Getty Ex-New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan and the current Gang Green HC Robert Saleh.
Things seem to be going south rather quickly for the New York Jets midway through the 2021 season.
Gang Green just lost their second game in a row and four of their last five. The main culprit has been their porous defense.
Over the last four games, they have allowed 175 points that is the second most points given up by any team since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger, per ESPN.
One ESPN analyst has had enough and decided to go on an epic rant to let the world know about it.
ALL the latest Jets news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Jets newsletter here!
Ex-Jets Head Coach Has Had Enough of the Comparisons
ESPN analyst and former Jets head coach Rex Ryan appeared on DiPietro and Rothenberg on Monday morning and didn’t hold back when he was asked about head coach Robert Saleh:
“This is a horrendous defense. This guy is supposed to be a defensive guru and I’ve heard everything and I take it personally on this one. They said this guy [Saleh] is a lot like myself but without the bad part. Well, you need some of that bad part because this team doesn’t play with any damn heart. Don’t ever compare this guy, Robert Saleh, to me. Here is one thing they’ll be familiar with, four out of five years the San Francisco 49ers were dead last in their division so he’s going to be dead last again so he is used to that. To me, I’m a little pissed off about it when I hear that his background is a lot like yours, no it isn’t.”
We asked Rex Ryan about the job that #Jets HC Robert Saleh is doing.
His response to @HDumpty39 & @RothenbergESPN is must-listen.
LISTEN: t.co/BEG6XM40uA.
When Saleh was hired people compared him to when the Jets initially hired Rex Ryan. In theory, he could still bring the creative proven defensive concepts, yet he wouldn’t have the “bad stuff” like the bluster/bravado that was spewed daily during the press conferences that the media loved.
The problem is right now, Jets fans aren’t getting either.
Saleh has been emotionless on the sideline as his team has been beaten to a pulp seemingly on a weekly basis. The so-called proven concepts from San Francisco haven’t translated on any level and with the injuries piling up, it can only get worse from here.
Rex Isn’t the Only ESPN Analyst That Is P***** Off
‘The best thing that ever happened was Mike White playing like that’ now they can focus on developing their ‘real quarterback’ in Zach Wilson’ – Rex Ryan 🎥 @GetUpESPN. #Jets #TakeFlight #BUFvsNYJ
ESPN analyst and former Jets stud, Damien Woody took his ranting to the Twitter world on Monday.
The longtime former NFL offensive lineman raised several questions including the heart and pulse of the team saying, “people clown Urban Meyer down in Jacksonville but I see way more fight from them.”
I have so many questions for Robert Saleh & the Jets as a whole. My gawd man…ppl clown Urban Meyer but I see way more fight from Jacksonville. There is absolutely NO pulse on the defensive side and that’s your area of expertise?! Cmon dawg….cmon 🤦🏾♂️
In a separate thread Woody criticized Saleh’s questionable answer to the Stefon Diggs problem from the Buffalo Bills game:
“I’ll tell Saleh this, players over scheme! You have got to adapt until you have the horses to run your scheme the way you want. You’re beating your head against a brick wall all because of the scheme?! That’s not coaching to me.”
Throughout the contest, the defense was burned thanks to a strange coaching decision that continued to put one of the NFL’s best wide receivers in one-on-one coverage.
Diggs finished with eight receptions for 162 yards and a touchdown. He averaged a startling 20.3 yards per catch and went wild on the Jets’ secondary.
He did most of that damage on cornerback Javelin Guidry who came off the bench after an injury to Brandin Echols. Instead of slapping his best corner Bryce Hall on Diggs, Saleh kept trotting Guidry out there.
After the game, Saleh explained that his scheme doesn’t do the matchup corner who follows the opposing offense’s No. 1 wide receiver.
In the long run that’ll be a highly successful plan with the right talent, but in the short term that is a recipe for disaster. These cornerbacks are far too inexperienced and simply not talented enough to operate in that manner.
If Saleh refuses to adapt his scheme in the middle of the year, the rest of this season could be a ritual bloodletting of epic proportions.
Follow @BoyGreen25 & @obermuller_nyj on Twitter for all the latest New York Jets breaking news, rumors, fresh takes and more!
READ NEXT: Former Jets Nose Tackle, NFL All-Pro Retires After 9 Seasons
Comments
Rex Ryan Is ‘P***** off’ About Jets’ Robert Saleh Comparisons