KNOW AND KNOW YOU KNOW

[T0mShane]

YES!

With new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano comes a new philosophy for NY Jets

By Manish Mehta

NYDN

CORTLAND — Tony Sparano stared at the walls of the Jets offensive meeting room this spring, a home away from home inside the team facility in Florham Park, and knew what he needed to do. If the Jets were truly going to move on from the disappointment of last season, there was only one way to start over.

“I said white them all out,” Sparano told the Daily News.

So, workers painted over phrases put up by former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. On the green back wall, TEAM was plastered in white capital letters. The three adjacent freshly painted white walls were barren, a blank canvas for Sparano’s players to tell their story.

When players reported back to the facility in April, Sparano told his unit that they would decide what to fill the walls with by the end of Organized Team Activities.

A few months later, the new offensive coordinator passed out index cards to his players.

“Write whatever you want up on those walls,” Sparano told them. “Something you believe we are and you believe is important to us.”

Throughout the spring, Sparano had preached the importance of becoming a physical football team. He had a few favorite catch phrases, motivational reminders that he picked up along the way in his career.

Run Through the Smoke.

Attack The Hell Out of Fear.

But one phrase stood out, five words that will be the soundtrack for the 2012 Jets’ offense: KNOW AND KNOW YOU KNOW.

When Sparano collected the cards and stared at the players’ responses, he learned that 75% of them had agreed: Those five words should be painted on the offensive meeting room wall. A few days before the team started minicamp in June, the phrase stared back at them in green capital letters against the white backdrop.

“What I’m asking from these guys is to do whatever it is that they’re going to do out there hard and fast,” Sparano said. “Because weak and slow is not a good recipe. In order to do everything hard and fast, you got to be positive. You got to be convicted.”

Sparano preached “know and know you know!” everywhere this spring. The practice field. The film room. Even the cafeteria.

It was catchy, it was fun, but what did it mean?

“Get the details down,” right guard Brandon Moore said. “Know that you know that you know it… times three. Just make sure you know it. And then know that you know it.”

Moore paused.

“Just make sure that you know what the hell you’re supposed to do,” he said with a laugh.

The meaning was simple: Be positive and decisive. The message aligned with Sparano’s desire to quicken the pace and tempo of the entire offense. Preparation cut down on second-guessing, Sparano believed. Preparation built confidence. Confidence eliminated hesitation.

The detailed-oriented Sparano wanted his players to think the same way, stressing the need to comprehend all facets of his system. When a player looked hesitant on film, five familiar words spilled out of Sparano’s mouth.

“It would hit the players in a fun way, yet make them understand that there’s a meaning behind it,” said Sparano, who heard variations of the phrase from other coaches through the years.

Tight end Dustin Keller swears Sparano uses the phrase an “infinite” number of times on the practice field. He’s blurted it out countless times in the first week of training camp. Some players joked that it’s an involuntary impulse.

“It makes a lot of sense,” said wide receiver Patrick Turner, who played for Sparano in Miami. “It’s a fast game. You have to know and truly know you know in order to win.”

Sparano believes the mantra will help players find their way if they get sidetracked during the season. It also serves as a reminder of what the Jets’ offense — their offense — can become this season. So, he plays it on a seemingly endless loop each day.

“We have in mind the type of offense we want to be and the perception that we want to have,” Turner said. “And perception is reality, you know?”

[FloridaJetsFan]

I know Wayne Hunter is still our right tackle, and that pains me, because he Knows that he Knows he Knows he's gonna get beat.

[Lego My Lageman]

should have been yanahwhaImean

[SoFlaJets]

I know Wayne Hunter is still our right tackle, and that pains me, because he Knows that he Knows he Knows he's gonna get beat.

Not only that FJ but he already has built-in excuse with his bad back as to why he will once again be THE worst starting right tackle in the AFC