There has been much discussion lately regarding Rex Ryan’s rhetoric. He believes in his team and wants the world to know it. Every year he tells us the Jets are going to the Super Bowl, and although he hasn’t made it, he’s gotten awfully close. So we tolerate his seemingly off the wall comments because nobody can deny what he has accomplished. His relative success proves he wasn’t quite the lunatic we thought he was. Rex Ryan rolled into New York City talking, and he hasn’t stopped. The very first thing he did was tell anybody who would listen that he wasn’t intimidated by the big bad New England Patriots and their leader, Bill Belicheck. Back then most of us thought he was crazy, but it made for great theater at the very least, so we laughed and dismissed it. After two plus seasons, here’s the tally. The Jets have faced the Patriots 6 times, including five regular season games and one playoff game. Surprisingly, the Jets have split those games, and even knocked a then-considered-unbeatable 14-2 New England squad out of the playoffs last year. So we must ask the question, is he really crazy?
Many feel that even if you sincerely believe your team is destined for greatness, it’s presumptuous to say it out loud. Traditionalists say it’s disrespectful to other teams competing, but as we now know, Rex is anything but traditional. He doesn’t exactly follow the beaten path. I believe he uses his bragging as a motivational tool. After he makes the claim, he can go back to the team and say, “I stuck my neck out for you fellahs so back me up!” There might not be any crying in baseball, but Rex apparently feels football is another story. He cried after his first victory against Houston. He totally broke down at practice in front of his team when they were doing bad in 2009. An NFL coach….. crying? And doing it in front of the whole team? Isn’t that a sign of weakness? What Ryan did was prove to his team how much he believed in them and how disappointed he was with their performance. So how could any of his players not give everything they had following that? I don’t accuse him of being insincere, but the tears certainly had the desired effect. Once again I’d like to pose the question, is he really crazy?
This week Rex dropped another bombshell. He announced that had he been hired to coach the San Diego Chargers, he would already have a couple of rings! Of course, later Rex claimed he spoke too quickly and apologized publicly and personally to Norv Turner, but let’s examine this whole situation a bit more closely. Now, before I continue, I must admit that I completely agree with those who say that this comment was out of line. Way out of line, but it was also genius. While Rex kept us busy with his grandiose claims, we have all forgotten about the friction between Santonio Holmes and the offensive line. We have also had our attention diverted away from the alleged “wide receiver meeting” and the resulting heave ho of Derrick Mason. The point is, while everyone stays completely focused on Rex, his reeling team gets a chance to find itself without the added media pressure. A pretty slick move if you ask me! So I’ll ask you for the third time: is he really crazy?……….yeah he is……like a fox!