QUOTE: “There are two main strategies we can adopt to improve the quality of life. The first is to try making external conditions match our goals. The second is to change how we experience external conditions to make them fit our goals better. “ -- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience,” 1990
Have you seen this picture of Rex Ryan at the Yankees game, courtesy of Deadspin.com? It says a thousand words about the real Rex -- in a good way. Simply put, he’s just “one of the guys” -- he makes no false pretense about himself—and he can inspire his players because he doesn’t have a phony bone in his body. As the old saying goes, he’s “keeping it real.” How many people would be sitting in expensive seats wearing Jets-issued clothing and be worried about their image?
APRyan joins the Jets where he will be replacing Eric Mangini (above) who took the head coaching job in Cleveland.
The reaction to his hiring by the New York Jets has been very positive, as Ryan is the polar opposite of the team’s former coach, Eric Mangini. Mangini was the type of coach that most players had a hard time feeling comfortable around because he was always trying to be someone he wasn’t (a Bill Belichick clone). Ryan is the true definition of a player’s coach. So as things look positive for the Jets, how have the Baltimore Ravens reacted to losing this beloved figure?
The Ravens never seem to react -- they don’t get too excited or too depressed. They seem to embrace change as many successful businesses have learned to do. As an organization, they keep a slow, steady balance, much like their major counterpart in the AFC North, the Pittsburgh Steelers. We all know that success in the NFL creates change, so as the Ravens succeeded in getting to the AFC Championship game last season, change came upon them.
When you follow a popular coach, as new defensive coordinator Greg Mattison is doing this year in Baltimore, there will be many diverse challenges -- on and off the field. On the field, he has the unique system of defense that Ryan had installed as the coordinator, and Mattison had all of last year to learn. Ryan runs a system of defense that’s very different from many NFL teams. It places a great deal of faith in the players to make the right checks, to create the right calls at the right times and to be in concert with everyone else on the field. One small breakdown in an assignment can result in a big play for the opposing team (this is why I believe the Jets will struggle early on defense and make some critical mental mistakes, but as the season progresses, their comfort level will improves and they will improve). The 2009 Ravens have enough veteran players to make sure the calls are being run correctly, so Mattison will have help in this area of the transition. His real challenge will come off the field.
APMattison (left) will have some tough shoes to fill.
A new leader walking into a messy situation has an advantage because the core of his group knows he’s there to make changes, to improve the product. So any resistance to change will be minimal and will not prevent him from getting things done his own way. However, taking over a successful situation presents some very distinct problems because, as we all know, it can often create resistance.
So what should Mattison do to avoid the pitfalls of following a successful leader? He must focus his attention on five areas:
1. He must build trust with the players. He must create, in his own way, the same bond that Ryan had with his players. The players trusted Ryan, so they played hard for him and followed his lead. His No. 1 selling point will be that team members must be open with one another about their mistakes and weaknesses – honesty breeds trust. Without this quality, we cannot build a successful team.
2. He must not fear conflict. This is one area that normally results in a new leader not making the grade. He’s afraid to take on people, letting problems slip under the rug and ignoring them for fear of conflict. Mattison needs to be willing to correct Ray Lewis as much as he’s willing to correct a college free agent. He must be willing to engage in an unfiltered and passionate debate of ideas and not resort to veiled discussions and guarded comments.
3. He must get everyone to commit to the program — everyone. Clarity of direction and priorities aligning the team around common objectives. Reminding everyone of the true objectives is vital.
4. Everyone, coaches included, must be accountable. Whenever there’s a lack of real commitment and buy in, team members develop an avoidance of accountability. Someone else made the decision, so someone else must take the blame. I had nothing to do with this. If the other coach was here, we wouldn’t do this. These are all popular refrains when people avoid accountability. And the leader can’t always take the blame; he must be honest with the team. (He can take the blame publicly for failures, but when he’s alone with his team, he must be deadly honest.)
5. Everything that’s done must be about team results, not individual results. Placing our individual needs (such as ego, career development or recognition) or even the needs of the division above the collective goals of the team will create problems. Individualistic behavior is not going to work.
Mattison, along with the entire staff, must use these guidelines to assist their transition. No one can be Rex Ryan but Rex Ryan, and no one can be Greg Mattison but Greg Mattison. Handling these areas are more compelling issues than losing any player. Without attention to detail in this area, the Ravens will not be the same team in 2009.
Mattison has a huge challenge ahead of him, and he must embrace the first bad thing that happens with these guidelines in mind. While on his vacation right now, he must be planning how to handle the first problem that occurs because it will be his reaction to that situation that will set the tone for the Ravens’ defense under his leadership. They will either forget about Rex … or want him back.
I always get a little freaked out when we lose a defensive coordinator (Joe Nolan, Marvin Lewis, and now Rex) because they've all been great. Somehow we never seem to loose a beat. I'm pretty sure we'll be ok. "In Ozzie We Trust"...
James is absolutely right. The Ravens were fine without Marvin Lewis and Mike Nolan. It seems that, like New England, the loss of coordinators does not ever seem to matter to Baltimore's defense. In New England, it is probably becuase Bill was doing most of the defensive work, and here it is because the defense is really run by Lewis, Reed, Ngata and the rest of the boys. They should be fine. Also overrated is the loss of Bart Scott. Do the names Jamie Sharper, Ed Hartwell, Peter Boulware and Adalius Thomas come to mind? They are all Baltimore LB's who were great when playing next to Ray, left for money, never reached that level again, and Baltimore simply replaced them and kept chugging on.
