Rex Ryan doesn’t have a problem with fans booing his players, and frankly, Ryan expressed his opinion on the matter regarding fans’ displeasure with quarterback Mark Sanchez in a very intelligent way.
“Our fans have the right to do anything,” Ryan told reporters today. “I’m not going to say I’m disappointed in our fans, but I think we need to move forward. The things from the past are in the past, so let’s focus on what we have in front of us.”
Honestly, I couldn’t have handled the situation any better with 100 attempts at it. In a couple, short sentences, Rex Ryan diffused a potentially disruptive situation by simply saying the fans are right, and we’re just going to continue with business as usual.
New Yorkers don’t like losing teams. That much we know. We also know that Mark Sanchez isn’t a popular guy. While Rex Ryan didn’t exactly feed his quarterback to the wolves, he didn’t exactly rescue him either. Basically, it’s up to Sanchez to worry about booing fans. Ryan is more focused on preparing for the coming season.
“I don’t think I ever would have told our fans, ‘You better get behind us,’” Ryan continued after a follow-up question was posed.
In this situation, Rex Ryan didn’t abandon his quarterback. Instead, he simply stepped aside, meaning Mark Sanchez will have no barrier between him and angry Jets fans should he continue to struggle — except for Antonio Cromartie; he’ll still have him.
