I'm currently reading a book about Ryan and the 2011 NY Jets' season by reporter Nicholas Dawidoff that was allowed to travel and watch the team for the entire season from the inside.
http://www.amazon.com/Collision-Low-Crossers-Turbulent-Football-ebook/dp/B00BSEQ3F8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1424020117&sr=1-1&keywords=collision+low+crossers
I'm about 45% through-it's just getting to the part where they actually start playing but already some major things stand out about Ryan. I tended to be a little resistant to him during his years here in NY because I'm a Giants fan and he talked a lot of crap about how the tide was going to turn and was turning and that now the Jets were the big brothers and the Jints would be the little brothers for at least the next 10 years.
http://www.amazon.com/Play-Like-You-Mean-Leadership-ebook/dp/B004CFAWAW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1424020324&sr=1-1&keywords=rex+ryan
He wrote that book during the off-season before 2011-the one that Dawidoff would chronicle. So I tended to be very resistant to his charms though even I got that I'd find him much more charming if he were coach of basically any NFL team except the Jets-or even worse would have been Dallas.
One of my favorite football memories ever will be the second to last game of that 2011 season when Rex guaranteed the Jets would whup the little brother Giants and we came into to the stadium-which was considered a Jets home game-and whipped them 29-14. The game was crucial for both teams as the Giants were only 7-7 coming in and a loss would have ended their playoff chances. Instead, this would be the salvo of a fairy tale finish where they'd play Dallas next week for the NFC East and whip them 31-14, Then somehow they went to Green Bay in the playoffs against the defending champion Packers who were 15-1 the next season and blew them out 37-20, finally culminating with another improbable win over Tom Brady and Bill Bellichick.
Meanwhile the Jets ended up missing the playoffs at 8-8.
Getting the inside view with Dawidoff, in many ways Ryann comes across as having quite a big heart and I find his empathy touching much of the time. In 2011 his own assistant coaches were aghast that he wasted a draft pick on bringing in a receiver that obviously wouldn't be much help but was an old friend of Mark Sanchez who they hoped would make him feel more at home.
We always hear that the NFL is a bottom line business, and this moment of putting the heart over business sense is kind of touching. Not that I'm against it being a bottom line league, as I like most fans want my team-the Giants-to win every year.
In many ways it could be argued that Ryan is a kind of anti Bill Bellichick who often comes across as very cold blooded-recall his releasing of Bernie Kosar in 1994 with the bland observation that 'his skills are diminished'-for the City of Cleveland this was terribly traumatic and he seemed not to have the slightest awareness of that.
Still, let's be honest: in retrospect, Bellichick was exactly right though maybe his bedside manner could have been gentler one might argue.
Again, as a fans it is a bottom line league as well, we're who demands it be this. However, I don't want the Giants to let Eli retire with anything less than pure honor. I don't like a proud warrior humbled at the end like even Eli's brother Peyton seemed to be at the end of the year.
Another thing that stands out about Rex, is he is his father's son as a coach. On his team as documented by Dawidoff, clearly the culture was defense rules and offense drools. In training camp the defense and it's coaches seemed to look at the team's offense as just as much an enemy as the other offenses around the league.
There was a clear offense vs. the defense polarization which I'm skeptical is very helpful for the overall health and cohesion of a team. Again, this is Buddy Ryan's legacy-on the 1985 Bears, widely seen as the most dominant defense ever-defensive players would tell Mike Ditka 'I don't play for you, I play for Buddy Ryan.'
Over time, I think that kind of attitude doesn't work for the team as a whole-Buddy and his son Rex both won Super Bowls as defensive coordinators; it's striking how similar that 1985 Bears team was to the 2000 Baltimore Ravens team where Rex was DC; in fact that team broke the record for fewest points allowed in a 16 game season from the 1986 Bears.
As a coach though neither were ever able to put it all together, though both had their moments-the Eagles did become playoff contenders under Ryan but they never won a playoff game, while Rex's first 2 Jet teams went to the AFC championship game both years.
