Rex Ryan - So Far So Good

Some coaches are just more believable when they say it. In Mangini's presser with the Browns, he seemed to be very passive with what he intended to do. Some guys come in and talk about how good the owner is, and he good the fans are, and other guys, like Ryan, come in and say, "this is what we are going to do, and this is how we are going to do it. Any problem with that?" As an unabashed fanboi of the Steelers and Mike Tomlin/Bill Cowher/Chuck Noll, I believe in guys like that. No one can come out of that presser thinking Rex Ryan is a phony.

 

Plus he has the numbers to back his system up. Sure he has had Ed Reed and Ray Lewis but it was the defense that he created that the Ravens have run succesfully.

Obviously time will tell but so far so good.

He is a refreshing change from the Mangini who treated every interview as if he was in the witness protection program.

 

I don't disagree that a Mangini presser was about as entertaining as Wonder Bread. But thinking back to the not-too-distant-past, Herm Edwards' pressers were chock full of energy and emotion. How did that turn out for the Jets?

Maybe it's that I'm at the point where I don't want to hear what a team is going to do. Show me.

 

That is my thought on this entire thread. I don't think you can really guage much on what the guy said in a press conference. He can handle the media and he is going to come off better than Mangini. Anybody who had paid attention to Ryan before already knew those things.

proudpittsburgher brought up Tomlin. I trusted the Rooneys to make the right call, but I didn't begin to feel comfortable with that one until he chose to keep Dick LeBeau. That showed me he was willing to adapt to what he had rather than try to force his favored 4-3, Tampa 2 system on a team built for LeBeau's attacking 3-4. It has turned out to be a good hire, but it was hard to know that when the Steelers brought him in.

Unfortunately, I don't have near the faith in the Jets to do the right thing. I like what I know of Ryan. I am certainly happy the Steelers don't have to face a defense coached by him twice a year any more. But we're not really going to have any idea how good he is at this for a year or two at the earliest.

 

You guys are right, obviously, we won't know anything until they lace them up in training camp 09. As of now, it's alll a matter of perception. A lot of these coaches make me wonder if they believe in some of the stuff they are saying. Guys like Ryan, I believe he does, which, in turn gets the players believing in him. That's half the battle with these coaches, getting the players to buy into what they are selling. And to me, that's what a head coach does, makes sound decisions, let his coordinators do what they do (something Ryan isn't necessarily going to do on defense: a mistake in my eyes) and take control of his team. Dallas fans can tell you that is one of the main reasons they haven't made the playoffs in a decade.

 

I see what you mean. I like the hire, though that was from what I knew about Ryan before the press conference, not based on what he said to the media when introduced.

 

I think you mean that Dallas hasn't won a playoff game in a decade.

 

"So, Rex have you flown down to Mississippi to beg Captain Interception to come back for one more washed-up season?"

 

I don't think the Herm Edwards era was terrible in the grand scheme of things (I mean, these are the Jets). He was 39-41 with three winning seasons and postseason appearances, one divisional title and he won two playoff games -- not Hall of Fame worthy, but given the Jets history as a franchise, I'd say it puts him in the category of one of their better coaches.

 

Hence the thread title - "so far so good" . Hopefully Ryan continues on an upward swing.

 

The younger Ryan is much more avuncular than the old man.

Buddy taught those sons everything he knows. And everything is close to everything worth knowing about defense. The Ravens might as well be Buddyball.