As controversial rapper Eminem's "Not Afraid," blared through the beautifully choreographed opening scenes of Jets practice in the Hard Knocks premiere, it proved to be the perfect metaphor for what Rex Ryan thinks of his ball club.
He is not afraid to proclaim that his team will win the Super Bowl; he told the media so much last Friday and even wrote "Soon to be champs" on the side of an ESPN bus! He's not afraid to confidently believe that his players are the best in football, and he is certainly not afraid to make himself look like a goof on national television.
Such is Ryan's charm, and in the opener of HBO's hit sports series, he took full control, and he shined from start to finish.
From the get-go we get to see Ryan's exploits at motivational speaking (or at least motivational to him) with an expletive-laden rant that would make even the creators of "The Sopranos" blush. "I want to lead the league in the most (bleeping) wins!" he told his players.
Ryan's speech may not have echoed George C. Scott's "Patten," let alone Jim Belushi's "It's not over till we decide it is" speech in "Animal House," but let's just say it will certainly qualify as the most memorable speech that Hard Knocks has put on for viewers over the years.
Throughout the episode Ryan acted like a big kid, giving you the feeling that the guy was living up the moment of being on camera.
During check-in time, Ryan creeps around the hallways saying, "Revis? Revis? Where are you?" A slight knock at his all-pro corner who remains a holdout from camp because of his contract, but still quite a funny moment from the coach, to say the least.
Later, we catch a glimpse of Ryan and his coaching staff getting a good laugh at a message board that berates the coach. Ryan reads off every comment to the comedic pleasure of himself and his coaches who stare at the projector screen like giggling teenagers leafing through Facebook.
We also get to see the Homer Simpson side of Ryan, or better described as the one that can't say no to anything to eat. In the offseason. Ryan had lap-band surgery to curb his weight problem, but that obviously has not stopped him.
Ryan was seen taking pretzels, candies, and cheese sticks from just about anybody who had food near them. When one staff person tried to stop him from taking any food, he corrected her with a fist pump, "Shh..this is Hard Knocks."
Suddenly, Ryan is seen running across his office with several plates of food in hand as he made his escape for the back porch to eat lunch. Thankfully, he had enough to share with Woody Johnson and Mike Tannenbaum.
Lastly, during some dead time in camp, Ryan decided to have a punt, pass, and kick competition with his coaches for some fun. Ryan tried his shot at a punt and nearly fell over his own feet after the kick, but when one of his assistants fell backwards on a punt return attempt, Ryan jumped in front of the camera yelling, "Tell me you got that!"
Yes, Ryan, we got that, and we know that you really enjoy being a reality TV star.
As for the football team, they look pretty good. Kris Jenkins appears to be on the mend quickly from knee surgery, as he was key in a goal-line stand during a heavy rain storm. Even without Darrelle Revis in camp, the Jets defense appears to be faster and more precise that last season's version.
Offensively, it appears that when he returns from his suspension, Santonio Holmes will be Mark Sanchez's go-to-guy. Sanchez completed some nice, deep go-routes to Holmes, which could bode well for big plays this season.
Sanchez has some work to do. He struggled with the quarterback snap and the quarterback/running back exchange in the rain. His struggles were serious enough for Joe Namath to jump into the quarterback meeting and offer the second year veteran some key pointers.
Obviously, the Darrelle Revis situation is the most pressing matter in camp. We are getting a good look at Mike Tannenbaum's perspective of the matter. He made a special trip down the New York Thruway to a Route 17 dinner to meet with Revis' agent, and came away empty handed.
You have to hope that what Tannenbaum says in these episodes doesn't come back to bite him, as we hear him say to the person next to him on the way back to Cortland, "I wish I had a card in this thing. One year, Four years, 10 years. If it doesn't work, let's just move on and we will try again next year."
Overall: Hard Knocks Training Camp with the New York Jets—five stars!
It was like a scene out of war movie. Giants quarterback Eli Manning gushing blood out of his forehead after a nasty hit forced the quarterback out of the pre-season opener late in the second quarter.
