Leonhard flies to the Jets

Rex Ryan is bringing in ex-Baltimore Raven safety Jim Leonhard. This is the second player Coach Ryan has brought to the Jets from his days as the defensive coordinator with the Ravens. “I am extremely excited to become a New York Jet,” Leonhard said in a statement. “Obviously, to be reunited with Coach Ryan and Coach [Mike] Pettine on the defensive side of the ball is a great opportunity. I am really excited to get in there this first year with Coach Ryan and hopefully help do some great things.”

I like the deal. So far with what Rex Ryan has done is not bad. The Jet’s defense is looking like it will be very good next season. So far they’ve acquired Bart Scott, Lito Sheppard, and Jim Leonhard, all solid players. I haven’t seen too much of Leonhard play in games, but I did see him in two games where he stuck his head into tackles and made key interceptions in games. The guy can play and is not afraid to stick his nose. Leonhard was undrafted like Bart Scott and the guy is 5-foot-8. Man, I’m 5-foot-7 and the guy plays safety. One interception I saw from him was in the playoff game against the Dolphins last season, I saw the guy launch himself up in the air for the INT. To me, Leonhard is one of those unspoken players of the game who is still emerging (maybe I’m giving him too much praise).

Overall, in a much bigger picture, I like what the Jets are doing. They brought a defensive guy as their head coach and he’s been bulking up that defense. Rex Ryan’s best asset he brings to the game is his defensive knowledge and play calling ability. Nowadays, defense is key and it does win championships. Maybe 20 or 30 years ago, offense was what won games, but times have changed. Just throwing the ball up in the air because you know your WR can catch any pass for a TD, just doesn’t work anymore. You can score all the points against a bad defense, but once you play a real great defense, then you’re gonna lose. Those pass plays won’t be completed as often, as to when you were playing a poor defense. You might score once or twice against a good defense, but once their offense goes out there and they score on you to match your score…what now? There is good chance, that good defense will eventually stop that offense and win the game in the end. Look what happened to the Pats in the Superbowl game against the Giants.