Of course, the 2011 season was a disappointment for the Jets, but what I also find very interesting is the play of the defense that year. In his first 2 years the Jets were first in both points allowed and yards allowed in 2009 and third in yards allowed and sixth in points given up in 2010. In 2011 though while the defense again was one of the top rated at 5th in yards allowed, they dropped to 20th in points allowed.
I'm very curious how you get such a big spread between points allowed and yards allowed. I've talked about this phenomenon of big discrepancy in points vs. yards on both offense and defense previously.
It seems to me that part of the answer is that points allowed aren't all really the defense's fault-like the QB can throw a pick 6 or the special teams can give up a kickoff return for a TD. The classic example was what I think will rank as Eli Manning's worst game in his career-indeed, how can any QB be worse than he was on this day-of what will prove to be a Hall of Fame career.
In a home game against the Vikings, Eli though for 5 interceptions, three which were pick 6s and a fourth that was run back to the 6 yard line and run in for a TD on the next play. A casual observer might see this and say 'Wow, the Giants' defense had a rough day in giving up 41 points' when it was actually the offense that was to blame for those points by the other team.
Now, what makes Eli so great though, is that he picked himself up, dusted himself off, and put it behind him. He went on that season to lead the Giants to their first improbably upset of the undefeated Patriots. That's part of what makes him so great: how can you go through a game like that and not make you a basket case? Yet, Eli didn't let it get to him at all.
In 2011, going by points, it was the Jets' offense that looked respectable. In the last 3 years this strange disconnect continued for Ryan's teams. In 2012 they were 8th in defense yet again 20th in points allowed, in 2013, 11th in yards giving up but 19th in points allowed and in his last year in 2014-that ended 4-12-the team was an impressive 6th in terms of yards allowed yet 24th in points allowed.
I've got to think that's an indictment of special teams and the offense as well-field position is so important. If you give a defense a short field to defend down after down that hurts a lot.
Anyway, I'm very interested to see what Ryan can do in Buffalo; he himself admits that this is likely his last chance.
http://www.amazon.com/Collision-Low-Crossers-Turbulent-Football-ebook/dp/B00BSEQ3F8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1424020117&sr=1-1&keywords=collision+low+crossers
I'm about 45% through-it's just getting to the part where they actually start playing but already some major things stand out about Ryan. I tended to be a little resistant to him during his years here in NY because I'm a Giants fan and he talked a lot of crap about how the tide was going to turn and was turning and that now the Jets were the big brothers and the Jints would be the little brothers for at least the next 10 years.
http://www.amazon.com/Play-Like-You-Mean-Leadership-ebook/dp/B004CFAWAW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1424020324&sr=1-1&keywords=rex+ryan
He wrote that book during the off-season before 2011-the one that Dawidoff would chronicle. So I tended to be very resistant to his charms though even I got that I'd find him much more charming if he were coach of basically any NFL team except the Jets-or even worse would have been Dallas.
One of my favorite football memories ever will be the second to last game of that 2011 season when Rex guaranteed the Jets would whup the little brother Giants and we came into to the stadium-which was considered a Jets home game-and whipped them 29-14. The game was crucial for both teams as the Giants were only 7-7 coming in and a loss would have ended their playoff chances. Instead, this would be the salvo of a fairy tale finish where they'd play Dallas next week for the NFC East and whip them 31-14, Then somehow they went to Green Bay in the playoffs against the defending champion Packers who were 15-1 the next season and blew them out 37-20, finally culminating with another improbable win over Tom Brady and Bill Bellichick.
Meanwhile the Jets ended up missing the playoffs at 8-8.
Getting the inside view with Dawidoff, in many ways Ryann comes across as having quite a big heart and I find his empathy touching much of the time. In 2011 his own assistant coaches were aghast that he wasted a draft pick on bringing in a receiver that obviously wouldn't be much help but was an old friend of Mark Sanchez who they hoped would make him feel more at home.
