The social media terrain was scorched this week with the story of New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith getting his jaw broken by linebacker Ikemefuna “IK” Enemkpali. The squabble will leave Smith on the sidelines for a minimum of six weeks and potentially as long as ten. In the wake of the altercation, various stories arose as to the reasoning for the fight. The story eventually came out that it was a dispute over a $600 ticket that Smith had been bought to appear at Enemkpali’s football camp over the summer. Smith no-showed following the death of a friend and had yet to reimburse his teammate for the cost of the flight. Words were exchanged, then by all accounts a sucker punch landed the Jets’ starting QB on the shelf. Pundits’ opinions were scattered in their reaction to the incident. But none can be surprised that one day after getting the axe from Gang Green, Bills head coach Rex Ryan swooped in and put forth a waiver claim for his former linebacker.
Most called what happened in that locker room “Typical Jets.” New head coach Todd Bowles tried his damnedest to curtail on-field scuffles during camp only to have one take out his lead signal caller in the dressing room. It is the type of unintentional comedy that has surrounded the team for decades. If the Enemkpali/Smith fiasco is “Typical Jets” though, the claim by the Bills is “Typical Rex.”
Enemkpali is the type of player Rex Ryan craves. He wears his heart on his sleeve on the field and is a headline maker off of it for all the wrong reasons. Ryan is strangely attracted to these broken characters and tried to construct his Jets’ teams of yore with a rag tag bunch of “second chancers.” The thing is with Enemkpali is that this isn’t exactly his second chance.
Ryan gave him his initial opportunity at reputation rehabilitation by drafting him in the sixth round last year out of Louisiana Tech. IK was ordered into anger management at Tech after a fracas with an off-duty police officer at a bar. Despite his apologies to the Jets organization through various social media outlets, Enemkpali hasn’t learned from his past mistakes. To be blunt, Ryan hasn’t either.
Rex has always been a coach who is just as happy to be on a tabloid’s back page as a reputable publication’s sports page. The claiming of Enemkpali just further cements that notion. There is a near certainty that the linebacker will face discipline from the league for his actions. This fact could lead to the sophomore defender to not make the Bills roster at all. So what is the point of bringing him in other than to steal some spotlight on Sportscenter and force writers and television producers to put Rex’s “bold” move all over their media platforms? There isn’t one.
Ryan doesn’t just want a media circus surrounding the Bills, he NEEDS it. Buffalo doesn’t provide the same predatory reporting that the big city can offer, so Rex is bringing those sharks to him. From the trade for Shady McCoy to the claiming of Enemkpali, this offseason has been more about keeping his name in the news than pushing the Bills up the standings. As time goes on, Rex will pontificate about how he’s going to change culture and make the Bills relevant. It will be the same old song and dance he did with the Jets. It’ll be interesting to see how long his second chance will be in the AFC East as he continues to accumulate second chance guys. One thing’s for sure, this isn’t the last “Typical Rex” moment we’ll be subjected to over the course of the 2015 NFL season.