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By Bob Glauber
Newsday
Posted: 03/01/2009 10:49:27 PM EST
Jets fans have been here before.
Oh, so many times before.
Another year, another splash in free agency, and so much optimism.
This time it's landing coveted inside linebacker Bart Scott after a bidding war with the Ravens. And a trade for Eagles cornerback Lito Sheppard, a former Pro Bowler who still has plenty left.
Last year the names were Alan Faneca, Kris Jenkins, Calvin Pace, Damien Woody . . . oh, and Brett Favre.
And it wasn't all that long ago when Neil O'Donnell, Jumbo Elliott and David Williams were the feel-good free agents. And who can forget Ronnie Lott, Art Monk and Leonard Marshall, who brought all those Super Bowl rings to the Jets?
But for all the offseason splash, the Jets generally have found ways to screw it up. The 1-4 meltdown in the 2008 season is only the latest example.
But there is something about what's happening with the Jets now that feels different, that makes the feelings of hope seem more legitimate than the ones from the ill-fated past. That something is named Rex Ryan.
There is a Bill Parcells-like feel to the guy that makes you believe that the Jets finally have a coach who can turn these high-profile acquisitions into a consistent winner.
And maybe, just maybe, into a championship team one day.
They still don't know if they have a quarterback to get them that far, but I do believe they have the coach.
There is a magnetism about Ryan that you senseimmediately. His players, too.
You only had to be at Ryan's introductory news conference last January, when his first words indicated he expects to visit President Barack Obama in the near future. Meaning he'd do so during a ceremony honoring the Super Bowl champions. Many of the players sitting in the back of the room smiled broadly.
Ryan was at it again a few hours after the Scott deal was completed. In brutally honest fashion, he detailed why the Jets had chosen Scott over future Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, even directing a shot at Lewis in the process.
--I think with Bart, you get a guy who's young," Ryan said. "Ray is the premier middle linebacker in the game, but I think the flexibility we have with David Harris and Bart Scott is just going to be difficult to identify who the MIKE -- middle linebacker -- is. It doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but trust me, it is. The offense is setting protections against a MIKE linebacker. If they can't find him, that's going to give some problems, and I think those two guys right there are going to be quite a pair."
Memo to Lewis: With all due respect, your old coach prefers a younger, more versatile linebacker for his team. As well he should.
It's that kind of decisiveness that made Ryan one of the most respected and beloved defensive coordinators in the NFL. It's what will turn him into the best coach the Jets have had since Parcells. And it's what will turn these latest acquisitions, as well as the ones that came last year (with the notable exception of Favre) into far more productive players than they were under Eric Mangini's impassive tenure.
Rest assured, the Jets are going to play for Ryan. And if they don't, he's going to get rid of them.
It's the kind of mind-set that Parcells brought to the Jets from 1997-99. But unlike the iconic coach who led the Giants to two Super Bowl victories and the Patriots to a Super Bowl appearance, Ryan is at the beginning of his head- coaching career, not the end.
In other words, the Jets got Ryan at a time similar to when the Giants got Parcells -- as a first-time head coach after earning respect as a defensive coordinator who was beloved by his players.
You take that kind of resume, that kind of personality -- that kind of coach -- and put him in charge of a roster, and good things will happen.
Find the right quarterback for him, and this Jets team is going to do some good things.
It won't take long, either.
Newsday
Posted: 03/01/2009 10:49:27 PM EST
Jets fans have been here before.
Oh, so many times before.
Another year, another splash in free agency, and so much optimism.
This time it's landing coveted inside linebacker Bart Scott after a bidding war with the Ravens. And a trade for Eagles cornerback Lito Sheppard, a former Pro Bowler who still has plenty left.
Last year the names were Alan Faneca, Kris Jenkins, Calvin Pace, Damien Woody . . . oh, and Brett Favre.
And it wasn't all that long ago when Neil O'Donnell, Jumbo Elliott and David Williams were the feel-good free agents. And who can forget Ronnie Lott, Art Monk and Leonard Marshall, who brought all those Super Bowl rings to the Jets?
But for all the offseason splash, the Jets generally have found ways to screw it up. The 1-4 meltdown in the 2008 season is only the latest example.
But there is something about what's happening with the Jets now that feels different, that makes the feelings of hope seem more legitimate than the ones from the ill-fated past. That something is named Rex Ryan.
There is a Bill Parcells-like feel to the guy that makes you believe that the Jets finally have a coach who can turn these high-profile acquisitions into a consistent winner.
And maybe, just maybe, into a championship team one day.
They still don't know if they have a quarterback to get them that far, but I do believe they have the coach.
There is a magnetism about Ryan that you senseimmediately. His players, too.
You only had to be at Ryan's introductory news conference last January, when his first words indicated he expects to visit President Barack Obama in the near future. Meaning he'd do so during a ceremony honoring the Super Bowl champions. Many of the players sitting in the back of the room smiled broadly.
Ryan was at it again a few hours after the Scott deal was completed. In brutally honest fashion, he detailed why the Jets had chosen Scott over future Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, even directing a shot at Lewis in the process.
--I think with Bart, you get a guy who's young," Ryan said. "Ray is the premier middle linebacker in the game, but I think the flexibility we have with David Harris and Bart Scott is just going to be difficult to identify who the MIKE -- middle linebacker -- is. It doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but trust me, it is. The offense is setting protections against a MIKE linebacker. If they can't find him, that's going to give some problems, and I think those two guys right there are going to be quite a pair."
Memo to Lewis: With all due respect, your old coach prefers a younger, more versatile linebacker for his team. As well he should.
It's that kind of decisiveness that made Ryan one of the most respected and beloved defensive coordinators in the NFL. It's what will turn him into the best coach the Jets have had since Parcells. And it's what will turn these latest acquisitions, as well as the ones that came last year (with the notable exception of Favre) into far more productive players than they were under Eric Mangini's impassive tenure.
Rest assured, the Jets are going to play for Ryan. And if they don't, he's going to get rid of them.
It's the kind of mind-set that Parcells brought to the Jets from 1997-99. But unlike the iconic coach who led the Giants to two Super Bowl victories and the Patriots to a Super Bowl appearance, Ryan is at the beginning of his head- coaching career, not the end.
In other words, the Jets got Ryan at a time similar to when the Giants got Parcells -- as a first-time head coach after earning respect as a defensive coordinator who was beloved by his players.
You take that kind of resume, that kind of personality -- that kind of coach -- and put him in charge of a roster, and good things will happen.
Find the right quarterback for him, and this Jets team is going to do some good things.
It won't take long, either.
