Apology Du Jour

I look away for five minutes and Rex Ryan is off giving the finger. Am I the only one who laughed? Of course, it was inappropriate, but there's no way Ryan meant it as anything other than a spur-of-the-moment joking response.

All I have to say is...can't we all just get along?

In any event, it has provoked the obligatory apology from him and statement from GM Mike Tannenbaum, which both follow:

Statement from New York Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan

“It was stupid and inappropriate. I wouldn’t accept that type of behavior from one of the coaches or players and it’s unacceptable from me. I apologize to the Jets organization, the National Football League and NFL fans everywhere.”

Statement from New York Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum

“Rex showed extremely poor judgment and his conduct was inappropriate. He knows he was wrong, has apologized and we have accepted his apology. Any other actions regarding this incident will be addressed internally by the organization.”

Not Jetting Anywhere....

The name of this blog today is NotJettingAroundAnywhere. I know you don't care, but I'm really bored, so I'm going to tell you about what's going on. I've been sitting in the Indianapolis Airport since 8am in the attempt to get on my 9:25am flight back to NYC. Still here and it's now 1:25pm.

Apparently the winds in NY are so bad that LaGuardia has been completely shut down. Although I wouldn't know first hand. I believe what I'm being told.

In the meantime, as a result, the New York Jets press corps is scattered throughout the Midwest and East Coast. I'm happily ensconced at Gate B23 with Tom Rock and Bob Glauber of Newsday. Glauber is actually an interloper as he is supposed to be on a flight to Philly that is going out of Gate B10. Except that flight's not going anywhere either.

Jenny Vrentas of the Star-Ledger is at Gate B9, but she's afraid to go too far away from her gate, lest something exciting happen, like a departure.

Judy Battista of the Times is somewhere in another terminal entirely. We are communicating via Twitter.

The Jets cleaned out their lockers this morning. Couldn't tell you what happened. Rex Ryan is giving his end-of-year press conference at 4pm. Clearly, I won't be there either.

It's Over

In the first half it looked like the Jets might just have figured it out. The second half proved that wrong. And at the end of the day, Peyton Manning is simply someone with a talent on a whole other level.

With the loss of RB Shonn Greene and CB Donald Strickland, and a hobbled Bart Scott things shifted against the Jets. There was also the matter of the pass rush that seemed to disappear.

The locker room was a very quiet place. A lot of the players were having trouble focusing on how good of a season it was, but acknowledged that they probably would be able to down the road. The most intriguing comment came from Braylon Edwards who said the team came out with a different attitude in the second half than they did in the first. I asked him what specifically he meant by that and he deferred, saying he didn't want to speak for anyone else.

Unfortunately, Thomas Jones was yet again, a total no-show. He was not in the locker room at all this entire week leading up to the game and was not there after the game today either. Otherwise I would certainly have liked to have brought you his thoughts.

Mark Sanchez was disappointed but also trying to look at the positives, what the team accomplished this year and looking ahead to next season.

Punter Steve Weatherford was in the most upbeat mood. He said "I'm a glass half full guy. Plus, everybody in this room is incredibly blessed."

More later. In the meantime check out the Rapid Reports and a story on the pass rush that will be up on CBSSports.com shortly.

Welcome to Indy!

May I first and foremost give a hearty thank you to the most well-behaved Jets fans I have been around. AirTran Flight #891 out of LaGuardia yesterday - 150 seats, at least 130 of which were filled with Jets fans wearing all sorts of team regalia. Not one J E T S chant (until deplaning). It was the cherry on the sundae since not only did the flight take off on time, we landed almost 30 minutes early. Yes. 30 minutes. EARLY. I plan to fly to Indianapolis on a regular basis now. (And this made up for the 35 minutes I spent standing on the TSA line in my socks.)

Thanks to Tom Rock of Newsday who was on my flight and drove me to the door of my hotel in his spiffy red PT Cruiser rental.

Also, a big shout out to my seatmates, Bill and his 11-year-old son Peter from Pelham, NY. They are Colts fans. Bill is an Indy native and like father like son. Bill and I had a nice chat, while the very well-behaved and polite Peter played some games on Dad's iPhone. Like winning the lottery.

Next up, I met a friend I hadn't seen in none-of-your-business years at a fun restaurant called Scotty's - Ted Karras, now the head football coach at Marian University. They hired him in 2006 to build the program from scratch and the team has already had two winning seasons. He was accompanied by his defensive coordinator Marty Mathis. We had a blast. Nothing like connecting with old friends and I'll now be following Marian closely.

Then it was on to dinner with my CBS cohort Clark Judge and writer Ron Borges. They tricked me into ordering a hamburger the size of a hubcap. I have a photo of the bun, unfortunately the hook up for my camera is at home. Keep checking back. By the way, Clark ordered a salad. This did not deter me from ordering an equally large piece of chocolate cake, which was the soul mate I have been waiting my whole life for.

Now it's almost game time. My gut still says Jets win. We'll know for sure in a few hours.

Woody Johnson Reflects on 2009

Speaking to the media for the first time since the Jets entered the playoff race and the death of his eldest daughter, 30-year-old Casey the very next day, Jets owner Robert Wood (Woody) Johnson IV said simply, “This has been a brutal couple of weeks for me.”

