Play Like You Mean It: Passion, Laughs, and Leadership in the World's Most Beautiful Game Read Online Free PDF Page B

fail, we as coaches get it corrected. It’s teamwork. Let them play and we will coach them on the big stuff. When I was with Baltimore, I had one guy raise his hand in a defensive meeting and ask me when I was going to collect the playbooks and check their notes. Check their notes, my ass. Class is on the practice field and in games. That’s when all of us are graded.
    With veterans, for example, it’s difficult at times to break old habits. They get it done on the field, but it just might not be the way we draw it up on the board. Ray Lewis, one of the all-time great linebackers, sat in our defensive meetings in Baltimore and he prepared himself in his own way. He understood football. He was not one of those guys who look at the playbook and remember each detail. But he studied film, he understood angles, personnel groups, and what opponents would do on down-and-distance from the outside hash mark. Ed Reed was the same way. Those guys are special, but they prepared in their own way and I never had to worry about them. Nor did I micromanage them.
    With the Jets, I told my defensive guys when we headed into the 2010 preseason, let’s go graduate level. We installed our scheme in our first season in 2009. They understood the basic concepts, the finer points of our plan. Now let’s take that next step mentally. Each week it’s like we pull items from a menu. We might change our blitz package, we might tweak a formation, but it’s also about remaining true to our fundamentals and technique. We reviewed three years of cutups from when I was with Baltimore, and, from a technique standpoint, we had the ability to shed blockers better than anyone in the NFL. The players may have changed over those three years, but our approach did not.
    Of course, I always want the big hit. That hasn’t changed either.
    In 2009, I signed linebacker Bart Scott, who I had coached inBaltimore. When we were with the Ravens, Scott had one of the best big hits I have seen, against Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. I knew we could get to Ben if we could make him slide his pass protection a certain way at the line of scrimmage. When we watched film, we knew their center snapped the football to Ben the moment he put his head down after Ben said his cadence at the line. So Bart lined up in one spot, and the moment the center put his head down, Bart sprinted to the opposite side of the line. It was too late for Ben to audible his pass protection for the play, because the ball had been snapped. Ben thought he had backside protection, and, of course, he did not. Ben never saw Bart, who said he had hoped to God that Ben didn’t have the time to unload the football. Bart said it was the cleanest hit he ever had on a quarterback. All I know is Bart’s hit jacked up our entire defense and changed the game’s complexion. It was like watching a baseball game and seeing a guy hit an over-and-out-of-the-stadium home run.
    Even baseball has a place in our football game plan when it comes to big hits.

3. Son of Buddy
    M y dad, Buddy Ryan, began his young adult life in foxholes as a soldier. He ended up changing the way the NFL game is played, both defensively and offensively. He was brave, he was tough, he was a leader, and he left an indelible mark on the greatest game in the world.
    Who wouldn’t look up to a man like that? Who wouldn’t want to grow up to be just like that, just like his old man? You hear about that all the time. Sons of lawyers grow up wanting to be lawyers. Sons of doctors grow up wanting to be doctors.
    I grew up wanting to be Buddy Ryan.
    Of course, that kind of goal isn’t without some serious complications. My dad has all those great characteristics I just mentioned and, well, he was a little over the top from time to time. For instance, my dad got fired from his first job as a high school coach. He was in Gainesville, Texas, serving as both football coach and athletic director.
    The only problem is that he thought he was