not deliver, he'd be shortening his own shelf life. But it seems like he's keeping good on his promise to avoid bold predictions and whatnot. If the Jets level out or get worse, he could be on shaky ground a couple of seasons from now. Either way, even if he does go, he won't be unemployed for long.
The reason Cowher had the leash he did is that the Steelers made the playoffs the first 6 years that he was head coach after going just twice in the decade before that. That's success. When you take a team that makes the playoffs only once every five years and have them in every year you get some currency to play with. Then the Steelers had a three year funk where Cowher was on the hot seat as the fan got a bit uptight with no playoffs again. Then back in the playoffs and winning 13 games with Kordell Stewart at QB. By 2005 the leash was short because they had no Super Bowl wins in his tenure despite the 15-1 with a rookie QB in 2004. The Steelers won in 2005 and went 8-8 in 2006 and Cowher was gone. Overall his Steeler teams won 141 games in the regular season in 13 years. They went 12-9 in the playoffs. That was not enough to secure Cowher as their coach moving forward as his 50th birthday approached in 2007. The Steelers are a great organization and they learn from their mistakes. They didn't want Cowher aging in the role the way Chuck Noll did.
Every coach and every player is on the hot seat every year. Rex will get at least this season and next unless the Jets totally fall apart which is really not likely. If the Jets struggle but show improvement and promise yet miss the playoffs Ryan seats gets a lot cooler. They struggle down the stretch again with an imploding locker room his seat gets hotter. As I have believed from the day they drafted Sanchez Ryan will be a long time Jets coach or not based on how Sanchez's improves which directly relates to wins. If Sanchez has a good year the Jets go 10-6 11-5 and are fighting for a AFCE title. Sanchez sucks they Jets will be lucky to go an 8-8 again.
Fans need to understand that coaches get better too, just as players do. Rex has matured and gained more knowledge each year he's been a HC with us- sure he had a slip-up with the whole locker room issue, but you live and you learn. I like the fact that not only will he be shouldering more of the defensive responsibility, he is also learning with Sparano the new offense so they are on the same page. You got the vibe that Schotty and Rex were never on the same page, and that could be one of the reasons why the offense was so mediocre. This season, I think we'll be in for a real treat watching Rex conduct this team as a whole and will show us why he is a good overall football coach, not just a defensive mastermind. With everything that happened last season, he's gotten better because of it and will take it out on the rest of the league.
Not only Rex, but Mr. T also. Woody is gonna be pissed if we don't make the playoffs, especially if the Jints do.
Three points. Defense. I think there is a common view among some portion of the fanbase that the D is worse than it was last year. It was still a top five D. Why it was not better is a worthy subject for discussion. We can look at poor execution at safety, the absence of greater progress in 10's #1 pick in Wilson, the lack of overall speed at linebacker and the absence of a standout defensive lineman. Now to some extent problems with personnel here are partly the responsibility of the HC, especially one with such a strong hand in the D as Rex. But on the whole, given the foregoing problems, it is to Ryan's credit that the Jet D was as strong as it was last year. Still... it is a concern that in Ryan's third year the D seemed to take a step backwards. Offense. This imo is much more problematic than a simple difference between Ryan and Schotty. As a defensive head coach it seemed to me all along that the design was that Ryan would not have all that much, but some, input on the O. I think that remains the case, despite Schotty's leaving. Yeah sure you can say Sparano more closely shares Ryan's ideas about what the O should be doing. But where is the evidence that those ideas will be successful? - they quite simply have not been put to effect yet. Ftr I am skeptical that Sparano will be able to show any overall improvement in the O absent a significant, and I am afraid surprising, improvement in execution by the players, particularly Sanchez, but also Hunter and Greene. Veteran HC's. While up to a point there is truth in the notion that coaches improve with experience, there is also a point past which coaches seem to wear out their welcome if you will. The history of the NFL has many examples of winning coaches who for whatever reason begin to lose their effectiveness, and are eventually sent out to pasture. The Shulas, the Landrys, the Nolls, more recently the Jimmie Johnsons, the Tony Dungys, eventually find themselves out of football. We are not talking about Ryan here, except to the extent we are, which is that Ryan needs to show growth in areas he is lacking in in order to improve, and reach that level of coaching.
Very valid points Blocker. Defensively, last year losing Bryan Thomas hurt alot, he was the best at setting the edge and we got burned alot on outside runs. Teams have figured out Rex's blitzing scheme and we can't do that anymore sending 7 guys at the QB. Patriots killed us by running the No Huddle and keeping the wrong players on the field. Rex adjusted this offseason and we can run pretty much any formation we choose. I liked Rex's idea going into the off season. Offensively I think we won't have an explosion but I do see less TOs and more execution by the players. I like Sparano's hold players accountable style. That to me is a win in the offense department. Rex as a HC has done nothing but improve at this stage. His coaching style should last because he's a great players coach like Jimmy Johnson who was ran out of town by Jerry Jones. I mean Woody could do the same thing but God willing he better not. I like the direction were going at this stage. We need everyone on the same page. I never thought we were unless the Jets manhood was put in question like after the 45-3 game.
While there are "stats" that say the Jets D was top 5 last year. My eyes tell me they were no where near that good, especially against teams with good offenses.
I think the Jets D struggled in spots that cost us games. The first Patriots game stands out. The offense also put the defense in some bad spots and kept them on the field way to long. How many three and outs did the Jets have way to many for the style Rex wants to play. The offense will get better without question with Schotty gone. For no other reason than Sanchez will throw fewer picks if the trend hold true. (See below link) http://nyjetscap.com/Schottenheimer.html
Heh. The D looked worse against teams with "good" offenses. Whadya know. But seriously, it is all relative. Relative to the two years before, the D was worse last year. Relative to the rest of the league, it was still the #5 D.
The only hot seat rex is on is after a night at an all you can eat Mexican joint. What are you people thinking?
