New York Jets introduce black jerseys for motivation during practice - NFL News
New York Jets head coach, Rex Ryan, is not one to shy away from trying unconventional motivational methods during practice and he tried one of those on the final day of the minicamp.
Some Jets players, who arrived for practice on Thursday, were surprised with black jerseys in their locker instead of the traditional green that are the Jets colours.
None of them though realised the significance of those black jerseys during practice sessions and only found out afterward when Ryan revealed they were a reward for them for their better performance than their teammates at the last practice.
The head coach later revealed that he got the idea from the practice of his new offensive coordinator, Tony Sparano, during his time at the Miami Dolphins and hoped that the jerseys would increase competition in practice among players.
Speaking to the Star-Ledger after practice on Thursday, Ryan said.
"I stole this from (offensive coordinator) Tony (Sparano), he did this in Miami, he put a team in different colour jerseys. Whatever the emphasis is in training camp, let's say we have a red zone emphasis...the group that I think did the best in that specific
drill, I'll put that group in the black jerseys for the next practice.”
This time it was the defence which first got the black jerseys and according to defenseman, David Harris he was pleased with the change and said that the players on the offensive roster had jealous looks on their faces.
Ryan also went on to add that such moves increase competition amongst players and brings out the best from them in practice.
"The thing about football players and probably any sport, guys love competition and it's just a way, when they're on the field and that offense is in the black jerseys, oh they got the better of the defence,"
The head coach though did not specify whether he will continue the practice into the regular season.
It remains to be seen how effective the new measure turns out in training and if the players take up the fight for the jerseys.
If that happens Ryan might well take the practice into the 2012-13 regular season.
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