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New Jersey – In a long profile on a rookie head coach who is very media-friendly, the rookie head coach made a startling accusation, that the New England Patriots might have gotten their hands on a couple of Jets playbooks.
Mike Pettine, in a blowout feature on the MMBQ website, on an NFL head coach who has yet to win a game, he told a story of how, at Wes Welker’s wedding, Tom Brady bragged to Jets assistant coach Mike Smith, who was Welker’s college roommate, that the Patriots may have had possession of a couple Jets defensive playbooks.
“It didn’t shock me because Rex would give them out like candy anyway,” Pettine says. “He gave one out to [Alabama coach Nick] Saban and I was like, ‘Don’t you know Saban and Bill [Belichick] are pretty good friends? I have a feeling it’s going to end up in New England.’
“Let me tell you about one thing I know for a fact: Number one, I think it’s disrespectful to New England to sit back and say that, ‘Oh, they did this,’” Ryan said. “Let me tell you: Every single game that we’ve ever had with New England has been decided on the field. Nobody’s had a competitive advantage. Nobody’s had anything else. And that’s a fact.
“One thing I can tell you, too, is that every single game your playbook, if you will, changes,” Ryan said. “Your game plan changes every single week. I know specifically for us, when you take a look at our defense, every single game is different. So when you go into my (meeting) room, you’ll see every one of those playbooks. If you flip them, they’re a lot different each week. It’s always game plan specific.
“To me, I think it’s ridiculous. But I think it sounds like everybody needs to talk to Pettine, because apparently he’s got all the information.”
I’m just going to say a couple things about this.
First off, Pettine is a genius at hooking up writers, left and right, with great information, on- and off-the-record, to keep them happy, and improve his Q rating.
The Q Score is a measurement of the familiarity and appeal of a brand or celebrity in the United States.
I can’t tell you how many writers, insiders and so forth, love Pettine because of what a pipeline he is.
I can’t be bought, but a lot of reporters can.
I’m just being honest.
You give them scoops, and you can do very little wrong.
Secondly, I don’t agree with Rex about how little impact getting playbooks of opponents has on games.
I have one name for you to make my point – Greg McElroy.
I can categorically tell y’all, according to three league sources, a big reason the Jets got blown out by the Cincinnati Bengals, 49-9 last season, was that McElroy, who was on the Bengals’ practice squad, told his coaches and teammates, EVERYTHING, about his former club.
And whether you like McElroy or not as a quarterback (he’s now retired), nobody can question his intelligence.
He knew Marty’s playbook and that helped the Bengals defense shut down the Jets. He practiced against Rex’s defense for a couple of years, and was a huge help to Andy Dalton and company. The Bengals QB threw five touchdowns in that game, and looked like a combination of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. He’s very average, but he looked Canton-bound in this game.
We will see where this story goes, but playbook access certainly helps an opponent.
Ask the Bengals.
June 19, 2014
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