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Rex goes IN on Jets, Hackenberg.

T0mShane

By T0mShane
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T0mShane

T0mShane

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Rex Ryan on whether he'll watch his two exes, Jets and Bills: 'Hell, no'

 

Rex Ryan said he's not going to watch the Jets play the Bills on Sunday because: "There's a lot better games than that one." Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

2:39 PM ET
  • cimini_rich.png&w=160&h=160&scale=crop
    Rich CiminiESPN Staff Writer 

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The biggest personality in the recent New York Jets-Buffalo Bills rivalry won't be anywhere near Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday -- and he won't be glued to his TV screen, either.

"Hell, no, I'm not going to watch that game," Rex Ryan said by phone, letting out a belly laugh. "There's a lot better games than that one."

Let's call it (R)ex Bowl I.

Fired twice in a span of two years, the ex-Jets and ex-Bills coach is out of football, working as an ESPN analyst, but he hasn't lost his razor-sharp opinions. And he has plenty to share when it comes to these two teams.

Ryan questioned the Bills' recent flurry of trades and said he's bemused as to why expectations for the season are lower than those he faced. As for the Jets, they have a "bare bones" roster that doesn't include their future quarterback, according Ryan, who isn't a Christian Hackenberg fan.

"They have to get a quarterback," he said. "That kid from Penn State, we all know that's not the answer."

Ryan said he harbors no ill will toward the Jets, who gave him his first shot as a head coach (2009-2014). Interestingly, his 2017 forecast is more optimistic than most.

The Vegas over-under is four wins, to which Ryan responded: "Oh, hell, I'll take the over on that. Let's face it, I had a roster that people were trying to lose with and we won four games [in 2014]" -- a subtle dig at former general manager John Idzik. "There's no way this roster is that bad. Remember, we had no corners, we had nothing. You're able to stumble into four wins. I think this team will be better than that."

Their plan, he said, is "not a total tank," but he doesn't see them winning more than six games.

The current regime inherited Ryan's 4-12 team, but instead of rebuilding from the outset, it acquired several older veterans -- "rentals," as Ryan called them. "They went for broke, but the fallout was going to be obvious. This team wasn't built for the long haul, it was built for a one shot, and that was it."

Ryan said it was "no surprise whatsoever" when the Jets started dumping veterans and big contracts in the offseason. They're one of the youngest teams, but they have a 38-year-old quarterback in Josh McCown.

"He's going try to work with these young quarterbacks because that's what he does -- he's a really good guy -- but everybody knows he's not the answer," Ryan said.

The Jets' perpetual search for a franchise quarterback probably will prompt them to pick one in the 2018 draft, which could be top heavy with elite arms. If they make the right choice, the Jets can change their fortunes immediately, according to Ryan.

"It's like Andrew Luck: You get a quarterback, a difference-maker like that, you can flip your franchise overnight," he said. "To me, the thing can be flipped in one year, bringing in the right personnel. You can get the Jets back. That's what I truly believe."

Ryan said he never would've traded Sheldon Richardson.

"For whatever reason, this group did not take to Sheldon Richardson," he said. "I love him, the guy's a great football player. To me, I would've done everything to keep him, but it's a different regime and all that stuff.

"They decided to pay [Muhammad Wilkerson] instead of Sheldon a couple of years ago. They're probably happy they got a second-round pick for him. In that sense, I can see it, but you don't have the services of one of the better D-lineman in the league."

"It seems like anybody Doug Whaley drafted, or did whatever, they're running out of the building, from EJ Manuel to Sammy Watkins, Reggie Ragland, [Ronald[ Darby, all those guys," Ryan said. "To me that's a mistake. At the end of the day, you better win some games.

"Rebuilding is one thing, but the expectations ... I don't understand why the expectations would be set any different than when I was there. The difference is, you actually have draft picks. I never had those. To me, it's like, go ahead. All this talk about how talented they were when I was there, I want to see it on the field. We'll see."

Ryan said Watkins is "a top-10 receiver" when healthy. The Ragland trade is "really the one that blows me away. Reggie Ragland was one of our best players, if not the best player, in training camp last year. That [knee] injury was must have been significant for his play to drop off." He said he understood the Darby trade because the cornerback lacks ball skills: "That's one thing Ronald Darby doesn't have."

So who wins R(ex) Bowl I? Ryan laughed. He's picking the Bills "by default" because he doesn't know how the Jets can score points.

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southparkcpa

southparkcpa

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32 minutes ago, Beerfish said:

He still feels he did nothing wrong and the teams given to him had poor talent, hat a deluded schmuck.  He turned a good jets team into a sack of shi* and took no time at all to turn a promising buffalo team into a full rebuild.

He ruined or helped ruin 2 franchises.  THey were stupid enough to buy in.  WE at least had no knowledge of his stupidity.  

BUffalo is simply mas estupido que nos.  

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JohnnyLV

JohnnyLV

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52 minutes ago, sourceworx said:

Rex values QBs more than our current regime does. Go figure. 

As bad as Rex was and he was AWFUL, he did actually understand that playing a veteran was a waste of time. No hyeprbole here, I actually think Bowles is the worst QB of the Jets I can remember. I remember the Kotite days and I am not sure Bowles is better.

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detectivekimble

detectivekimble

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1 hour ago, Matt39 said:

What no one seems to get yet is that Idzik had the right idea the entire time. Not too different than what DePodesta is doing in Cleveland. Nothing matters till you find the QB and the more draft picks the better the odds.

I don't like Idzik, but I don't see how you can have sustained success without a QB.  Without a QB, you literally have to hit on a ton of draft picks and free agents so that you can keep fielding a team that's good at every other position.  You may be able to do it for a year or three, but over a longer period of time?  No way.

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Jetmech

Jetmech

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What no one seems to get yet is that Idzik had the right idea the entire time. Not too different than what DePodesta is doing in Cleveland. Nothing matters till you find the QB and the more draft picks the better the odds.
Yet, he didn't draft a QB after Geno and there were 12 guys that kinda sucked. Ya know..

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

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jack48

jack48

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14 hours ago, Beerfish said:

He still feels he did nothing wrong and the teams given to him had poor talent, hat a deluded schmuck.  He turned a good jets team into a sack of shi* and took no time at all to turn a promising buffalo team into a full rebuild.

He is an established failure as a head coach.  That should not even qualfy him for commentary on the tube.  But he will be hired, if he has not been already.  It also proves that any sense of loyalty he claimed to possess ended when the paychecks stopped.  No biggie.

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