Content available exclusively for subscribers
There is a difference between the power of positive thinking, and the power of delusion. It’s not the same thing.
I’m totally convinced that Rex Ryan thinks that by believing in something enough, or saying it enough, he can make it happen.
I’m all for positive thinking. It’s a great thing. Life can be tough.
But sometimes Rex is so positive about things, he comes across as something delusional.
“All you have to do is look at New England the week before: They got blown out (and) they righted the ship,” Ryan said on ESPN Radio. “This will be the same thing.”
How can you compare a team being captained by one of the top quarterbacks in NFL history, Tom Brady, to a team quarterbacked by a youngster learning on the job in Geno Smith?
What kind of analogy is that?
It’s almost like he has a strong feeling he’s going to get fired, so he’s just shooting from the hip, firing off irrational rockets.
“This team will be far from an embarrassment when the season’s over,” Ryan said. “At the end of the day, everything’s going to work out.”
Does he have a crystal ball?
I guess you could make the argument that the Jets schedule lightens up over the second half of the season, so there will be some wins down the stretch.
And maybe history will repeat itself – Woody Johnson and Ira Axselrad (enormous power in the Jets’ organization), will be caught up in some late season wins, overrated them (like wins over lowly Oakland and Cleveland at home last December), and bring Ryan back.
“At the end of the day everything is going to work out,” sounds like something out of a Joel Osteen sermon.
For you Osteen fans, I’m not making fun of him, but he’s known for his inspirational sermons trying to lift be people out of a malaise.
This is the NFL. You can’t will your way to win. You have to block, tackle, catch run and strategize on a high level, and also have good talent.
Look, I’m not saying the Jets are definitely going to lose the next two games. Stranger things have happened.
But the way their offense is playing, it’s going to be really tough for for them to keep up with the Jones’, or in this game, the Manning’s and the Brady’s.
And it’s not just an offensive issue, but a defense that doesn’t seem well-coached right now (this isn’t all on Rex as I mentioned the other day regarding him missing Brian Van Gorder), that is blowing coverage assignments left and right.
Also, I think Rex is on the brink of losing the locker room sticking with Geno Smith when most of the players clearly think Mike Vick gives them a better chance to win. That kind of decision will lose you a locker room.
But the bottom line is that Rex can’t will this team with words.
It’s going to take better actions, by the coaches and players, and perhaps a QB change.
October 7, 2014
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Wednesday.
