Rex Ryan

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Rex Ryan is going back to his roots. The New York Jets coach said Saturday that he will control the play-calling on defense, as he did during his first two seasons with the team. Ryan, a defensive coordinator in Baltimore before being hired as a head coach in New York, left most of those duties to Mike Pettine the last two years. "I just think for me, and really the football team, in our situation, we're better-served if I'm on the defensive side and making sure we've got the rules set...

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Mark Sanchez understands the New York Jets' starting quarterback job is still up for grabs. That doesn't mean he expects the final result to be anything different from what it has been the last four seasons: with him under center leading the team every Sunday. "Naturally, as you progress in your career, you try and tighten up and hone in," Sanchez said Thursday after voluntary workouts. "But, like I've said, this is something I dreamed about my whole life and now I'm not planning...

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — George Sauer had a huge day in the biggest game in New York Jets history, and then surprisingly walked away from football a few years later. Sauer, a wide receiver on the Jets' only Super Bowl championship team, has died. He was 69. The team and Moreland Funeral Home in Westerville, Ohio, confirmed Saturday that he died Tuesday after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease. Sauer played a key role in the Jets' 16-7 win over the Baltimore Colts in the...

BOSTON — After the marathon bombings, the cities of Boston and New York put aside their bitter rivalries and joined in their mutual love of sports and country. Well, that time may be ending, at least when it comes to sports. The Knicks beat the Celtics in an NBA first-round playoff series this year, and now the NHL's Rangers and Bruins will play in the Eastern Conference semifinals — their first playoff meeting since 1973 — despite the fact that the two teams are part of the...

With a rookie quarterback in Mark Sanchez under center and a rookie head coach in Rex Ryan on the sideline, how far can the Jets really expect to go in these playoffs? Share your comments at washingtonpost.com/theleague

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Geno Smith was surrounded by a throng of reporters, a crowded scene usually more appropriate for a No. 1 draft pick than a second-rounder. But Smith, of course, isn't your ordinary No. 39 selection. And, the New York Jets are certainly used to their quarterbacks — and backup quarterbacks, for that matter — getting this type of attention. "I just come out," Smith said Friday, "and be my natural self. " Who that is, exactly, has been open to some debate in...

A complete transcript is at washingtonpost.com/sports Question Answer Houston: What's your take on the Vikings going for the late touchdown Sunday? Wade Phillips called timeouts on three consecutive plays with six minutes to play in that game. You call timeouts in the fourth quarter, it tells the opposing team you're still playing . . . you've conceded nothing. Rockville: After watching the Jets shut down the Chargers, is it really that far out of the realm of possibility that...

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Mark Sanchez understands the New York Jets' starting quarterback job is still up for grabs. That doesn't mean he expects the final result to be anything different from what it has been the last four seasons: with him under center leading the team every Sunday. "Naturally, as you progress in your career, you try and tighten up and hone in," Sanchez said Thursday after voluntary workouts. "But, like I've said, this is something I dreamed about my whole life and now I'm not planning...

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Sept. 20 -- Rex Ryan sent a message to the fans. His New York team delivered one of its own. Rookie Mark Sanchez outplayed a Super Bowl champion quarterback and the Jets backed up their big talk, shutting down Tom Brady and New England, 16-9. "We believe that we are the better team today," Ryan said. "We went out and showed it. I think our fans are huge in this victory. " So huge, in fact, that Ryan said he was giving the fans a game ball that would be placed in the team's trophy case.

WORLD WIDE WILBON Pressuring Tom Brady After watching the Jets smother Tom Brady, I had two thoughts. Why haven't more teams pressured Brady with that kind of fury and commitment? And is it possible the Patriots have lost that much from their 2007 squad? Some readers were offended two years ago when I said the way to beat Brady was to hit him in the mouth . . . as if I was talking about the ballet instead of professional football. Well, Rex Ryan, by announcing he was refusing to kiss Bill Belichick's ring, announced himself...

