Rex Ryan Won’t Let Media Drive Wildcat Snaps

Sep 16, 2012; Pittsburgh , PA, USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half of the game at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-US PRESSWIRE

With the New York media asking the questions, Rex Ryan has a lot to answer when he goes through his press conferences. The topic that is most prevalent on the media’s mind is the Wildcat. Everyone wants to get more of a read on how many snaps Tim Tebow is going to get. It has been an inconsistent number so far, as Rex Ryan has stated. Despite how many times he has told the media that it will vary from game to game, the questions remain. Yesterday, he took an even more direct approach, putting the reporters directly in the crosshairs when addressing the topic:

That’s the beauty of it because we control it. The media is not going to drive it. The opponent, they’re not going to have any idea what we’re going to do with them and I’m certainly not going to let them know, ‘By the way, Tebow is going to have 50 snaps today.’ Let (them prepare). I’m never going to give a legitimate answer. I think I know the answer, but I’m not going to give it to them. I think it plays into our best interests that our opponents don’t know how many (Wildcat plays we are going to run). Is it going to be a big feature? Is the Wildcat going to be very featured this week or is it going to be more back-burnered. I think that plays into our advantage.

September 16, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow (15) sits on the bench against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the third quarter at Heinz Field. The Pittsburgh Steelers won 27-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-US PRESSWIRE

For the record, Ryan is sticking with his feeling that there is no problem getting in rhythm with both quarterbacks:

No, I don’t think so. When you look at this past game, for instance, we only had three Wildcat plays. But really, the Wildcat is a personnel grouping and sometimes you want to go with that personnel grouping, sometimes you don’t. We’re going to do what we think is in the best interest of our team. I feel pretty good about it and we’ll see as the weeks go on (how much we’ll use it). You can play a lot of it, or you can play less of it. It’s just more of a game plan situation for us

Maybe the media will eventually understand that whether the staff has decided or not, they are not going to talk specifics as to how often the Wildcat will be used. And they shouldn’t, it has to be by feel. The rhythm can work, as we saw in the Buffalo game. The team is going to keep it close to the vest. The reporters need to start getting that straight, and move on.