I saw more than I needed to yesterday afternoon. We all did. Having watched yesterday's Dolphins-Jets game from a horizontal position on my sofa, without turning on my computer or laptop, I have no idea what the rest of the sports world thought, but at precisely 2:28pm Eastern Daylight Time on October 28th, I tweeted from my phone: Rex [Ryan] and [Tony] Sparano need to go.
I also have no idea what the rest of the sports world thinks today about the Jets, because I've yet to open my newspapers or deeply listen to local radio or television coverage (a pending hurricane kinda has me preoccupied), so this column is quite free of influence from anyone else. No one planted any seeds in my mind or thoughts... canning the head coach and offensive coordinator, effective 9:00am Tuesday morning, is my own idea, and exactly what I would do if owner of the New York Jets.
Yes, a relative pillar of patience and stable supporter of Rex Ryan, I finally reached the point of no return, and reiterated my thoughts on Twitter to Jets fans at 4:32pm, after the carnage of a 30-9 debacle was complete, and yet again at 4:38pm to SNYTV during Rex Ryan's post-game press conference and one last time for good measure at 5:05pm. The Jets have begun their bye week and changes need to be made... contrary to popular consensus, the change shouldn't be at quarterback. It should be at head coach, offensive coordinator, and the "back-up" quarterback.
Working backwards, Mark Sanchez is not the problem. He's neither the only reason nor the main reason for the Jets offensive putridness. He's forced to play in a dysfunctional scheme, behind a porous offensive line, with a revolving door of receivers and running backs, and a less-than-holy mercenary looking over his shoulder while he finds the best angle to stick a knife in Sanchez's back. As I said a few days ago, just like I've said months ago and more than a year ago, Tim Tebow is not an NFL quarterback. He's a hybrid fullback-tight end with religious-based delusions of being a starting quarterback.
The Jets traded for him in March after Tebow became expendable in Denver, after playing a key role in the Broncos playoff run last season. Fact: The Broncos brain trust viewed Tebow as a novelty act, not the man to lead the Broncos back to Super Bowl contention as a starting quarterback. To lose one's job to Peyton Manning is hardly a sin or blasphemy. Manning is sure to be enshrined in Canton in the not-too-distant future. The real sin was Tebow's refusal to step back and stay on as Manning's understudy for a couple of years, learning to develop the physical and intellectual skills necessary to play quarterback in this league. Tebow had and has an overinflated sense of his talent and worth for someone who can't effectively throw a football in a passing league.This is more profound than the struggles Sanchez has quarterbacking the Jets. Tebow doesn't understand game plan nuances, reading defenses, searching for progressions, or the mechanics of dropping back from center, standing in the pocket, and throwing the ball. Sanchez knows what has to be done, but struggles to do it consistently. Tebow ignores the fundamentals and simply wants to be the hero when the clouds darken and the Burning Bush emits commands.
The best thing Tebow could've done for himself, the NFL and his loyal flock of zealot fans was to admit he had tons to learn and miles to go before he would ever be the real level of quarterback he needed to be, or prophesized himself to be, and agree to apprentice at the foot of the master, Manning. Manning could've given the Broncos the resurrection this great franchise and its fans craved and deserves, and after completing the greatest personal comeback story in sports for two or three years, he could've handed the position back to a better-groomed, polished and educated Tebow, who would've been properly ready to lead the Broncos for a decade or more. But Tebow wants to be the Messiah, not an Apostle, and a trade became a necessity.
Only two NFL teams wanted Tebow once he became available: the Jets and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tebow's originally from the Jacksonville area, so returning to his hometown could've been good, but the Jags made it clear they were committed to the development of Blane Gabbert as their starting quarterback, and there was no way Tebow would play second banana in his own hometown, so he forced a trade to the Jets, where his "Great friend", Sanchez, was in crisis after an uneven third year as quarterback during an 8-8 season. Hmmm... with friends like Tebow, who needs enemies, right? Just remember... the Apostles supposedly killed Jesus, Aristotle, Plato and Socrates were all killed by their proteges, and even Julius Ceasar was done in by the man closest to him, Et Tu, Timmy?!
