Rex Ryan To Bills

[GeorgeCostanza]

Relative of John Boehner on the left there?

 

[dbn]

From Fox Sports:
 
And what in the world was used to make the greeting on the pizza? From here it looks like a combo of olives and frosting. Bill Hanstock from SB Nation cracked the case, as he spoke with Dave from La Nova, the restaurant that provided the pizza.
"I spoke with Dave at La Nova Pizzeria in Buffalo, who was able to confirm that the toppings on the pizza were 'all edible.' The blue and red frosting-looking components are ricotta cheese that was dyed, while the letters are indeed spinach. Mystery solved!"
 
http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/laces-out/buffalo-bills-hire-rex-ryan-welcome-with-giant-pizza-011315

 
... and I had a long post all ready for the "What is the greatest historical mystery?" thread in P&G.

 

[Red Right Ankle]

Relative of John Boehner on the left there?

Guy in the middle is just Danny DeVito playing Frank from Sunny in a wig.

 

[moly99]

That's a lot of money for a guy who can't develop a QB on a team that sorely needs one. Real head scratcher.

 
To be fair it's a small sample size and even Bill would likely struggle to build a contending team around Sanchez and Geno Smith. Let's not forget that he got fired in Cleveland for "mishandling" the QB situation.
 
 

 

[Ed Hillel]

"We're going to beat people up...we're going to be a bully."
 
I'm sure the NFL is super-happy already.

 

[DJnVa]

"We're going to beat people up...we're going to be a bully."
 
I'm sure the NFL is super-happy already.

 
So, Ray Rice to Buffalo?
 

 

[Silverdude2167]

 
To be fair it's a small sample size and even Bill would likely struggle to build a contending team around Sanchez and Geno Smith. Let's not forget that he got fired in Cleveland for "mishandling" the QB situation.
 
 

We all know that is not why BB got fired from Cleveland.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

Already guaranteeing a playoff appearance and the top defense in the league.

The man can absolutely not help himself.

 

[Silverdude2167]

It is almost like he forgets that there is more to the league than defense. Why again would you want this man as your head coach?

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Already guaranteeing a playoff appearance and the top defense in the league.

The man can absolutely not help himself.

 
They were 4th in the league in defensive points allowed this year. He's counting on people not remembering that and then taking all the credit next year if they maintain that level.
 
But of course it's the offense that's terrible and needs fixing.
 
He's like an intelligence test for NFL owners. And Terry Pegula just failed it.

 

[dcmissle]

They were 4th in the league in defensive points allowed this year. He's counting on people not remembering that and then taking all the credit next year if they maintain that level.
 
But of course it's the offense that's terrible and needs fixing.
 
He's like an intelligence test for NFL owners. And Terry Pegula just failed it.

We needs to find you a comfortable recliner and a few cold ones. You may entirely lose your shit here today.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

Now be fair, in addition to defense he also knows that there is both "ground" and "pound".

He's trapped in those Dilfer era Ravens' teams psychologically even as the rest of the league wants to air it out and the rules keep making that more and more effective.

 

[dcmissle]

Now be fair, in addition to defense he also knows that there is both "ground" and "pound".

He's trapped in those Dilfer era Ravens' teams psychologically even as the rest of the league wants to air it out and the rules keep making that more and more effective.

Those teams at least minored in punting. 2000 SB winners went 5 consecutive games without scoring a TD on offense -- and went 2 and 3. Swear to God.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

We needs to find you a comfortable recliner and a few cold ones. You may entirely lose your shit here today.

 
He's such an utter fraud. He puts on great press conferences, but everything that comes out of his mouth is such self-aggrandizing tripe.
 
The defense was already great under Schwartz as DC. Rex barging in and trying to take all the credit before game 1 is offensive, honestly.

 

[Stitch01]

Fired some shots at Marrone there too during that presser.

 

[E5 Yaz]

When you factor in retirements, free agency and age, isn't the Bills offense at this point Sammy Watkins?

 

[Tony C]

 
He's such an utter fraud. He puts on great press conferences, but everything that comes out of his mouth is such self-aggrandizing tripe.
 
The defense was already great under Schwartz as DC. Rex barging in and trying to take all the credit before game 1 is offensive, honestly.

 
As an example of what a fraud he is, Jets defense last year was 24th in points allowed, tied for 13th/19 (with 7 teams -- including, by the way, Indy) in yards allowed per play, and dead fucking last in creating turnovers. And yet this huckster has the temerity to say "we know we'll be top 5, that's a given, we're always there..." Seriously?
 