We always hear that the NFL is a bottom line business, and this moment of putting the heart over business sense is kind of touching. Not that I'm against it being a bottom line league, as I like most fans want my team-the Giants-to win every year.
In many ways it could be argued that Ryan is a kind of anti Bill Bellichick who often comes across as very cold blooded-recall his releasing of Bernie Kosar in 1994 with the bland observation that 'his skills are diminished'-for the City of Cleveland this was terribly traumatic and he seemed not to have the slightest awareness of that.
Still, let's be honest: in retrospect, Bellichick was exactly right though maybe his bedside manner could have been gentler one might argue.
Again, as a fans it is a bottom line league as well, we're who demands it be this. However, I don't want the Giants to let Eli retire with anything less than pure honor. I don't like a proud warrior humbled at the end like even Eli's brother Peyton seemed to be at the end of the year.
Another thing that stands out about Rex, is he is his father's son as a coach. On his team as documented by Dawidoff, clearly the culture was defense rules and offense drools. In training camp the defense and it's coaches seemed to look at the team's offense as just as much an enemy as the other offenses around the league.
There was a clear offense vs. the defense polarization which I'm skeptical is very helpful for the overall health and cohesion of a team. Again, this is Buddy Ryan's legacy-on the 1985 Bears, widely seen as the most dominant defense ever-defensive players would tell Mike Ditka 'I don't play for you, I play for Buddy Ryan.'
Over time, I think that kind of attitude doesn't work for the team as a whole-Buddy and his son Rex both won Super Bowls as defensive coordinators; it's striking how similar that 1985 Bears team was to the 2000 Baltimore Ravens team where Rex was DC; in fact that team broke the record for fewest points allowed in a 16 game season from the 1986 Bears.
As a coach though neither were ever able to put it all together, though both had their moments-the Eagles did become playoff contenders under Ryan but they never won a playoff game, while Rex's first 2 Jet teams went to the AFC championship game both years.
Of course, the 2011 season was a disappointment for the Jets, but what I also find very interesting is the play of the defense that year. In his first 2 years the Jets were first in both points allowed and yards allowed in 2009 and third in yards allowed and sixth in points given up in 2010. In 2011 though while the defense again was one of the top rated at 5th in yards allowed, they dropped to 20th in points allowed.
I'm very curious how you get such a big spread between points allowed and yards allowed. I've talked about this phenomenon of big discrepancy in points vs. yards on both offense and defense previously.
It seems to me that part of the answer is that points allowed aren't all really the defense's fault-like the QB can throw a pick 6 or the special teams can give up a kickoff return for a TD. The classic example was what I think will rank as Eli Manning's worst game in his career-indeed, how can any QB be worse than he was on this day-of what will prove to be a Hall of Fame career.
In a home game against the Vikings, Eli though for 5 interceptions, three which were pick 6s and a fourth that was run back to the 6 yard line and run in for a TD on the next play. A casual observer might see this and say 'Wow, the Giants' defense had a rough day in giving up 41 points' when it was actually the offense that was to blame for those points by the other team.
Now, what makes Eli so great though, is that he picked himself up, dusted himself off, and put it behind him. He went on that season to lead the Giants to their first improbably upset of the undefeated Patriots. That's part of what makes him so great: how can you go through a game like that and not make you a basket case? Yet, Eli didn't let it get to him at all.
In 2011, going by points, it was the Jets' offense that looked respectable. In the last 3 years this strange disconnect continued for Ryan's teams. In 2012 they were 8th in defense yet again 20th in points allowed, in 2013, 11th in yards giving up but 19th in points allowed and in his last year in 2014-that ended 4-12-the team was an impressive 6th in terms of yards allowed yet 24th in points allowed.
I've got to think that's an indictment of special teams and the offense as well-field position is so important. If you give a defense a short field to defend down after down that hurts a lot.
Anyway, I'm very interested to see what Ryan can do in Buffalo; he himself admits that this is likely his last chance.
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