But why does Rex Ryan have to take the fall? Sure the players are his to coach, but they weren’t his to choose. If Rex Ryan had his way he would most likely have started experienced veteran QB Michael Vick over the struggling incumbent Geno Smith. He certainly would not have wanted to enter the 2014 season having essentially a worse secondary than he did the previous year, with Pro Bowl CB Antonio Cromartie cut and CB Dee Milliner injured. Rex Ryan’s defensive schemes are DEPENDENT on CBs that can play in man-coverage, and GM John Idzik failed to find even one from the multitude of Pro Bowl caliber CBs available that he could bring to the team – Alterraun Verner, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Brandon Browner, Aqib Talib, even Darrelle Revis if he had offered him enough money.
Instead, Rex Ryan was forced to try and coach wins out of a team that has essentially no offense and no secondary in a league that requires strengths in both areas to have even a modicum of success.
And Rex Ryan is supposed to be fired for failing with this team?
Even some of the most experienced coaches in the league today, maybe even in league history, would struggle to get production out of this team. In hindsight, the fact that Ryan was able to keep the team competitive in each of the first 4 may be a good reason for him to get another chance. But alas, it won’t.
The Jets have lost 4 straight games – their longest losing streak of the Rex Ryan era – including a 31-0 shutout loss which puts the Jets at 1-4 with two more brutal games in a 5 game stretch against the Broncos and Patriots still to come. Losing one or both of those games would put the Jets on the brink of mathematical elimination even before their Week 11 bye week.
And yet there are still no changes forthcoming – no big trades for a big name WR or CB, no change at QB to let Geno Smith learn on the sidelines, no personnel changes on the offensive line – an O-line that has been penalized on what seems like every drive this season – and of course no coaching changes.
The absolute silence from the office of GM John Idzik is almost deafening.
Much like in 2011 with OC Brian Schottenheimer, 2012 with GM Mike Tannenbaum, and 2013 with QB Mark Sanchez, it looks like 2014 will be Rex Ryan’s turn to fall on his sword for the sake of the future of the team.
The only justice to be found in the shameful way GM John Idzik has all but thrown his head coach under the bus to ignore his own failings as a GM would be if he was fired too.
[fanmob id=”f3a17db4-3ea5-4cd5-b73b-54e956a92fc3″]
COMMENTS