Hype is an amazing thing. It can make a great player hated, serve as a mechanism for unrealistic expectations and become a gravitational force for attention. The New York Jets have made it all three.
Rex Ryan has done nothing but bring hype to the Jets since he took over last season. Some of it has been good considering the team certainly no longer feels like the Giants' less talented little brother, but some of it has led the Jets into an incredibly uncomfortable position.
After all, in what world do we live in that an early morning Braylon Edwards DUI arrest easily trumps a much more important and tragic story such as the apparent suicide death of Denver Broncos' Wide Receiver Kenny McKinley?
But that is the world the Jets are living in now and regardless of how many big personality players are inhabiting the Jets' locker room (aka the 'Animal House'), the man who is responsible is the same man who must fix the problem, yes I mean Rex Ryan.
The second year coach has done a world of good for the franchise. He has identified himself with the fan base, befriended his players to a point where they play hard for him and to this point has proven himself as maybe the best X's and O's coach the team has had since Bill Parcells. But an undeniable string of ugly events has cast a dark shadow on the team, changing its perception from the lovable underdogs of last year, to a hated band of misfits this year. It must stop now.
Ryan has to prove that he can put his foot down, the obvious next step in his coaching maturation. He has to create a divide between him and his players and that is something that will be tough, but necessary for him to do. If he doesn't, there will be story after story on the misfit Jets, some of them could potentially trump the Edwards incident, the foul language on Hard Knocks, the Ines Sainz debacle and even Ryan himself flipping the bird to some obnoxious Dolphins fans.
His own career depends on it. Honestly, how many incidents/distractions will it take for the Jets zoo to run them out of contention? With a team of trash talkers and players with substance/personal conduct issues, what clout will he hold if he looks for another head coaching job if he can't prove he can control a team?
The change should start with Braylon Edwards Sunday night. the NFL and NFLPA labor agreement prohibits the Jets from suspending or deactivating Edwards for the game, but the Jets have already said he will not start. The question is, will he play at all, and if so, how much? The right move would be to sit him the entire game and make him (or at least try) learn a lesson about putting his team in a bad situation.
More likely, Edwards will sit the first half. After all, the Jets are short of wide receivers as it is (Santonio Holmes is suspended until week 5) and a divisional game at Miami is no time to waive a white flag, especially with all this hype.
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