Cool Link OT: The League That Rex Built

[Ian]

A lot of buzz online about this piece. Some interesting stuff in it by Oliver Connolly of the Guardian, and it's worth the read:

The League That Rex Built

Defensive football in 2025 falls into a handful of buckets. Are you a part of FangioBall, mimicking Mike Macdonald, or is your name Brian Flores? Yet all approaches tip the cap to Rex Ryan

www.readoptional.com

 

[Vindicate]

A lot of buzz online about this piece. Some interesting stuff in it by Oliver Connolly of the Guardian, and it's worth the read:

The League That Rex Built

Defensive football in 2025 falls into a handful of buckets. Are you a part of FangioBall, mimicking Mike Macdonald, or is your name Brian Flores? Yet all approaches tip the cap to Rex Ryan

www.readoptional.com

Haven't finished but it reinforces my point that the Patriots should have made a move for Flores after Miami. He is the best.

 

[signbabybrady]

Haven't finished but it reinforces my point that the Patriots should have made a move for Flores after Miami. He is the best.

I wanted Flores over Mayo last year but I think I like Vrabel more.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Sports media is saying the Vikings defense could be top in the league this season...

 

[Hammer of Thor]

I wanted Flores over Mayo last year but I think I like Vrabel more.

My list last year was Jim Harbaugh #1, Mike Vrabel #2, Brian Flores #3, and Mayo #4. And Mayo was 4 because I believed the hype coming out about him, without realizing that it was just that. Flores knows what he’s doing, he just had a major conflict with Tua that he lost which cost him his job at the end. Hopefully he’ll get a second chance and he’ll learn his lesson to be a bit more people friendly as HC. His story had too many similarities to Josh McDaniels Denver story, so I hope he’s able to prevent his 2nd chance from being McDaniels’ Vegas story.

 

[Triumph]

If Rex ever gets a real QB he will win a Super Bowl.

 

[Triumph]

Haven't finished but it reinforces my point that the Patriots should have made a move for Flores after Miami. He is the best.

Vrabel is also a disciple of Belichick

 

[Triumph]

I wonder if NE is going back to 3 - 4 base?

Barmore is big enough to play NT.

 

[upstater1]

The writer knows his football but drawing tenuous connections between various people and then calling them disciples is a head scratcher.

Maybe too much enthusiasm in the article in an attempt to prove a point?

I would've been highly convinced if he just said "look at all the copycats," but to take it to the point of mentoring, all those names?

Just look at it from a Patriots point of view: Brian Flores, Patrick Graham, Josh Boyer, or even Spagnuolo (who is a Coughlin guy). They may all steal from Rex, but disciples? I don't think so.

 

[Vindicate]

"No matter that the laws of the game (rightly) encourage player safety, this is a violent sport. And Ryan wanted his units to be the most violent. He wanted opposing offenses to feel the throbbing and nagging weeks after they squared off against a Ryan side. “All I ever saw with my dad was ‘be the more physical team’. I inherited that,” Ryan told the Pivot Podcast."

Sounds like how Vrabel was describing the defensive identity earlier this off-season. Aggression plays into play calling.

Long article but looking to be good stuff in here. Granular defensive talk.

 

[Wozzy]

Buddy Ryan’s imprint… not Rex’s.

 

[h0c2000]

This writer didn't put his best foot forward with this piece.

 

[signbabybrady]

 

[patfanken]

Rex was over rated as a HC, but under rated as a DC. His use of the zone blitz was beautiful. It would force the focus of the offense to concentrate on defending one side, while the pressure came from the other. This was a REALLY good article

That 2010 game was the 2nd worse loss of the 2 decade long dynasty. I still twinge when I think about it.

 

[Guts]

Rex was over rated as a HC, but under rated as a DC. His use of the zone blitz was beautiful. It would force the focus of the offense to concentrate on defending one side, while the pressure came from the other. This was a REALLY good article

That 2010 game was the 2nd worse loss of the 2 decade long dynasty. I still twinge when I think about it.

the 2010 game was worse than 07 for me honestly

 

[patfanken]

the 2010 game was worse than 07 for me honestly

It's close

 

[Pape]

quirk of the schedule? we only played baltimore once while he was the DC... good guys 27 bad guys 24...

vs the RR jete, we were 9-3, 0-1 in the playoffs... scored 30+ points 4 times, including decking them for 45 and later 49 points...

vs the RR Bildoes, we went 3-1 vs them, and in bookend games of his time there we dropped 40 & 41 points on them...

Can we please get this guy Back in the division? Miami has a coach on the hot seat... why not there...

 

[PP2]

I wanted Flores over Mayo last year but I think I like Vrabel more.

Vrabel as HC, yes. But I would have loved Flores being the DC.

 

[Triumph]

Rex is a good HC.

To accomplish what he did with Mark Sanchez is truly amazing. Back to back AFCC and he had to go through 2 first ballot HOF QBs in Manning and Brady for one of them. By the time Big Ben was up the Jets were toast. But, what other HC walks in year 1 and takes his club to the Conference Championship?

The Jets have not been to the postseason since Rex.

He has a style that some players love. Over and over Rex would mouth off or do something getting an opposing player to respond creating a mini controversy where Rex;s team would rally to defend him. Rex started it, but came away the injured party who was only minding his own business.

Rex is not a good offensive guy just like Belichick.

 

[Wozzy]

Vrabel as HC, yes. But I would have loved Flores being the DC.

Vrabel and Flores were the only choices on my head coaching wish list last year… it took another season of incompetence, but glad we finally got one. It could have been years of horror. Kudos to Jonathan for quickly seeing the error.

Flores learned from BB, and Bill probably took as much from Buddy Ryan as anyone did… he studied all the best.

That being said Brian runs a 3/4 like Bill and Vrabel do now… not the 46 which is just an ultra-aggressive version of the 4-3 defense. You can simulate an 8 man front from any scheme, but let’s not credit Rex with his dad’s scheme. His brother Rob ran the same scheme but simply didn’t have the players Rex did. Credit for that should probably go to GM Mike Tannenbaum.

This article seems the result of a young reporter ignorant to history…. and probably a Jets fan. Rex probably could have given us more challenge in the East, but time and injury to Chad Pennigton’s throwing shoulder robbed him of that opportunity. It’s easy enough to be good for a few seasons, it’s a lot harder to be good for two centuries.