Archives for January 2015

‘Schwartz is a staunch believer in the 4-3 base defense and doesn’t like to blitz, opting to let his front four rush the quarterback and cover with seven defenders. Ryan, who is considered one of the brightest defensive minds in the game, is the opposite. He prefers the base 3-4 and he prides himself on changing things up and blitzing to create havoc.’

‘Ryan wasn’t the best student growing up, but it wasn’t until 2007 that he learned a major reason why. He suffers from dyslexia, a learning disability that affects someone’s ability to read, write, spell and pronounce words. Coaches these days bounce up and down the sidelines with complex, color-coded play cards in their hands. Ryan says he color-coded his plays long before it became the norm so he could comprehend them easier.’

‘The defensive effort was certainly impressive and once again – as was the case with the line and the linebackers – it was such a shame that this type of play by the defense went to waste this season.’

‘Jones is 22, having spent a year at a military prep school; he has a child to support; and even though he’s got a national title to his credit, there are no guarantees he’ll beat out Miller or Barrett for the Buckeyes’ starting job in the fall. Miller could also be leaving, and that would impact Jones’ decision.’

‘Even if Marrone is unable to land a head coaching gig, he has a standing offer from his old friend Bill O’Brien to become a consultant for the Houston Texans.’

‘Ryan has lost quite a bit of weight since becoming an NFL head coach, but Buffalo’s pizza and wings may not be the best recipe for keeping the weight off.’

‘But as the Bills proved over the last two seasons, they have a wealth of defensive talent capable of playing in a variety of different schemes. While Schwartz gets credit for improving the run defense in 2014, the Bills also added a star rookie linebacker in Preston Brown and a proven run-stopping linebacker in Brandon Spikes. Schwartz’s defense was atop the league in sacks, but how tough is it to figure out ways to get pressure on the quarterback when you have three Pro Bowl defensive linemen?’

‘Ryan is a leader. Some others, still with the team’s management, do not have that ability.’

‘Good luck getting a top coach for this organization, most thought. But, lo and behold, they got one.’

Rex Ryan’s first day in Buffalo: custom pizza, beers with Jim Kelly (New York Post)

Buddy Ryan says Rex Ryan ‘did a hell of a job’ with Jets, will ‘compete even harder’ with Bills, per report (Newark Star Ledger)

Rex Ryan and Jim Kelly had a beer together on eve of Ryan’s introduction with Buffalo Bills (Newark Star Ledger)

Greetings from Buffalo: 5 things to expect from Rex Ryan’s first Bills press conference here Wednesday (Newark Star Ledger)

Rex Ryan Gets Endorsement From Bills Legend Jim Kelly (WFAN-AM)

‘Roman was hired after spending the past two days negotiating with the Bills. He spent the previous four seasons serving as the San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator, and shares the same run-first philosophy as Ryan.’

‘”I wanted to give Jim the opportunity to pursue other opportunities and so we have terminated his contract. He did a terrific job with the Bills defense this past year and our plan is for our defense to continue to play well and be a dominating force.”‘

‘He coached defensive backs with the Jets from 2008-2012 and worked with Ryan previously as a defensive assistant with the Baltimore Ravens.’

‘Roman worked on coach Jim Harbaugh’s staff for the past four years in San Francisco before Harbaugh left after the 49ers’ 8-8 finish in 2014 to accept to head coaching job at Michigan. The Bills and Roman were in negotiations for two days to work out a deal.’

‘The reason, according to the source, was due to differing defensive philosophies.’