Rex Ryan Talks About Calvin Pryor Benching and Jaiquawn Jarrett’s Play

Nov 9, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan walks off the field after the New York Jets 20-13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

Following Sunday’s win over the Steelers, much discussion was had over the fact that Calvin Pryor was benched, didn’t play a defensive snap. As we reported yesterday, the report was that Calvin Pryor had been late to meetings, causing anger from the coaches that prompted his benching. Coach Ryan talked yesterday about why Pryor was benched in favor of Jaiquawn Jarrett:

No, I think first off, what happens in our team meetings I am just going to leave there. The reason he didn’t start was Jaiquawn Jarrett. That’s the reason. This young man’s preparation, his practice, and ultimately his performance on Sunday, I think you see that. But, he has been playing extremely well for us and I thought the young man deserved the opportunity, and, obviously, we all saw the kind of performance that he put in.

Rex wasn’t wrong. With two interceptions and one sack, Jarrett gave Calvin Pryor quite a lot to think about while watching from the sidelines.

According to the coach, there isn’t any disappointment in the play of Calvin Pryor:

No, not at all. I think what happens is, this is a young man that’s coming in, a rookie. It’s hard to play in the league. When you come in as a rookie, there’s a lot to learn, there’s all that type of stuff. And I will say this, this young man is working extremely hard and I expect he’s going to get better and better and better. It’s not surprising. It’s a different game. The skill level of players is different. Quite honestly, we’ve been running other coverages that maybe we weren’t really anticipating as much at the beginning of the year and things like that. I can tell you this. I have a lot of faith in this young man. I think he’s going to be a tremendous player for us. I’ll tell you what, I’m encouraged he had two tackles on special teams. I thought he did a great job on special teams as well for us. But, I think this kid’s going to be an outstanding player. I don’t think there’s any doubt he’s going to be an outstanding player.