Of course, goes unchallenged (so far as I heard...only tuned in for about 5 minutes..more than enough).

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

"Fourth in the league was probably a little disappointing," he said. "I know we'll lead the league in defense."

 

[soxfan121]

 
As an example of what a fraud he is, Jets defense last year was 24th in points allowed, tied for 13th/19 (with 7 teams -- including, by the way, Indy) in yards allowed per play, and dead fucking last in creating turnovers. And yet this huckster has the temerity to say "we know we'll be top 5, that's a given, we're always there..." Seriously?
 
Of course, goes unchallenged (so far as I heard...only tuned in for about 5 minutes..more than enough).

 
I request you change your tagline to "rex hating zealot". ;-)

 

[luckiestman]

 
I request you change your tagline to "leader of rex hater zealotry". ;-)

I'll sign up to be Tony's second in command

 

[Shelterdog]

Apparently he guaranteed Pegula that they'd be first in the league in defense next year.  That thrills me to end because a smart owner would say "slow down, what if Dareus and Mario blow out their ACLs on day 1? How can you possibly guaranty that you'll be better than Seattle when we don't even know what the teams are? How are you going to have a statistically dominant defense when EJ Manual is going three and out every other drive?"
 
But no, Pegula loved the bluster. 

 

[E5 Yaz]

I'll sign up to be Tony's second in command

 
You can be his footman

 

[Toe Nash]

 
To be fair it's a small sample size and even Bill would likely struggle to build a contending team around Sanchez and Geno Smith. Let's not forget that he got fired in Cleveland for "mishandling" the QB situation.
 
 

Except he got a Sanchez tattoo and never really brought in anyone to compete with him, which bodes pretty poorly for his ability to evaluate QBs and choose the next one for the Bills.

 

[Shelterdog]

Except he got a Sanchez tattoo and never really brought in anyone to compete with him, which bodes pretty poorly for his ability to evaluate QBs and choose the next one for the Bills.

 
And by all accounts he was heavily involved in player evaluation and he was at Sanchez's workout when Sanchez brought his whole fraternity [really--he brought his fraternity to an interview] and he was apparently all in on the decision to draft Sanchez and he was the head coach when they decided they were going to air it out some in Sanchez year 3. 

 

[Ed Hillel]

My favorite part about Rex is that, not only does he not understand how to run an offense in the modern NFL, but he isn't smart enough to bring along a offensive coordinator who does, either. He's stuck in the 70's, as compared to a guy like Belichick who has not only adapted but brought on personnel and coaches to innovate offense in the league.

 

[soxfan121]

 
And by all accounts he was heavily involved in player evaluation and he was at Sanchez's workout when Sanchez brought his whole fraternity [really--he brought his fraternity to an interview] and he was apparently all in on the decision to draft Sanchez and he was the head coach when they decided they were going to air it out some in Sanchez year 3. 

 
I think my favorite thing I've learned today that Tony C's least-favorite coach and his 2nd-favorite coach had the same opinion of Mark Sanchez. But one is full of shit and the other is a genius. ;-)

 

[Average Reds]

Relative of John Boehner on the left there?

 
Loved her work in There's Something About Mary.
 

 

[MentalDisabldLst]

Apparently he guaranteed Pegula that they'd be first in the league in defense next year.  That thrills me to end because a smart owner would say "slow down, what if Dareus and Mario blow out their ACLs on day 1? How can you possibly guaranty that you'll be better than Seattle when we don't even know what the teams are? How are you going to have a statistically dominant defense when EJ Manual is going three and out every other drive?"
 
But no, Pegula loved the bluster. 

 
Pegula may have thought the bluster would be useful for recruiting FAs and re-signing players.  I mean, getting people to want to play in Buffalo is a bit of a hard sell sometimes.  What he actually thinks behind closed doors (and what Rex actually thinks too) may be completely different.
 
I may be giving them too much credit, but it just sounds like marketing to me.  It's nice that Belichick has never had to resort to marketing, but most people aren't the Lamborghini of their industry.

 

[luckiestman]

 
You can be his footman

Absolutely, he can count on me to toe the line

 

[Shelterdog]

 
Pegula may have thought the bluster would be useful for recruiting FAs and re-signing players.  I mean, getting people to want to play in Buffalo is a bit of a hard sell sometimes.  What he actually thinks behind closed doors (and what Rex actually thinks too) may be completely different.
 