Tebow is poison to the Jets offense and Sanchez's development... a bigger potential cancer than Santonio Holmes could ever be, because no matter how much Tebow tries to say the right things to the Jets, the fans and media, and be a "team player", Tebow sees himself as a Christian Conquistador who will rescue New York from its moral and athletic failings. He silently thrives on idiot fans at MetLife Stadium yelling for him to replace Sanchez, and publicly roots for Sanchez to be the best failure he can possibly be, so Tebow can step in and act out his fanatsy of conquering whatever the hell he thinks he's supposed to conquer. Listening on TV and radio, reading in the local and national newspapers, it's more andmore evident he's on a warped mission to save the world's heathens one busted play at a time.
It's personally offensive and enraging that the media gives this third-rate talent as much publicity and attention as they do. He's the third-best quarterback on the Jets and makes too few positive contributions on gameday to warrant all this attention. Shame on ESPN, SNY, USA TODAY and the New York Daily News -- among other media sources -- for giving Tebow such an undeserved forum, especially at the expense of Sanchez. As loathe as I am to call out people by name, shame on Manish Mehta for recently interviewing Tebow, unless the intent was for all Jets fans to see how little regard or respectTebow has for Sanchez, evidenced by Tebow's repeated refusal to even state Sanchez's name, regarding the most benign questions as well as straight-to-the-core questions about who is and deserves to be the Jets starting quarterback. Shame on Herm Edwards, for incessantly calling for Tebow to replace Sanchez as quarterback, referring to Tebow as the "Toot-toot Train" ready to pull out of the station. I've known of Herm Edwards since 1977, when he was still a young and obscure defensive back with the Philadelpha Eagles. I watched him play while I shared Veterans Stadium during my Temple University Days. Eagles and Owls are birds of a feather who flock together. I celebrated Herm's hiring as Jets head coach in 2001 and mourned his parting five years later.
But Herm's making a buffoon of himself, going "Toot! Toot!" on Sportscenter. Yes, Herm made the switch from aging and beat-up Vinny Testaverde to young and fresh Chad Pennington in 2002 and it paid off well, but the 2012 Jets are not the 2002 version, and Tim Tebow is no Chad Pennington in any of the most remote senses. Chad Pennington was a legitmate NFL quarterback who had the physical and intelectual tools and tangibles. Tebow doesn't... I repeat... Tebow DOESN'T.
The NFL trading deadline is November 6th, Election Day. If the Jets front office and coaching staff truly hopes to save this season and Sanchez's career, everyone will admit the Tebow trade was a mistake, the trade was made for reasons that had nothing to do with the genuine success of the team, no one knows what to do with Tebow, and Tebow clearly has zero commitment to helping the team in a role other than starting quarterback, so it's time to cut bait and trade him or cut him outright if no other team is stupid enough to covet him.
Tebow sealed his fate in the first quarter when the Dolphins blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone to open up a 10-0 lead. The punt blocker came right through theheart of the Jets offensive line, right through the middle... the region the backfield punt protector is personally responsible for. Tebow was the backfield punt protector and completely ignored the rusher... he didn't try to block him and whiff... he simply ignored him and stood his ground like a cardboard cut-out. Sorry, Mr. Tebow, but if that's your job assignment, and as a 255-LB fullback, you play where the coaches put your ass and what justifies the paycheck your general manager pays you. Sabotaging a punt play deep in your own territory will not force the coaches to make you the quarterback, and if that's your approach as part of a covert hostile takeover campaign of the quarterback position, clean out your locker, pack your duffle bag, and get the hell out of Florham Park.
Billy Kilmer quarterbacked the New Orleans Saints and Washington Redskins during the late-1960s and early-1970s, but he started off his NFL career playing halfback for the San Francisco 49ers during the early-1960s. Joe Theismann quarterbacked the Redskins to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances in 1982 and 1983, but he returned punts during the mid-1970s, just to prove to the late George Allen that he could contribute to the team and be a real football player.
