New York Jets’ Coach Rex Ryan on Stevie Johnson and Offensive Balance

Jul 28, 2013; Cortland, NY, USA; New York Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg speaks with the media prior to the start of training camp at SUNY Cortland. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

It certainly has been a long time since we could talk about a Jets’ offense favoring the pass over the run, but that is exactly what we have so far in 2013. As we said in the preview this morning, the ratio of pass to run has been approximately 65-35, which is a bit out of character for a Rex Ryan team.

Coach Ryan understands what the Mornhinweg offense is about, and doesn’t want them to “favor” the run, but would like to maybe be a bit more balanced:

I think with us, I talked about being an attacking team, whether we’re attacking on offense, defense, special teams. We want to play with that kind of mentality. Do I expect us to run more than pass? Not really. I’d like to be close to balanced. I think that’s where we’ve been the first couple of games. So I think that’s pretty good. The old football mentality about would I prefer to run the ball (more) than throw it? Yeah, of course. But that being said, the way the game is played now, I also like to attack down the field and I think we can do both now.

It’s a unique spot for a team like the Jets. The league is a passing league, but you take the pressure off of a young quarterback by running the football. So, it’s a delicate balance that Marty and company have to try to achieve on a week to week basis.

In terms of the upcoming game, Rex talked about why Stevie Johnson has been so tough to play against:

Well, he is a great receiver. He’s not as big as (Larry Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson) but he’s a big man still. The thing that is unusual about him, his style is unique, the way he gets off the line of scrimmage, off press coverage in particular. There are guys that are faster than him, but he gets open. He gets separation. And I think it starts with the way he is at the line of scrimmage. He’s a little different but he’s excellent at getting off press coverage in particular.

Coach agreed that Stevie was a guy that gave Revis a lot of trouble as well, which was tough to do. It will be interesting to see if Cromartie takes him one on one, or if they rotate the coverage a bit.