I may be giving them too much credit, but it just sounds like marketing to me.  It's nice that Belichick has never had to resort to marketing, but most people aren't the Lamborghini of their industry.

 
Certainly possible--we don't know what was actually said, we know what the participants leak.
 
I don't think that the pr stuff is to recruit free agents, however.  Free agent recruiting is a lot easier than most people think--in general free agents go for the highest dollar amount, even if it's Buffalo or Oakland or Jacksonville.  No, where the PR comes into play is in selling tickets and local advertising and all of that crap.

 

[Super Nomario]

 
And by all accounts he was heavily involved in player evaluation and he was at Sanchez's workout when Sanchez brought his whole fraternity [really--he brought his fraternity to an interview] and he was apparently all in on the decision to draft Sanchez and he was the head coach when they decided they were going to air it out some in Sanchez year 3. 

To be fair: Sanchez wasn't considered a reach at #5 in that draft. He was the second QB taken, and has been the second-best QB in that class by a country mile (Josh Freeman, Curtis Painter, Pat White, etc.). Two of the top four overall picks in that class are already out of the league. It's easy to kill them for Sanchez now, but it's tough needing a quarterback. There but for the grace of Tom ...
 

My favorite part about Rex is that, not only does he not understand how to run an offense in the modern NFL, but he isn't smart enough to bring along a offensive coordinator who does, either. He's stuck in the 70's, as compared to a guy like Belichick who has not only adapted but brought on personnel and coaches to innovate offense in the league.

To be fair: Seattle won a Super Bowl last year following the plan that Rex wants to follow - a defense-first team with a run-first, ball-control offense.

 

[MentalDisabldLst]

Certainly possible--we don't know what was actually said, we know what the participants leak.
 
I don't think that the pr stuff is to recruit free agents, however.  Free agent recruiting is a lot easier than most people think--in general free agents go for the highest dollar amount, even if it's Buffalo or Oakland or Jacksonville.  No, where the PR comes into play is in selling tickets and local advertising and all of that crap.

 
Yeah, I'll buy that.  In either case, though, given that the media will seemingly never call him out on failed predictions or silly bluster, it seems like there's no downside to proclaiming a bunch of garbage.  I mean, other than to Rex's dignity, that is.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

My favorite part about Rex is that, not only does he not understand how to run an offense in the modern NFL, but he isn't smart enough to bring along a offensive coordinator who does, either. He's stuck in the 70's, as compared to a guy like Belichick who has not only adapted but brought on personnel and coaches to innovate offense in the league.

Greg Roman was pretty innovative in SF with the running game - the pistol, read option concepts, running out of a lot of different formations, etc. Their passing offense was pretty basic but its hard to tell how much of that was related to working with Kaepernick and trying to keep things simple for him. I don't think he's stuck in the 1970s or clueless about how to run a modern offense.

 

[dynomite]

So... Who's the QB for Buffalo in 2015, again?

1) EJ Manuel
2) TBD free agent (SanchezLOL/Hoyer/Moore...)
3) TBD draft pick -- 2nd round (or later)
4) TBD trade -- would they really take on Jay Cutler?

 

[luckiestman]

Greg Roman was pretty innovative in SF with the running game - the pistol, read option concepts, running out of a lot of different formations, etc. Their passing offense was pretty basic but its hard to tell how much of that was related to working with Kaepernick and trying to keep things simple for him. I don't think he's stuck in the 1970s or clueless about how to run a modern offense.

 

[NortheasternPJ]

 
They were 4th in the league in defensive points allowed this year. He's counting on people not remembering that and then taking all the credit next year if they maintain that level.
 
But of course it's the offense that's terrible and needs fixing.
 
He's like an intelligence test for NFL owners. And Terry Pegula just failed it.

 
Wait until he drafts a stud QB / offensive player in the first round this year. That'll show the NFL!
 
I can't believe we have another 2-4 years of him in the AFC East owning the Patriots, while losing almost every game.

 

[Shelterdog]

To be fair: Sanchez wasn't considered a reach at #5 in that draft. He was the second QB taken, and has been the second-best QB in that class by a country mile (Josh Freeman, Curtis Painter, Pat White, etc.). Two of the top four overall picks in that class are already out of the league. It's easy to kill them for Sanchez now, but it's tough needing a quarterback. There but for the grace of Tom ...
 
To be fair: Seattle won a Super Bowl last year following the plan that Rex wants to follow - a defense-first team with a run-first, ball-control offense.