Paul Hornung made a Hall of Fame worthy transition form quarterback to halfback for the 1960s Green Bay Packers. George Blanda survived a 26-year Hall of Fame career kicking when his quarterback days became reduced. Marlin Briscoe and Freddie Solomon became very capable wide receivers on Super Bowl teams, forced to change positions when African-American quarterbacks were very rare. John Sciarra and Scott Frost became defensive backs, Brian Mitchell became an all-purpose running back and kick returner.
Lots of players have had to change positions and reinvent themselves in order to have meaningful NFL careers. Tebow's inability and refusal to honestly view himself as anything other than a starting quarterback has been a disturbing issue since before he was drafted in 2010. We can't all be what we want to be at certain junctures of our lives. I wanted to be a quarterback in the worst way, but there aren't that many successful NFL quarterbacks under six feet tall, so I learned to be a running back, punter and kick returner. When I arrived at Temple University as a 195-LB fullback, the coaches told me I needed another 30 LBS in order to survive as an every-down halfback. When I moved from a physics department to a chemistry department, I had to adjust my teaching and research focus, and did it in reverse years later when I ended up back in a physics department. It's call adapting to your situation. Tebow is completely incapable of this. This ends up being a drag on the offensive roster.
The Jets are in crisis at 3-5, 1-4 in their last 5 games, and Tebow at quarterback is not the answer... his passive-agressive insistance on being groomed to be the Jets quarterback is an underlying part of a problem. We solve problems in our world. Trading or outright releasing Tebow is a key part of the solution to fixing what ails the Jets. I'd rather not waste the second half of the season waiting for the inevitable. Unless Tebow is going to be told "you're the starting fullback; shut up, get in the huddle and stay there", there's always going to remain a circus surrounding him and what his role should or could be while Sanchez dangles in the wind. It's no longer fair to Sanchez or Tebow. Sanchez is the quarterback; end of story and debate. Tebow can either join the backfield and take handoffs from Sanchez and improve his ability to catch swing passes, or he can become the NFL's most popular unemployed player for the second half of the 2012 season.
The bigger problem with the Jets is coaching, particularly on offense. Regardless of Tebow's personal agenda,Tony Sparano has no clue of what he's doing with this Jets offense, and it's clear he lacks the vision, intuition and insight to be an offensive coordinator. Just as it became evident in Miami, it's evident here in New York that Sparano is ill-suited to be anything other than an offensive line coach. For the second straight year, the Jets offensive line is playing well-below its reputation. One year is either an aberration or a consequence of discontinuity of talent. Two years running indicates failed coaching. It's no secret Matt Slauson and Aaron Howard aren't the second coming of Pete Kendall, alan Faneca and Damien Woody, but good coaching can help overcome the drop-off in talent and experience while a unit learns to grow together with new parts. Bill Callahan is one of the best offensive line coaches in the NFL, and the Jets made a huge mistake letting him slip away while pursuing Sparano as a two-for-one replacement for Callahan and former coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. Fans and media members vilified Schottenheimer for the Jets falling short of offensive greatness during the past six years, but Schottenheimer wasn't the problem. He was handcuffed by too much player turnover and the fear all coaches inherently have in young quarterbacks. It was a disservice to Sanchez, Schottenheimer and the entire Jets offensive unit to put a muzzle on Sanchez and use "Ground and Pound" as a "Prevent Offense." Sometimes you just have to open up the playbook, give the young quarterback all the plays, and let him learn how to run the offense, mistakes and all. Instead, the Jets are still operating on a limited scheme, hoping play calls are limited to anything that doesn't result in disaster, and that's not the way to handle a quarterback, especially one supposedly under contract until 2015.
As I wrote in my previous column, lots of other NFL quarterbacks have made their fair share of ugly and repeated mistakes without fear of losing their jobs, so why should that be the case with Sanchez on account of coaches too hell-bent on saving their own asses? I'd rather have an offensive coordinator with an unlimited imagination and faith in Sanchez to do his best, mature as a leader, and get positive results far more often than not. Sparano, no matter the pass-run ratio of his play calling, lacks faith in Sanchez and certainly doesn't know Sanchez as well as he should. Sparano, an offensive line coach, can't even get his front five to block like its capable of, and there are three All-Pros on that line: center Nick Mangold, Left Tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, and Right Guard Brandon Moore. Even with that talent there's no excuse for the line springing leaks on pass protection as much as it does.
