On Defense, the Only Way for the 2013 New York Jets is Rex Ryan Style

Jun 11, 2013; Florham Park, NJ, USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan during the New York Jets minicamp session at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

Well, you thought you had gotten rid of me Jets fans, it’s not to be. I’m back. Had a little bout with the health situation, but now I am feeling a lot better, so, you know what that means to you guys? It means original content from “The Jet Press” himself. Frankly, it’s good to be back, typing again for you guys.

But, it got me thinking about what to write about. Sitting in a NYC hospital room, I was trying to figure out a topic about our team, relevant in a slow month prior to the open of training camp. It got me thinking about my medical situation, where to summarize, we decided to aggressively go after something to prevent it from becoming a problem. Instead of waiting additional symptoms that would dictate our course of action, we attack now, and let the problem react.

And it hit me. That is the exact same concept as thinking about Rex Ryan taking back over his defensive playcalling duties. The only way for the Jets to play in 2013.

There has been a lot of positive reaction to the news that coach Ryan is going to take over playcalling on defense again in 2013. There’s good reason, and you don’t even have to go past the numbers from 2009-2010 to see it. When coach Ryan is dictating the plays of the field, the team is aggressive, and is causing the offense to react to the defense. When the offense is reacting to you, rather than setting the tempo, you have them right where you want them.

But you don’t even have to look at any numbers to understand this, all you have to do is understand the concepts. When you look at the different concepts of playing defense you realize that this is the only one.

We have heard of two different concepts of playing defense through the years, “attack”, or “read and react”. We saw more of the read and react in the past, and it is much more conservative. The idea is that it takes the style the defense is running, and counteracts quickly, in order to stymie the opponent from doing what they do, but never being in a terribly vulnerable position.

Granted, the defense leaves you less vulnerable, but you are still playing from on your heels. Waiting for what the other team does, and than reacting to it, leaves you at the mercy of the other team. You are never making the first move, you are always adjusting.

In the attack style, sure, you are set to be burned by the occasional big play, no doubt. Being aggressive increases vulnerability. But what the defense ALSO does is causes the offense to react to you. It’s all about tempo. Whichever side is dictating the tempo is the one that is coming out on top.

Doesn’t it seem to make sense that the system of attacking, and making the offense react to you, gives you the best chance to win? Why would you go any other way?

See? Just like beating a medical problem.