However, Johnson is working hard to balance his personal loss with the stratospheric rise of his football team. Knowing there is nothing he can do to change what happened with Casey; Johnson has divided his focus into two worlds – personal and professional. Yet all of those disparate emotions came to a head when Coach Rex Ryan handed Johnson a game ball in the locker room following the Jets win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wildcard game.

“When I got that ball, that was too many things that hit me at once,” Johnson said shaking his head.

Johnson decided to attend the game because he felt that if he expected his players to play after some of their own personal losses (which several have experienced this season), he should expect the same thing of himself.

Now as things continues to move forward at hectic pace, Johnson reflected on the road that has brought the team to this point and almost all of it begins and ends with Rex Ryan. From the moment Ryan arrived for his first interview – 30 minutes late and coming off a loss in the AFC Championship game to the Pittsburgh Steelers - the team knew it had its man.

“When Rex came into the room, it was obvious to us that this was a guy that deserved a shot,” Johnson recalled. “[With his family history] he’s been a coach longer than his years.”
Immediately the entire culture and atmosphere of the team changed as everyone embraced their new head coach’s buoyant and open personality, as well as his leadership abilities. Ryan’s assertion in his opening press conference that the team would be meeting the President of the United States because they would win a Super Bowl with him at the helm was met internally with excitement and awe.

In this new era of openness, Johnson has found himself mingling with fans in the post-game parking lot getting their feedback, most of which he said is positive – at least to his face. He has enjoyed these interactions, getting what he called the “flavor of what’s going on out there.”

“We’ve finally got the light that we work for our fans and we want to tell you everything,” he said. “Our foibles, our successes, the fans deserve all of that.”

The one bit of unpleasantness that has hung over the organization this year is the matter of the PSLs, better known as Personal Seat Licenses. This has put fans in the position of having to buy not just tickets, but the seats themselves; in essence, buying the right to buy the tickets.
Johnson said he understands some of the opposition, but on the other hand points out that fans can now own these seats for the life of the stadium and that the price is “reflected in what the stadium cost.” He also indicated that the team has seen a surge in purchases starting in December.

With the biggest game in a decade looming on the horizon, and a possible Super Bowl appearance so close they can almost touch it, Johnson is anticipating big things. “In 1998, I was watching [the AFC Championship game],” he said, and then paused. “I think we’ll come closer this year.”

And where has Johnson put that very meaningful game ball? It is in the possession of his three-and-a-half year old son, who may be young, but according to his father, already seems to understand the meaning behind it and treats it with loving care.

Woody Johnson Reflects on 2009

Speaking to the media for the first time since the Jets entered the playoff race and the death of his eldest daughter, 30-year-old Casey one day later, Jets owner Robert Wood (Woody) Johnson IV said simply, “This has been a brutal couple of weeks for me.”

However, Johnson is working hard to balance his personal loss with the stratospheric rise of his football team. Knowing there is nothing he can do to change what happened with Casey; Johnson has divided his focus into two worlds – personal and professional. Yet all of those disparate emotions came to a head when Coach Rex Ryan handed Johnson a game ball in the locker room following the Jets win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wildcard game.

“When I got that ball, that was too many things that hit me at once,” Johnson said shaking his head.

Johnson decided to attend the game because he felt that if he expected his players to play after some of their own personal losses (which several have experienced this season), he should expect the same thing of himself.

Now as things continues to move forward at hectic pace, Johnson reflected on the road that has brought the team to this point and almost all of it begins and ends with Rex Ryan. From the moment Ryan arrived for his first interview – 30 minutes late and coming off a loss in the AFC Championship game to the Pittsburgh Steelers - the team knew it had its man.

“When Rex came into the room, it was obvious to us that this was a guy that deserved a shot,” Johnson recalled. “[With his family history] he’s been a coach longer than his years.”

Immediately the entire culture and atmosphere of the team changed as everyone embraced their new head coach’s buoyant and open personality, as well as his leadership abilities. Ryan’s assertion in his opening press conference that the team would be meeting the President of the United States because they would win a Super Bowl with him at the helm was met internally with excitement and awe.

In this new era of openness, Johnson has found himself mingling with fans in the post-game parking lot getting their feedback, most of which he said is positive – at least to his face. He has enjoyed these interactions, getting what he called the “flavor of what’s going on out there.”

“We’ve finally got the light that we work for our fans and we want to tell you everything,” he said. “Our foibles, our successes, the fans deserve all of that.”

The one bit of unpleasantness that has hung over the organization this year is the matter of the PSLs, better known as Personal Seat Licenses. This has put fans in the position of having to buy not just tickets, but the seats themselves; in essence, buying the right to buy the tickets.

Johnson said he understands some of the opposition, but on the other hand points out that fans can now own these seats for the life of the stadium and that the price is “reflected in what the stadium cost.” He also indicated that the team has seen a surge in purchases starting in December.

With the biggest game in a decade looming on the horizon, and a possible Super Bowl appearance so close they can almost touch it, Johnson is anticipating big things. “In 1998, I was watching [the AFC Championship game],” he said, and then paused. “I think we’ll come closer this year.”

And where has Johnson put that very meaningful game ball? It is in the possession of his three-and-a-half year old son, who may be young, but according to his father, already seems to understand the meaning behind it and treats it with loving care.