Rex Ryan Gets Inside Reggie Bush’s Head

October 21, 2012; Foxboro, MA USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan during the third quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-US PRESSWIRE

Rex Ryan has done a lot of things as the head coach of the New York Jets. He has inspired players to great heights, he has annoyed his opponents. He has put himself out there, and sometimes gotten himself fined. He has had verbal altercations with opposing players on the football field, and has a team that would go to war and back for him. It sure has been an eventful three plus years of the Rex Ryan era.

One thing Rex knows, is how to get inside other players, and motivate his team in the process. A prime example occurred yesterday. The Jets, as we know, are coming off of a brutal loss in New England las week. Rex needed to find a way to get his team off of that game, and on to the next one. So, what did he do? He brought back the comments made last time these two teams played each other, and he worked it to perfection.

Just to recap it, remember the first game, when Rex said that they needed to put a little “hot sauce” on Reggie Bush? Reggie took that to mean that Rex was instructing his team to go out and try to injure him. In fact, that wasn’t what Rex meant, he was in fact giving respect to Reggie, saying that they needed to pay extra attention to him. Well, after the Jets lost Darrelle Revis for the season during that game, Reggie Bush decided to strike back, saying that Revis “Got what he deserved.”

Rex took this as an opportunity yesterday, to get the Jets focused on the game on Sunday, all the while getting inside of Reggie Bush’s head. He brought up the comments, talking about how he felt Reggie should apologize for what he said:

I do because my thing is I never was saying we were trying to injure Reggie Bush. That’s not even close. He’s going to get our attention. I’m sorry, but he’s the type of player that’s going to warrant a lot of attention and we’re going to give it to him. There is no question. That’s what I meant by my comments. If it was taken differently (or) out of context, I apologize for that. Trust me, we know when he’s in the game. He still is going to get our attention, but his (statements) about Revis, I understand he got hurt in the game and that’s bad for football. We never want to hurt a player. I respect him as a player. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and I never want to see that. I’ve said it from day one and I don’t care who it is. Look, as bad as I want to beat Tom Brady, I don’t want to see Tom Brady out of this league. There’s no doubt. That’s bad for the league. Shoot, I’m a football fan as well as a coach. This game is great because of the players and the talent that plays in this league. That’s what I mean. If Reggie thinks about it, you want Darrelle Revis playing in this league. I know I do.

We will talk about it more on the next page.

Sept 23, 2012; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins running back Reggie Bush (22) injured in the second quarter against the New York Jets at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

Rex then played with it a little bit, backing off just a bit when asked if he expects Bush to apologize:

No. I don’t expect one, but maybe Darrelle Revis (does). I’m sure he got caught up in in the moment. He was injured and obviously nobody likes to get hurt. That certainly wasn’t my intention and I hope he understands that. He doesn’t ever have to say anything to me or reach out to Revis, but I would expect him to, just for the simple fact that Revis is his peer. He’s one of the elite players in this league.

Does anyone really think that Rex Ryan cares whether or not Reggie Bush says “I’m sorry” or not? This is football, Rex has been around this game long enough to know that these types of comments do, and always will happen. Rex doesn’t care one bit, whether or not an apology is given. Make no mistake, Rex Ryan’s sole motivation was to get his team thinking about the Dolphins, and forgetting about the game against the Patriots. A side benefit could be to get inside Reggie Bush’s head.

To Rex’s delight, Reggie Bush took the bait. He was asked about the comments, specifically about Rex Ryan’s apology. He commented that it wasn’t sincere at all. He is still taking the “hot sauce” comment to mean that they were trying to injure him, and he is not letting it go. This is exactly what Rex Ryan wanted to happen. The reason? It proves that Rex Ryan and the Jets are inside his head. He hasn’t let go of the situation, and will be thinking about it on Sunday.

Safety LaRon Landry then jumped into the fray, talking yesterday about how Reggie Bush is going to “remember the hit” that he put on him last time. He said that whenever Bush sees him, he will be thinking about that hit.

LaRon Landry is absolutely right. Bush will be thinking about that hit. The Jets are inside Reggie Bush’s head, and that was proven by Rex Ryan yesterday. One thing is always for sure, Rex Ryan can get inside other players’ heads, and can motivate his team as good as anyone can.