For his failure with the line and overall offense, Sparano needs to be let go. The Jets can either import an offensive line coach for the remainder of the season or pool together duties among current assistants. The time has come to promote Matt Cavanaugh form quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator. He's been there since the start of Sanchez's career, so he knows his offensive leader, follows his wavelength of thinking, is in rhythm with the kid's temperament. If this is a passing league, commitment to running notwithstanding, your offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach really should be the same person. Cavanaugh's been around the game for a long time, dating back to his days as a young backup in New England during the late-1970s. He's played and coached in the NFL for over thirty years. Let Sanchez and the rest of the offensive unit get the full benefit of Cavanaugh's experience and wisdom.
This finally brings me to Rex Ryan. Sometimes you have to go with facts, your gut and what you hear when a head coaching change is warranted. Here's the key fact: exactly one year ago, the Jets were 5-3 and in second place in the AFC East and holding one of the wild card positions. Since then, 6-10 and 3-8 since the Eagles cleaned the Jets clock going into the final three weeks of the 2011 regular season. Rex calls himself a winner, but the last 12 months doesn't reflect it.
As I wrote in my last column, Rex lacks a full feel for all three parts of the game: offense, defense, special teams. Just as "the vision thing" did in George Bush-41's re-election bid in 1992, this lack of vision is Rex's ultimate undoing as head coach of the Jets. Think about it... Rex was one of the league's hottest defensive coordinators for years in Baltimore and couldn't even land the head coaching job with the Ravens. I'm not going to completely rule out Rex's battle with obesity and yellow teeth as factors, but perhaps the biggest knock on him was that he's a Ryan, a chip off the ol' Buddy, and anyone who follows football history and the Ryan family legacy knows that members of the Ryan clan have a limited shelf life as coaches before their act grows old and stale, or the players become too old and slow, or opponents finally catch up to a Ryan defense and learn how to score bunches on it.
Yes, Buddy Ryan was the architect of the famed "46 Defense" that helped lead the 1985 Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl title. Yes, Buddy Ryan was the mastermind milking two more solid seasons (1976-1977) out of the "Purple People Eaters" defense in Minnesota, as the Vikings won their eighth and ninth NFC Central Division titles during a 13-year span (1968-1980, 11 division titles, 4 conference titles, 4 Super Bowl losses). Yes, Buddy Ryan was the head coach of a Philadelphia Eagles team that earned three straight playoff berths (1988-1990) for the first time since Dick Vermeil led the Eagles to four straight playoff berths and one Super Bowl (1978-1981). And yes, Buddy Ryan was one of Weeb Ewbank's bright stable of assistant coaches when the Jets won Super Bowl III in January 1969.
But Buddy Ryan was also the same head coach who got fired after five years coaching the Eagles because his team lost in the first round of the playoffs each time, each loss more disappointing than the previous one. Buddy Ryan is the same head coach who got fired after two seasons (1994-1995) leading the Arizona Cardinals to a 12-20 record after declaring Cardinals fans "finally have a winner."
Buddy Ryan was also the defensive coordinator of the 1993 Houston Oilers who was encouraged to leave after throwing a punch at offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride (offensive guru of the 2007 and 2011 Super Bowl champ New York Giants) during a sideline dispute -- during a regular season game the Oilers were winning -- and after the biggest post-season meltdown in history, blowing a 35-3 lead at Buffalo and losing 41-38 to the Bills in overtime.
Buddy Ryan was also the defensive coordinator when the bottom fell out on the Jets defense in 1975, giving up a then-dubious record of 433 points in 14 games. Yes, unable to rescue an aging and slow unit, Ryan's defense gave up 30 or more points six times, surrendering 31, 37, 42, 43, 45 and 52 points during those six games. The 1976 defense wasn't much better after Buddy moved onto to the Vikings. That Jets defense gave up 30 or more points seven times, surrendering 33, 37, 38 twice, 41, 42, and 46 points.
