You knew New York Jets coach Rex Ryan was going to stir the pot. On Wednesday, he did just that with his comments about Green Bay Packers rookie safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
The Jets drafted Louisville safety Calvin Pryor in the first round, three spots ahead of where the Packers selected Clinton-Dix. Naturally, Ryan was asked why Pryor over Clinton-Dix. This was his response.
“I took the guy who will knock your face in,” Ryan said.
Fair enough. Pryor is known as a big hitter, while Clinton-Dix is known for being solid in coverage.
Of course, Clinton-Dix was not amused when these comments were relayed to him.
“If that’s what they thought, then hey, that’s up to them and I’m going to show them,” Clinton-Dix said.
That’s right. He’ll show you, Rex Ryan!
Of course, Ryan went on to praise Clinton-Dix, saying he’s an outstanding player. Obviously he wasn’t knocking the guy, merely expressing that he preferred one guy’s style over the other’s.
But of course, the media didn’t portray it that way. Those comments about how outstanding Ha Ha is are buried way down in those stories, probably after most people have already tuned out.
So, controversy! Bulletin board material! Woooo!
Leave it to that nutjob Rex Ryan!
We haven’t seen enough of Pryor to really form an opinion on him. We’re pretty happy with Clinton-Dix though. Despite a couple of missed tackles in week 1, he performed pretty well. He’s aggressive, can cover and support the run.
Hell, in our eyes he’s already 10 times the player Morgan Burnett is. But that really didn’t take much.