The winless Cleveland Browns (0-4) make their defensive coordinator, Rob Ryan, available to the media once a week. And it’s usually a spirited, honest exchange of words with the Cleveland press. Coach Ryan tells it like it is. And he’s rarely at a loss for words. Regarding his team’s overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last week, coach Ryan (the twin brother of N.Y. Jets head coach Rex Ryan)—without being prompted by the local media—questioned Bengals kicker Shayne Graham’s game-winning, 31-yard field goal with four seconds left.
Coach Ryan didn’t agree with the end result:
“You can watch the tape. I’m not …read more

It’s one thing to talk trash all week. It’s quite another to actually back up that talk. The N.Y. Jets proved today just how confident a football team they are by backing up a week of brash verbiage by beating arch rival New England 16-9. During the week of prep for this game, Jets head coach Rex Ryan said he wasn’t going to “kiss Bill Belichick’s rings.” And defensive back Kerry Rhodes said he wanted to “embarrass” New England.
Afterward, coach Ryan continued with a confident demeanor:
“The Patriots are a hell of a football team. I just thought we were the …read more

N.Y. Jets head coach Rex Ryan named rookie Mark Sanchez their starting quarterback for the 2009 season this morning at a press conference. Mark will begin his journey as the Jets starting QB on September 13 at Houston. I’m not surprised by this decision. A lot was made of Mark’s less-than-perfect performance (3-of-8 passing for 43 yards with a touchdown and interception) in Monday night’s preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. But he made some good throws, too. Make no mistake. There are going to be growing pains. The Jets would be pretty naive to think there won’t be interceptions …read more

N.Y. Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez won’t really have to get used to being the center of attention. He had plenty of practice as the starting QB for the USC Trojans the past season-and-a-half. But every move he makes is going to be held under a microscope by the New York media. So, he’d better be prepared for the best and the worst.
The best, for Mark, would be a GQ pictorial that came out earlier this week. Today’s minicamp practice was leaning toward the worst. Working with the Jets second team offense, Mark struggled with 7-on-7, red zone and two-minute drills. …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
N.Y. Jets new head coach Rex Ryan is trying to bring as many of his former Baltimore Ravens defenders as he can with him to the Big Apple. First it was linebacker Bart Scott. Today, the Jets signed free agent safety/ kick returner/ punt returner (and former Ravens starting strong safety) Jim Leonhard to a three-year deal. Coach Ryan was excited:
“He’s a smart player that can get guys lined up in the secondary and was one of the best tacklers on that Ravens defense. He’s always around the ball, brings everything he has on every …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
Free agent linebacker Bart Scott (Baltimore Ravens) followed his former defensive coordinator Rex Ryan to New York and is now a member of the Jets. Bart (aka “Madbacker”) signed a six-year, $48 million deal where he’ll make $27 million during the first three years of the contract. He emphasized how important coach Ryan has been to his career:
“It is an honor to come here and start a new chapter of my career with the New York Jets. What made the decision easier for me are the people in the organization and my familiarity with the …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
Less than 24 hours after the Baltimore Ravens lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship, the N.Y. Jets hired Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan as their new head coach. This went down yesterday and it’s a great situation for coach Ryan. First of all, he doesn’t have to rebuild the program. I mean, the Jets just missed the playoffs after a late season collapse (one that cost previous head coach Eric Mangini his job), but the team certainly has the pieces in place to be a contender in 2009. They made sure of …read more