Thursday, January 5, 2012

Welcome to Animal House

Your delta tau chi name is Flounder. Tell me that doesn't fit the Jets to a tee. They've morphed from a Super Bowl contender into the NFL's version of Kent Dorfman...And "Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life son." Rex Ryan covers the fat angle here, but to me that's more about complacency than his weight problem. Ryan's bravado, challenges and bold proclamations worked in his first two seasons as head coach, but this year he couldn't get his players to back up the talk. He allowed things to spiral out of control, because he admittedly didn't have "the pulse" of the team. Ryan turned into the Kevin Bacon character screaming, "All is well!" This while the locker room was fractured and falling apart.

As for being drunk, the Jets have guzzled far too much of Ryan's Kool-Aid. When you're constantly being told you're the best, you can start to think you're better than you are. The Jets act and talk as if they've accomplished something, but the last time I checked their only Super Bowl appearance came in 1969 before most of the current roster was born. Joe Namath delivered on his guarantee...I'm still waiting for Ryan and company to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy. And my guess is they won't be showing up on an "Eat Me" float in Indianapolis to grab it.

There's also plenty of stupid to go around here. From the Jets believing safety Eric Smith and right tackle Wayne Hunter were actually starting caliber players, to Ryan naming wide receiver Santonio Holmes a captain, to Brian Schottenheimer's play calling. Most off all though, the Jets as an organization failed to grasp that character is as important as talent. When highly respected locker room leaders like Tony Richardson, Shaun Ellis, and Jerricho Cotchery are shown the door, who's left to rally the troops when things go wrong? Who's left to keep a guy like Holmes in line when his selfish attitude begins to infect the rest of the team? In the end it falls on the head coach, and after this disaster of a season there's no doubt Ryan is on double secret probation.