Ah, yes, now it’s football season again in New York. How do I know? Because the Jets circus is up and running again.
In the latest GQ Magazine, Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez states that he “wanted to fight” Rex Ryan at one point last season. In reality, this is a non-issue. It’s no surprise GQ would run with the quote or that the New York Post would push it either. It’s salacious! It’s unbelievable! Buy our paper and read about Mark Sanchez saying he wanted to punch his coach, but he didn’t punch his coach and he never would punch his coach! Exclamation point!
He obviously didn’t punch his coach and the comment to GQ was probably made offhandedly. He was mad about Ryan discussing benching him, but I doubt he would’ve really done anything violent about it.
The thing that makes me actually pay attention to this non-story is the absurdity of the Jets’ team. Often the media make a big deal out of non-issues, but why does the team oblige with these quotes? It boggles my mind that so many gossipy stories could come from one team. Last year alone they had their strength coach Sal Alosi trip a player during a game, their head coach filming foot fetish videos and flipping off fans at a UFC event, the Ines Sainz harrassment, the Jenn Sterger-Brett Favre drama and a heap of minor controversies (Ryan’s swearing, Antonio Cromartie’s kids) stemming from HBO’s “Hard Knocks” tapings in training camp.
The sad thing is, I’m probably missing a couple.
The Jets are a good team. They’re not great, but they have every chance to be in the mix in the playoffs if Plaxico Burress can still play and they can get a pass rush from somebody. So why all the stupidity?
Ryan promised the media during his introductory press conference that he would be himself. Apparently being himself includes a whole lot of stupidity. Then again, he also uttered this line at his opening press conference:
“I’m not blessed with a silver tongue, but I know one thing, I know how to coach this game.”
Then maybe you should focus on that. And keep your players away from GQ cover stories. We’re all sick of talking about anything but football.
Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne @MetroNYSports.