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Rex Ryan is going back to his roots. The New York Jets coach said Saturday that he will control the play-calling on defense, as he did during his first two seasons with the team. Ryan, a defensive coordinator in Baltimore before being hired as a head coach in New York, left most of those duties to Mike Pettine the last two years. "I just think for me, and really the football team, in our situation, we're better-served if I'm on the defensive side and making sure we've got the rules set...

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — George Sauer had a huge day in the biggest game in New York Jets history, and then surprisingly walked away from football a few years later. Sauer, a wide receiver on the Jets' only Super Bowl championship team, has died. He was 69. The team and Moreland Funeral Home in Westerville, Ohio, confirmed Saturday that he died Tuesday after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease. Sauer played a key role in the Jets' 16-7 win over the...

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Geno Smith was surrounded by a throng of reporters, a crowded scene usually more appropriate for a No. 1 draft pick than a second-rounder. But Smith, of course, isn't your ordinary No. 39 selection. And, the New York Jets are certainly used to their quarterbacks — and backup quarterbacks, for that matter — getting this type of attention. "I just come out," Smith said Friday, "and be my natural self. " Who that is, exactly, has been open to...

When a press conference starts with "you're not going to believe this one," as the one New York Jets coach Rex Ryan led Thursday did, that's never a good sign. Ryan told a stunned group of reporters that he would again be switching quarterbacks, going back to Mark Sanchez after it was announced third-stringer Greg McElroy was being evaluated for a possible concussion. The announcement caps a string of disappointments for Tim Tebow, the pop culture phenom who reportedly held the backup...

August is what it isn't, and it isn't really anything. It is summer rotting, but not rotten. It is autumn as rumor, not rite. August has textures, like damp denim, but not colors, though if it had a color, it would be a roasted orange, the hue of dried apricots. August is for avoiding thought. August is for thinking about August. August is for reading essays assaying the meaning of August's meaningless. August is for digressions. August itself is a digression. You can hear it at the shore, where it's impossible to get...

NFL Coach of the Year? That's easy — Jim Harbaugh turned a 6-10 team into a division winner with Alex Smith at quarterback. Note I: You cannot be Coach of the Year if Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady or Drew Brees is your quarterback; that's too easy. Note II: You cannot be Coach of the Year if Tim Tebow is your quarterback; there's no accounting for miracles in a meritocracy. Ah, but Reverse Coach of the Year — also known colloquially as the Norv Turner Award — that's tougher to determine.

NFL coach of the year? That's easy -- it's the Indianapolis Colts' Jim Caldwell for chasing perfection in his first season. But the reverse coach of the year? That's tougher to determine. To be a reverse coach of the year, you have to not coach up to your abilities or underachieve with your team or foul something up worse than the Secret Service letting impostors into a White House state dinner. Or, frankly, even if you just irritate me, you can be a candidate. So let's run down the top five to this year's NFL reverse coach of...

EAST RUTHERORD, N.J.—For much of Sunday night's game at MetLife Stadium, Tony Romo's return from last season's broken collarbone was going smoothly. The quarterback was on his way to a 342-yard passing performance and he had the Dallas Cowboys two touchdowns in front of the New York Jets in the fourth quarter. Then it all unraveled for Romo and the Cowboys. Romo lost a fourth-quarter fumble at the New York 3-yard line. He threw a late interception to Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis.

BALTIMORE — The defense of the Baltimore Ravens reminded its former boss, Rex Ryan, just how thoroughly it can dominate a game. The Ravens scored three touchdowns on defense and managed not to mess things up too badly on offense, coasting to a 34-17 triumph over the Ryan-coached New York Jets here Sunday night at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens scored a pair of first-half touchdowns on returns of fumbles by Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez on sacks. They added a...

EAST RUTHERORD, N.J.—For much of Sunday night's game at MetLife Stadium, Tony Romo's return from last season's broken collarbone was going smoothly. The quarterback was on his way to a 342-yard passing performance and he had the Dallas Cowboys two touchdowns in front of the New York Jets in the fourth quarter. Then it all unraveled for Romo and the Cowboys. Romo lost a fourth-quarter fumble at the New York 3-yard line. He threw a late interception to Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis.