Turning Up The Jets

By Ryan Sherwin

Herman Edwards isn't your tyical coach he is a natural born leader who has the drive that it takes to lead the NY Jets to their first Super Bowl since 1969 when they beat Baltimore, 16-7 in Super Bowl III. The 50 year-old Edwards is poised to lead the Jets back to the glory years. Coming off a disappointing 6-10 season he has spent countless hours evaluating what went wrong, motivating his players and tweaking his offensive and defensive

schemes, with tweaking being the key word. "You are who you are," he says. "You don't change your coaching style. Sometimes they assume you are soft when they say you are a players coach. There is a lot of ways to gain peoples' respect. I do it in a way where you are a teacher first. You have to earn their respect and they have to earn yours." Coaching in New York, Edwards knows that his every move is scrutinized and one bad decision could have the critics talking for weeks. But Edwards is undaunted by the pressure of being in the spotlight and refuses to alter his coaching style. Like the Jets, Edwards is a work in progress and he is confident that he can lead the Jets back into the playoffs.

"Last year was a learning process, for me as a head coach and for us as a unit," said Edwards. "We will grow from it, we have become a lot younger as a football team."Edwards points that there are positives and negatives to being young and inexperienced. On the one hand, the team is wide-eyed and hungry, but on the flip side winning in the NFL requires experience. A year wiser, Edwards can guarantee one thing: his team will play hard. Edwards also expects more from his troops this season.

"I'm a delegator but I'm a little sterner on how things get done this year," he says. "We have to pay attention to details and we are doing it this year." Edwards is also looking for a leader on the field and has found a perfect person for the job in quarterback Chad Pennington. "Pennington is an outstanding football player," said Edwards. "For him to be our starting QB on opening day, it helps you down the road and having your No. 1 guy in there is critical. He has never really had a chance to lead from the start and this year he will. I'm excited for him and for the football team, it really will be helpful." Pennington isn't the only reason why Jets fans are excited about this season. Many players on both sides of the ball are poised to have breakout seasons. "Santana Moss will do a good job as a leader and I expect him to have a great year," said Edwards, who also expects key veterans such as All-Pro center Kevin Mawae, defensive end Shaun Ellis and rookie linebacker Jonathan Vilma to step up. Edwards knows that success starts at the top though and he knows he is going to have to be at his best if he expects his players to put forth their best effort. "Our youth is an obstacle," said Edwards. "We don't have the experience that a team of older guys can have, but we have a chance to make up for some of that with eagerness. Hopefully they will play up to their potential and continue to learn what we are teaching them."