Rex Ryan pays homage to his dad on Fathers Day, runs off his mouth (again)
In celebration of Fathers Day, Jets head coach Rex Ryan has once again imitated his father Buddy's legendary penchant for sh*t-talking.
This time, the shots fired concern a pair of recent Patriots castoffs, Ras-I Dowling and Jermaine Cunningham, both of whom are now with the Jets. When asked about picking up players who didn't make the cut from their rivals up north, Rex got defensive, and threw in a few jabs at Patriots coach Bill Belichick while he was at it.
“I don’t believe the one guy up in New England’s got all the answers. I worry about ourselves, what we think of a player and how we evaluate a player. Do I respect the hell out of Bill? Absolutely. But if we think a player can help us, we don’t care how we get him.”
“You had the same perception of a Ryan. If you let a defensive player go, why pick him up if he can’t play for you?... It could have been a logjam at (the position). Maybe they were looking for something else. You really don’t know. But again, I don’t care."
For someone who "worries about ourselves", Rex seems to spend a lot of time talking about the Patriots, but I digress. Both Cunningham and Dowling were second round picks by the Patriots (Cunningham was the 53rd pick in 2010, Dowling was picked 33rd overall in 2011), but injuries and inconsistent play lead to their release from the Patriots last August. Cunningham spent a month last season with the Niners before being cut there as well, leading to his signing with the Jets in November, while Dowling was a October addition to the Jets practice squad.
Their lack of NFL success hasn't prevented Rex from engaging in his usual practice of talking up his players. Cunningham was a bust in New England, where he primarily played defensive end, but Ryan has moved him to the SAM (strongside) linebacker, where he'll face a variety of responsibilities, including some work in pass coverage. Ryan is already on the record as saying he'll be "shocked if he's not a contributor for us".
The oft-injured Dowling could fill an even bigger need at cornerback if (and this is a big if) he can stay on the field. At 6'1", 210, Dowling's potential as a big, physical press corner was what made him intriguing to Belichick in the draft, and Ryan also favors bigger, physical corners for his defense. There's also a pressing need at that position: the Jets defense relies on strong man coverage from it's secondary, and the Jets look thin on the outside after jettisoning Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie in back-to-back offseasons.
“Here’s a guy who’s clearly built like a press corner,” Ryan said when asked about Dowling. “He’s done a good job up until this point. His thing is going to be how he is as a press corner. We’ll start to find out.”
The Patriots plucked a steal from the Jets discard pile back in 2010 when they signed Danny Woodhead and turned him into a valuable contributor on offense. Rex and the Jets are hoping that luck will swing back their way with Cunningham and Dowling.
“Sometimes what might not be good for you looks good for somebody else,” Ryan said. “You know what? Guys make mistakes.”
We'll see, Rexy. We'll see.
