Rex Ryan is Opposed to Hard Knocks

There is a report from Adam Schein that HBO and Woody Johnson want the New York Jets to be featured in Hard Knocks again this year, but Rex Ryan is what is standing between. Assuming the report is true, and there's no reason not to believe it, then this is hopefully a sign that Rex is maturing as a head coach and is willing to stand up to the owner to get what he believes is best for the team. It also is an indication that Rex realizes the whole "circus" bit is wearing thin and the team needs to focus on winning.

It will be interesting to see how Woody reacts. He's obviously a businessman and wants to sell more tickets (and who can really blame him?) but we'll soon find out if he's able to balance that out with a win-first attitude, which will also sell more tickets. Manish Mehta is also reporting that Mike Tannenbaum and several players are opposed to Hard Knocks as well. Others, such as Dustin Keller, have said that they have no problem with it.

I've always gotten the feeling that Rex has very little say in what the team does off the field, mostly in terms of draft picks. If Rex wins this battle, he may get more control over the team, and we could see a slightly different direction. Let us know what you think in the comments below.