Diner morning news: Ryan's rookie season

National Football Post

QUOTE: “Superior leaders get things done with very little motion. They impart instruction not through many words, but through a few deeds. They keep informed about everything but interfere hardly at all. They are catalysts, and though things would not get done as well if they were not there, when they succeed they take no credit. And because they take no credit, credit never leaves them." -- Laozi

Today, in part 3 of our series on NFL rookie head coaches, let’s examine Rex Ryan of the New York Jets.

BACKGROUND

Ryan comes from a football family. His father Buddy was a head coach in the NFL twice, once when Rex was a young man and once when he coached with him at Arizona. Rex is brash, speaks his mind and will never back down from a competitive situation. He has already spoken publicly about the Dolphins and Patriots, giving each team bulletin-board material for their first meeting.

LES STECKEL EFFECT 

 

Ryan has a great relationship with his players. Not to overstate the obvious, but he’s a “players’ coach.” He allows freedom of expression and allows his players to have input in the defense, resulting in an open workplace. He also inspires his players to play with passion, with a physical style, and they seem to respond to his leadership. If he fails as a coach, it won’t be because his teams don’t play hard.

Ryan also walks into a team that last season sent seven players to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl, but one of them might be playing in Minnesota this year (yes, Brett Favre did make the Pro Bowl last year).

THEY DIDN’T TELL ME THIS WOULD HAPPEN

Ryan’s leadership style is the complete opposite of former Jets coach Eric Mangini. He has an open-door policy that allows communication between players and coaches, although he walked into a situation with a few unhappy players based on compensation—most notably Pro Bowl kick returner and running back Leon Washington. Washington has been the heart and soul of the Jets’ offense the past few years. He’s the one player on offense whom opposing teams must game plan for to make sure they have the right match on him. If he’s pitted against a linebacker who has difficulty covering him, he will abuse him with his pass-receiving skills.

Washington is a scatback in terms of size, but he doesn’t play the game like a scatback, and he’s a very effective runner. He can pass protect well enough to create problems on third down, and he can gain yards after contact, if not easily avoid contact. He’s a very good player who wants to hear the bank bells ring.

In the same backfield is another unhappy Pro Bowl running back, Thomas Jones, who has spent his career being happy and unhappy with his contract. In fairness to Jones, running backs do not often get to a second contract because of the brutality of the game they face. A second deal for a back is huge, a third deal is damn near impossible and a fourth—don’t go there. So Jones is using his well-rounded University of Virginia education as he attempts to keep redoing his deal before it ends. You can’t fault a running back for trying.

Adding to this little drama, our new head coach threw more fuel on the fire by drafting Shonn Greene from Iowa in the third round. Green is a very good back with power in his lower body, which make him hard to tackle on first contact. He is clearly waiting in the wings to send Jones on his way (perhaps in exchange for a wide receiver?) or to serve as protection for a potential holdout. Either way, Greene is the future and Jones is trade bait.

Ryan needs Washington to be the player he was last year, creating plays, turning bad plays into good plays and being the one weapon opponents fear. With very little playmaking talent at wide receiver, Washington will be key to the Jets’ success on offense as their rookie quarterback, Mark Sanchez, learns to deal with the speed of the pro game.

 

WHAT AM I GOING TO DO ON GAME DAY?

Fire and brimstone come to mind when I think of Rex Ryan on game day. He has allowed Mike Pettine to run the defense, but it’s Ryan’s defense—and on game day, he will be involved. Ryan will need to have someone assist him with critical aspects of the game, but for the most part, he is the son of a coach, and oftentimes sons of coaches let the coaches coach. He’ll allow offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer run the offense from start to finish, allowing him to work freely.

Ryan will have to spend the first part of the season adjusting his defense to his offense. With a rookie at the helm (yes, I think Sanchez wins the job — why else would he sign this early?), the Jets will need to win a few close, low-scoring games early in the season. As they become more effective with their offense, the defense can take a few more chances. But early on, the Jets might have to avoid giving away games by taking chances on defense. Blitzing to make a play could cost them a game.

With Ryan’s check-with-me defense, which relies on blitzes to certain formations, he depends greatly on communication to make sure everyone knows what to do. Peyton Manning has often referred to the Ravens’ defense as “organized chaos.” When you watch game film of the Ravens, it’s hard to figure out what they’re doing as it applies to the rest of the NFL. They use a chaotic method to confuse offenses and attack the pocket in hopes of creating turnovers. When it’s successful, your first reaction is, “Why doesn’t everyone run this stuff?” When it fails and gives up a big play, your reaction is, “Man, that’s some unsound s—t.”

Ryan must be careful not to allow his emotions to get the best of him on game days. If teams know that a big play given up by the Jets defense will result in an onslaught of blitzes, then he’s played into the hand of his opponents. He must remain calm, think long term and not let them see him sweat.

I KNOW WHEN TO PUNT...I THINK

Being a defensive coach seems to prepare a coach to handle the game with a greater concern for the other side of the ball. That’s not a firm rule because some of the biggest offenders of game management have been defensive coaches. (I can’t help but think of the game last year between the Eagles and the Bengals, a clinic in what not to do in game management offered by a defensive-trained coach and an offensive-trained coach.)

Ryan must always remind himself (at least early in the season) that he’s not coaching the 2000 Ravens defense, he’s coaching the 2009 Jets. He must avoid putting his defense in harm’s way. A punt is a good play for the Jets as their offense grows and as they become more effective moving the ball.

I WISH WE HAD DONE...

The Jets start out in Houston, then go home to face the Patriots and Titans before playing the Saints in the Superdome. Could the NFL schedule-makers have given them a tougher challenge for their defense? They face four of the toughest offenses in the league to start the season, and holding each of these teams to 20 points would be a great feat. How will the Jets score 20 points a game early in the season with a rookie quarterback?

That’s a formidable challenge awaiting their defense in the first four weeks. Ryan must have his team fine-tuned when it leaves camp, at least defensively. We know the offense will be a work in progress for the first eight games, but the Jets must have a great camp, not in terms of winning preseason games but learning the defense.

 

I’M GOING TO REMEMBER THIS ONE...

I know Ryan loves the challenge of being a head coach and facing the best competition the NFL has to offer, but he will remember the September schedule for the whole year -- and probably for the rest of his coaching career.

 

THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT NEXT YEAR

With Sanchez entering his second year, the whole Jets organization will feel like the Super Bowl is within their reach — regardless of how Sanchez plays in 2009. With Ryan’s defense entering year two, each member will be able to teach the system to others, as opposed to learning the system from the coaches. Year two for the Ryan administration will be like Nirvana.

The Jets will get better as the season goes along, even if they start 0-4, which is a possibility. They cannot lose sight of their ultimate goal, which is to lay the foundation for a very complex defense and develop a potential “star” quarterback.

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