Many folks like to point to the Rich Kotite Jets of 1995-1996 as the darkest period in Jets history because of their 4-28 record, but I beg to differ. Those Jets at least were 6-5 and tied for first place in the AFC East in 1994 before a stunning collapse inspired by a "Fake Spike" play by Dan Marino, and that same core of players went 9-7 in 1997, Bill Parcells' first year resurrecting the franchise. The 1975-1976 Jets, who went 6-22, were a collection of over-the-hill remnants from Super Bowl III and inexperienced free agents and draft picks. The defense's collapse was swift and painful, and it took years to properly rebuild the unit Buddy Ryan let decline. Like all people and coaches, Buddy Ryan has a golden legacy and a not-so-golden legacy, but the take-home lesson is that when things go bad on a Buddy Ryan-coached team or unit, it goes bad fast. Like it or not, we could be seeing the swift decline of a Jets defense Rex Ryan touts on par with his dad's '85 Bears or Rex's old group, the Ravens of the turn of the century.
Yes, the Dolphins only generated 235 yards of total offense yesterday, and yes, the offense only mustered two touchdowns, but the Jets lost 30-9, which means the Jets defense failed to keep the Dolphins off the scoreboard enough times relative to scoring opportunities. The very first drive of the game more than demonstrated how the defense wasn't ready to back up its own trash talk, as the Dolphins drove the ball down the field and into the red zone. Even though the drive was aided by a foolish 15-yard penalty by Antonio Cromartie and only ended in a Dan Carpenter field goal, the Jets defense wasn't really stopping anyone when it most needed to in order to set the tone for the game. This goes to the heart of Rex's failing as a head coach and defensive guru: too much talk and bluster between Monday and Friday and not enough readiness to impose their will on Sunday.
Rex said he never saw it coming. He should have. He's known for over a year that his mouth writes too many checks for his players to cash on Sunday, he's acknowledged it and pledged to rectify the matter. But he hasn't. In his defiant way to be himself, he continues to put his team at a big disadvantage as soon as the National Anthem is sung, and 6-10 and 3-8 is all we need to know anymore. This is not the same team that went to back-to-back AFC title games in 2009 and 2010, and Rex is no longer the man with all the answers and spirit to guide this team. With each post-game press conference he sounds more and more lost of the big picture, and this is even after games the Jets win, as infrequent as that's become.
Perhaps the most damning indictment of Rex comes from the image of seeing Sanchez's frustration after throwing another incomplete pass to a receiver he didn't want to throw to. Sanchez plays like the naive math and science student who gets shell-shocked by a mid-term exam that looks nothing like all the repetitious end-of-chapter review questions and exercises he or she did from the course textbook while cramming for the exam. In other words, the ill-prepared student rehearsed on low-level regurgitative content but never really studied the subject matter. Sanchez's pre-game preparation seems disturbingly familiar. Whatever Sparano and Ryan are doing during the week is not getting Sanchez fully ready for Sunday and Sanchez is encountering what he's not anticipating and vice-versa. That's not on the player. That's on coaching. Smart math and science educators are supposed to properly prepare students for exams that use and apply course content, not just present the "lectureable" content. Smart football coaches need to properly prepare players, especially quarterbacks and receivers, with real game situations, not just situations that simulate basic mechanics of a play. In other words, instead of avoiding what could go wrong, build coaching and preparation around everything that could go wrong and see how plays can still succeed. Rex Ryan keep claiming Sanchez gives the Jets the best chance to win, but how can Sanchez win if he continuously thrown to the wolves without tools to ward off predators?
Yes, if I owned the Jets, Rex would be fired effective 9:00am Tuesday morning, along with Tony Sparano, and Tim Tebow would either be traded or unconditionally waived. I'd hand the head coaching duties to Mike Westhoff, yesterday's special teams debacles notwithstanding, elevate Matt Cavanaugh to offensive coordinator, advise my assistant coaches to pool together and fix our offensive line and defensive issues, and tell Mark Sanchez to go play quarterback, worry about making the best of plays instead of avoiding the worst, and stop looking over his shoulder.
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