I think Rex Ryan makes for a very good defensive coach. I've heard that he's great with his players, a solid evaluator of talent, and very good at schemes. I've not read about how skilled he is at the game day management of the defense (the defensive calls, adjustments, substitutions). And that would seem to be more indicative of how he will be as a head coach.
Maybe Ravens fans can give their opinions on whether Ryan was adept at in-game coaching?
"Ryan runs a system of defense that’s very different from many NFL teams. It places a great deal of faith in the players to make the right checks, to create the right calls at the right times and to be in concert with everyone else on the field. One small breakdown in an assignment can result in a big play for the opposing team ..."
Really? Which teams trot out the automaton defenses, for example? Aren't all defenses assigned to read and react? What team doesn't see potential for blown plays if a guy misses an assignment?
Ryan's a very good DC, and may turn out to be a good HC, but the above is pure fluffery.
I know Rex called that sideline Time Out in 08' that cost the Ravens a win during NE's unbeaten regular season.
Finnegan, if you watched football, you would know what Lombardi's getting at. The Ravens defense looks like a bunch of people milling about at a dinner party right up until the snap. There's a level of inter-connected understanding among their players that just doesn't exist on other teams. If you want to tear into Lombardi, then express what he's saying better than he did. But, if you can't, then lay off the insulting comments.
any insight as to why Ryan was skipped over for the HC job when they went with Harbaugh? perhaps Ozzie knows something that the Jets dont.
You Ravens fans are exactly right and this is precisely why I believe Baltimore is a Super Bowl contender. No matter what changes, so long as the front office is in good shape, the Ravens will be in the title hunt. This is why I shudder at Broncos "fans" who think the team is in danger. Even as the Ravens are in good shape so long as Ozzie Newsome and Mr. Biscotti are calling the shots, the same is true for those of us in Bronco Country with Pat Bowlen in command. I think the Ravens and Falcons will meet for the Super Bowl and I can't pick against Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and others on the squad so I'll give the title to the Ravens.
@ Dan: If that was what Lombardi intended to say, then he should have said it more succinctly. My issue with the writing is that it is, in fact, unclear.
"The Ravens defense looks like a bunch of people milling about at a dinner party right up until the snap. There's a level of inter-connected understanding among their players that just doesn't exist on other teams."
Really? No dinner party formations from, say, the Patriots defense in its finer hour, or the LeBeau Steelers defenses? Serious? Ryan just, uhh, invented all that? That's what you're going with? Oh, and I'm the one not watching football. Fascinating. Thanks.
I wasn't "insulting" Mr. Lombardi, in point of fact. What exactly constituted an "insult" in what I wrote? A criticism is different from an insult, as the paragraph above might illustrate. If Mr. Lombardi were as thin-skinned as you seem to be, he'd have withered under the stress of a gentle breeze years ago. Get over it, man.
"Maybe Ravens fans can give their opinions on whether Ryan was adept at in-game coaching? "
I can't speak to specific games/situations, but the Baltimore defense was rarely outcoached or outplayed (it seems the Colts beat us down a lot...) - he seems on top of things during the game. But most in game adjustments (often between plays) seem to be brokered by Ed Reed and mostly Ray Lewis. I've never seen a defensive player so active in talking to ALL of his teammates. As good the the Ravens system and front office is, I'd bet it wouldn't have been half as sucessful without Ray-Ray.
My only concern with Rex is the Ravens defense all too often went into what we in Baltimore call the "Circling the Wagons" defense, a.k.a. the 'Prevent'. And it was bad. A great example of this is last years Dallas game, we gave up 2 Td's in less than 5 minutes. A head coach needs killer instinct to win consistently.
His current 'act' is also troublesome to me as well, as I have seen none of this side of him in Baltimore. It seems like schoolyard rhetoric to me. Bravado doesn't really go far in my mind. As a distracton strategy (to keep the NY media off his team) it seems smart, so perhaps that's his angle... I wish him the best in NY.
I'm a Steelers fan, so obviously I don't like the Ravens, but while I feel great that my bloodline is linked to the best franchise in the NFL, part of that pride is knowing they have a fantastic rival. I don't consider the two other Also-Rans in the AFC North rivals, but Baltimore is a fantastic organization in every way.
Football loyalties aside, the management structure of both of these franchises are truly spectacular. Very few - if any - have been better at their jobs than Ozzie Newsome over the past decade, and while most posters on here are mentioning Lewis and Nolan along with Ryan, the amount of outstanding players they've brought in to play with these coaches is impressive.
We did beat ya three times though...lookin' forward to three more!
| powered by TheSeats.com |
No one knows the future, but one...
Unconventional thinking, plus...
Questions and thoughts about the...
Super Bowl thoughts: Freeney,...
Is Browns GM serious about Tebow?...
Jul 01, 2009
10:07 AM
I think I prefer GK Chesterton's earlier version of the quote
There are two ways to have enough. One is to aquire more, the other is to desire less. - GK Chesterton