 
We've watched him draft, manage and try to develop QBs for six years.  (Admittedly in New York and who knows what dictates he was working with). It's a hard job but he's been terrible at it.  I have very little confidence that he'll do any better this time, although I think much more highly of Roman than I do any of the recent Jets OCs so maybe there's a chance.

 

[Super Nomario]

So as long as Rex finds a RB as good as Lynch and a QB as cheap and as good as Russell Wilson, he should be fine.

 
You could make this kind of argument about basically every successful team. Luck is a big part of success. 
 

 
We've watched him draft, manage and try to develop QBs for six years.  (Admittedly in New York and who knows what dictates he was working with). It's a hard job but he's been terrible at it.  I have very little confidence that he'll do any better this time, although I think much more highly of Roman than I do any of the recent Jets OCs so maybe there's a chance.

Yeah, but that's only two QBs. I don't have any reason to think he's got any skill on the offensive side of the ball, but I also don't have any reason to believe Sanchez or Geno would have been appreciably better with a more offense-oriented coach, either.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

 
 I also don't have any reason to believe Sanchez or Geno would have been appreciably better with a more offense-oriented coach, either.

 
Sanchez just spent a year with Chip Kelly and still looked like the Sanchize. Point, Rex. 

 

[Silverdude2167]

 
Sanchez just spent a year with Chip Kelly and still looked like the Sanchize. Point, Rex. 

Rex drafted Sanchez in the first round and made him a starter as a rookie. Minus two points, Rex.

 

[Ed Hillel]

 
Sanchez just spent a year with Chip Kelly and still looked like the Sanchize. Point, Rex. 

 
Didn't Rex want to move up in the draft to grab Mark Sanchez?

 

[soxfan121]

 
We've watched him draft, manage and try to develop QBs for six years.  (Admittedly in New York and who knows what dictates he was working with). It's a hard job but he's been terrible at it.  I have very little confidence that he'll do any better this time, although I think much more highly of Roman than I do any of the recent Jets OCs so maybe there's a chance.

 
At what point is the player terrible? I watched Philadelphia down the stretch and I've seen Chip Kelly make Nick Foles look like Tom Brady, so I'm not sure how Rex failed to develop Sanchez. 

Now, if Todd Bowles makes Geno Smith look like anything better than the worst quarterback not named Lindley in the NFL, then perhaps there will be a "development" argument to be made. But as SN points out, Sanchez was well regarded by scouts, coached by "2nd best coach in the NFL" Pete Carroll in college, and has been the 2nd most productive QB "by a country mile" in his draft class. He sucks. Some draft years, the right pick is a bad player. Sanchez is a bad player. The Jets made the logical pick and the guy couldn't play. 

 

[bankshot1]

One reporter asked if Ryan was looking forward to facing the Jets twice again this season, and the bombastic coach took his answer in another direction.

"I'll be honest: I think it's still the Patriots that I want the most," Ryan responded.
 

 "Call me Rexmael"
 
Rex is obsessed with Moby Bill,

 

[Average Reds]

 
Sanchez just spent a year with Chip Kelly and still looked like the Sanchize. Point, Rex. 

 
 
Sanchez demonstrated this year that he could work within Kelly's system, which is a hell of a lot more than I expected.  Unfortunately, he simply could not overcome his physical limitations, which are predominantly about accuracy.
 
Sanchez is not who Rex thought he was.  Point deducted, Rex.

 

[Shelterdog]

 
You could make this kind of argument about basically every successful team. Luck is a big part of success. 
 
Yeah, but that's only two QBs. I don't have any reason to think he's got any skill on the offensive side of the ball, but I also don't have any reason to believe Sanchez or Geno would have been appreciably better with a more offense-oriented coach, either.

 
But that's the problem--they didn't bring in more guys despite having a crappy QB. At the end of his second year Sanchez had started 37 regular season and playoff games and the Jets brain trust looked at him (a fairly average physical talent by NFL standards with an inconsistent body of work but two good playoff runs) and decided to stick with him and not bring another legitimate QB or a real developmental prospect for another two years.  If you stick with a guy for four years you better be right. 
 
EDIT: Collision low crossers is pretty interesting.  It's about the 2011 Jets season and there's a reasonable amount of discussion from the Jets coaches about what to make of Sanchez. Schotty is perpetually annoyed at Sanchez, Sanchez's practice habits and work ethic aren't great, and the coaching staff goes back and forth about whether Sanchez is the guy, some (often unnamed coaches) anointing him the guy for being a clutch winner and others (again often unnamed) having real doubts.  The defensive assistants in particular seemed to dislike Sanchez.

