After winning his first NFL game as a head coach, Rex Ryan got choked up.
Now that the Jets have lost five of their next eight games (and five of six), Ryan is shedding tears again.
According to Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post, Ryan cried during a Monday morning team meeting following Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars.
“He didn’t bash us at all; he was just very emotional . . . he was
crying,” tackle Damien Woody told Cannizzaro. “Rex believes in our
team so much I can’t even put it into words and it would be a shame if
we didn’t capitalize on our opportunity.”
“I was a little upset to see him that way,” cornerback Darrelle Revis added. “I’m upset for the same reasons he’s upset. . . . I haven’t been a part of a meeting where a coach cried like that. . . .
In the future, I hope there are more tears of joy than the one this
morning.”
“He was talking about the situation — this upcoming game with New
England and how we’re still there, how we still have a pulse,” Woody explained. “He said it’s all about us, that nobody believes in us and that
we are the only ones who believe we can get things done.
“He said, ‘I believe in you; I believe you get can get this thing done,’ and that’s when he really got emotional. . . .
“He wants guys to understand how good we can be if we just do the little
things. It all goes back to his belief in this team. That’s why he was
so emotional. He was crying because he believes in our team so much he
sees the opportunity and it would be a shame if we didn’t capitalize on
our opportunity.”
Every year, a team seems to emerge from a mediocre midseason record, getting hot down the stretch and carrying it into the postseason. And if the Jets can go to Foxborough and complete a sweep of the Patriots, that might be the spark Ryan’s team needs.
But maybe Ryan’s tears came from the reality that, after letting one get away on Sunday night in Indy, the Patriots will be looking to hang 60 on a Jets team that treated a win in Week Two like a victory in early February.
