Secrecy was the name of the game for years in New York, Eric Mangini ran a no talk fly zone around the Jets, you didn't say anything, you didn't ask anything, and you sure as hell didn't guarantee anything, an embargo was placed on offering bulletin board material for the opposition. Even though in my opinion, this bulletin board material aspect of the NFL is a load of baloney.
It was a strange concept for a team that thrived off one of the greatest pre-game guarantees of all time, but many thought change was a positive, the old ways were not working, let's move in another direction, but it was on borrowed time from the start, it wasn't reflective of the fan base. At all.
This seemed like a strange method to employ in a city like New York where a straight talking, lets get to the point philosophy is encouraged. So when Rex bounced into his introductory press conference with promises of smash mouth football and white house visits it seemed again like everything made sense. An Oklahoma boy with the new York state of mind
It seems however that using the expression, fight fire with fire, some Indianapolis players have joined the party, a little late, or maybe fashionably late...
Clint Session has arrived, and it's great to have some chatter come back:
"They're supposed to travel with confidence and all. They're supposed to do all that. But, technically, you can't have swag if you lost that many games (seven) in the regular season. You know what I mean?"
Any team that makes it to the AFC Championship game can have swagger, it's part of the Jets new found DNA, and it's good for the league. I welcome a little talk back and forward, we all know it really doesn't matter at the end of the day, but in a league nicknamed the 'No Fun League', it's not so much bulletin board material, more press material. It makes for a good story, the fans get fired up, and they jump to the defense of their own guy.
Let's be honest, all the talk is all for the fans.
In a league that has continued to drive fans from teams with the era of top secret injury reports, classified goals and restricted access, is brash talk, openness about to enjoy a renaissance in the NFL? Where players say whatever they want, coaches give it to you straight, and 'coach talk' becomes a thing of the past, a welcome extinction to the game of football.
A game that has been balancing on the edge of being devoid of personality similar to the heavyweight boxing division with the plethora of stone faced Eastern European champions, has all of a sudden been given a much needed injection of entertainment.
Well I don't know about that, but it sure is nice having some back and forward before a big game.