 

[soxfan121]

 
But that's the problem--they didn't bring in more guys despite having a crappy QB. At the end of his second year Sanchez had started 37 regular season and playoff games and the Jets brain trust looked at him (a fairly average physical talent by NFL standards with an inconsistent body of work but two good playoff runs) and decided to stick with him and not bring another legitimate QB or a real developmental prospect for another two years.  If you stick with a guy for four years you better be right. 

 
Dude, that's insane. Coming off two AFCCG, the Jets and Rex should have brought in a "legit QB or developmental prospect"? When their foundation was aging and other areas had to be bolstered? C'mon. That's the Chewbacca Defense. 
 
The extension is indefensible; but no extension is given on the coach's say-so, not even in New England. Tannenbaum and Johnson own a good amount of the blame for extending Sanchez after they tried - and failed - to recruit Manning after Sanchez had proven he was terrible. 
 
The mess the Jets became over the course of Rex's tenure is not any one person's fault; Rex, Tanny, Woody, Sanchez, Santonio and the rest of the clown car deserves it's apportionment. If you want to put Rex on the top of that pile, more power to you. But let's try to be fair. No one, NO ONE, dumps a 2nd year, top-5 QB who just made two CG appearances and survives the fan base revolt. I can't even think of a similar situation. 

 

[DJnVa]

 
Sanchez just spent a year with Chip Kelly and still looked like the Sanchize. Point, Rex. 

 

Sanchez had career highs in completion percentage (by more than 7 points), yards per attempt (by more than 1), QBR, and QB rating. That rating was higher than Kaepernick, Stafford, Dalton, Newton, and Foles. It was higher than the immortal Drew Stanton, who all the Cardinals fans were dreaming of after watching Lindley.
 
Sanchez was a perfectly acceptable and average NFL QB last year. Which he never really was before.

 

[soxfan121]

 
Sanchez had career highs in completion percentage (by more than 7 points), yards per attempt (by more than 1), QBR, and QB rating. That rating was higher than Kaepernick, Stafford, Dalton, Newton, and Foles. It was higher than the immortal Drew Stanton, who all the Cardinals fans were dreaming of after watching Lindley.
 
Sanchez was a perfectly acceptable and average NFL QB last year. Which he never really was before.

 
His problem, as always, was turnovers. The offensive system explains all of those numbers (and Foles' inflated performance the season before). Sanchez was just as shaky with his decision making and ball security as he always has been.

 

[luckiestman]

 
 
Sanchez demonstrated this year that he could work within Kelly's system, which is a hell of a lot more than I expected.  Unfortunately, he simply could not overcome his physical limitations, which are predominantly about accuracy.
 
Sanchez is not who Rex thought he was.  Point deducted, Rex.

Sanchize stats (the most accurate passer in the history of the PHIggles
 
Year   Tm           Cmp%           Y/G              Rate [SIZE=13.63636302948px] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=13.63636302948px]5 yrs    NYJ          55.1              195               71.7[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=13.63636302948px]1 yr      PHI            64.1             268.7            88.4 [/SIZE]

 

[Shelterdog]

 
Dude, that's insane. Coming off two AFCCG, the Jets and Rex should have brought in a "legit QB or developmental prospect"? When their foundation was aging and other areas had to be bolstered? C'mon. That's the Chewbacca Defense. 
 
The extension is indefensible; but no extension is given on the coach's say-so, not even in New England. Tannenbaum and Johnson own a good amount of the blame for extending Sanchez after they tried - and failed - to recruit Manning after Sanchez had proven he was terrible. 
 
The mess the Jets became over the course of Rex's tenure is not any one person's fault; Rex, Tanny, Woody, Sanchez, Santonio and the rest of the clown car deserves it's apportionment. If you want to put Rex on the top of that pile, more power to you. But let's try to be fair. No one, NO ONE, dumps a 2nd year, top-5 QB who just made two CG appearances and survives the fan base revolt. I can't even think of a similar situation. 

 
Maybe I wasn't clear. I think that in 2011 and failing that in 2012 they should have brought in a Chad Henne/Kyle Orton or a third-fourth round pick in case Sanchez didn't improve. This was knowable at the time.  Sanchez certainly should have been the day 1 starter in 2011 but there were enough question marks that they should have been working on plan B.
 
And what is your point exactly? That Rex handled QB of the NYJ well?