I am sure the next time that twin brothers Rex and Rob Ryan see each other, they will enjoy an adult beverage, a high five, and a few expletive filled "take that" rants to their NFL pundits. The Ryan twins have been vindicated.
What a difference a year makes.
Coming into the season, the Ryan brothers were under fire, and people wondered if this would be their swan song. Head coach Rex Ryan and his New York Jets were coming off a miserable season...one filled with internal bickering, shoddy qb play, and lots of losing. National media outlets unveiled their initial power rankings for this year, and Ryan's Jets were listed at 32. For my casual fans...there are only 32 teams in the league! To make matters worse, Ryan was hammered in the media when embattled "starting" qb Mark Sanchez was lost for the year after being put in...in the 4th quarter of a meaningless preseason game. The Jets were now forced to hand the keys to untested rookie qb Geno Smith.
Meanwhile...thousands of miles away in the great state of Texas...defensive coordinator, and twin brother Rob Ryan was under his own ambush. While vacationing after another disappointing Cowboys season, he received word that his services were no longer needed...after just one season. To make matters worse, owner Jerry Jones all but exclusively blamed Ryan for the Cowboys' woes. Yes, the defense was bad, but it did finish 19th. Ryan fired back that he would have a new job "in five minutes". Figuratively...he did, as the Saints snatched him up to revive a defense that was not only the actual worst defense in the league in 2012 (32nd), they were also statistically one of the worst defenses in the history of the league! If Ryan was going to revive his career, he sure picked the toughest place to do it.
Fast forward to today...
Rex Ryan, somehow...someway lead his team to a respectable 8-8 finish this season. He did it with a no name offense (quick...name me two skill players from the Jets' roster....1....2...)...
I couldn't either.
Ryan also succeeded in spite of his rookie qb, who played about as erratic as you'll ever see from a rookie. Ryan received a vote of confidence at year's end, and will reportedly continue to lead the Jets into the future. Meanwhile....thousands of miles away in Louisiana...Rob Ryan exceeded expectations as well. His New Orleans Saints defense finished fourth overall this season....up from dead last. Not only that, his defense was the main cog in the Saints winning their first ever road playoff game. Ryan's unit all but shut down the high powered Eagles offense. Oh...and the Cowboys' defense this year?.....
I digress.
Whether or not you like the Ryans...you have to tip your hat to their collective efforts. That took a lot of courage, self belief, and resolve to make that kind of turn around.
Vindicated.
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