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Ryan 'like a breath of fresh air' to Jets


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http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/ny-spjets296087881mar29,0,1025762.story?track=rss

Ryan 'like a breath of fresh air' to Jets

BY ERIK BOLAND | erik.boland@newsday.com

March 29, 2009

Some of Bart Scott's new teammates have used a fairly common phrase - one not commonly used by football players - in describing their early impressions of Rex Ryan.

"Like a breath of fresh air," Scott said Thursday during a break in the team's offseason conditioning program. "They just feel it. The energy, they just feel it. It's energy I'm always used to having."

Scott is one of several former Ravens players Ryan has brought to the Jets, whose locker room is getting used to a different approach from the one employed by the head coach they heard the previous three years.

But calling Ryan "different" from Eric Mangini in terms of approaches to public discourse is understatement akin to saying people are "angry" at some Wall Street CEOs.

It took Ryan about 15 seconds to capture the players' attention - from those seated in the back of the auditorium and those watching on television - during his introductory news conference Jan. 21. Like the media and fans, players had a strong reaction to Ryan's assurance of a White House visit within the next several years and his "the Jets are coming" proclamation to the rest of the league.

"I think the right guy got the job," safety Kerry Rhodes said. "He set the tone for us early, letting us know that we're going to be a confident group, that we're going to go out and attack, which is something that we want to do and is something we think we should do."

Leon Washington said Ryan in some ways reminded him of his days at Florida State, where coach Bobby Bowden didn't mind a little trash-talk.

"I guess the new word now is the swagger he displays," Washington said of Ryan. "Hopefully, that can be infectious to the rest of the team. I was telling one of the guys, this was the way I was used to playing when I was at Florida State. We kind of went out and did our thing and not too much worried about what everybody else did. Hopefully, that attitude can be infectious to the rest of the guys on the team and go out there and do our thing and have swagger about it and be confident about it."

Scott said Ryan brings more than confidence.

"I couldn't come into a depressing environment and thrive," Scott said. "You have to be happy about work. This is a painful, tough business, and if you're not excited about coming to work, then how can you get your work done to the best of your ability? It becomes a job."

Safety Jim Leonhard, another Baltimore import, said Ryan earns the respect of his players in multiple ways, one of the most important being that the coach understands the men playing are imperfect.

"The players have a lot of respect for him, the way he carries himself and the way that he talks to you," Leonhard said. "He talks to you like you're a man and he's not talking down to you. He's very realistic for what happens on the football field. As a player, you can respect that because he understands that everything's not perfect, mistakes are going to happen and that as long as you're playing hard, that's all he can really ask for. I think it's a lot of fun to play for a coach like that."

That was not a word often associated with Mangini, though the former coach wasn't as unpopular in the locker room as some might have thought. Players haven't taken advantage of the freedom of speech bestowed upon them to be critical of Mangini; they've simply stated the obvious regarding Ryan's way of doing things.

"It was kind of foreign to us from what we had heard over the first couple years," said Washington, a favorite of Mangini, and vice versa. "We were always told just keep what we do under wraps; don't tip off the opponent. But coach Ryan is more like, we're going to be good at what we do, and the league has to stop us."

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Lets see what the players are saying in year 3 when we're struggling to stay above .500..

every coach is great and awesome before they coach their first game.

I like your optimism.

He is a Mets fan... what do you expect?

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Not for nothing I remember after Herman Edwards first press conference the players were inspired as well. It is an exciting time, hopefully all of the talk is backed up by actual results on the field

except UNlike Edwards and Mangini-Rex Ryan has a proven track record with a system of his own...well, his family's defensive ideology anyway.

Mangini was so boring after a while though wasn't he? and Edwards proved himself to be a moron during the Jax game that cost us two QB's and from then on...

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except UNlike Edwards and Mangini-Rex Ryan has a proven track record with a system of his own...well, his family's defensive ideology anyway.

Mangini was so boring after a while though wasn't he? and Edwards proved himself to be a moron during the Jax game that cost us two QB's and from then on...

I agree 100%, I like the hiring of Rex. Just truly hope the Jets back up their words for once

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I agree 100%, I like the hiring of Rex. Just truly hope the Jets back up their words for once

I just don't see Rex allowing what happened last year to happen again-by not sending any pass rushers and letting nobody QB's to sit back there all friggin day and pick us apart for a whole month. THAT is all about coaching philosophy. Hey if we're gonna lose I want to see us lose while at least being aggressive ya know?

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Not for nothing I remember after Herman Edwards first press conference the players were inspired as well. It is an exciting time, hopefully all of the talk is backed up by actual results on the field

Not even close... Herm was never even a DC... and Mangini was a puppet DC under BB..

Rex has real legit experience and was also helped coach the entire Ravens team last year...

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Hey, thats should be my slogan around here, lol... I'm a die hard Rays fan who was also voted as the GangGreens Sunshine award winner, I was also voted most annoying but thats another story

ECurb....Im coming for you

Just dont send your huge GF DWC.

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