Body language expert 'can see how broken' Jets GM John Idzik appears

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – It has been a rough go for New York Jets general manager John Idzik this season.

His team is 1-8 after a .500 record last year. There were legit playoff dreams this past offseason. But his 12-man draft class might be the worst in the league and he's taking heat for failing to land significant upgrades to his roster via free agency.

Other than that, he's on firm ground.

His press conference last week to address the season and the direction of the team accomplished little but further frustrate the fan base and give more red meat to the media. Just two years into his time with the Jets, things seem to be falling apart for Idzik, who came in with a reputation as thoughtful and pragmatic but has seen things shift very quickly as his Jets have underwhelmed.

One of the nation's foremost authorities on body language said when she reviewed his press conference, particularly his hum-drum 19-minute monologue, she saw a man who looks beaten.

“Right off the bat you can see how broken he appears," body language expert Tonya Reiman said. "Hunched over, bowing his head with a downward gaze which typically denotes defeat. 'I search for words to describe how we feel' and 'you feel like you’ve been punched in the face.' Here we see an inward lip roll and then he runs his teeth over his bottom lip indicating, frustration and stress. An inward lip roll is generally done when a person is trying to suppress an emotion – usually a negative emotion."

And those are just the physical cues tipped off in the opening minute of his press conference. Just 18 more minutes of monologue and then questions from the media to go.

Three minutes in, Idzik said with a twinge of passion that, “I'm the general manager of the New York Jets.” Reiman noticed that his “eyes go down in shame to the left and then looks to right, still looking down.” Clear shame at his job performance, she indicates.

Jets fans feel the same way right about now, Tonya.

On the flip side, several minutes later as Idzik transitioned away from himself and his failures, he was clearly looking up more, showing the counter to the same shame felt earlier.

There was a lot of jaw shifting, Reiman noted, as well as other interesting indicators.

When Idzik was almost nine minutes into his monologue (surely longer than any Jets drive this season), he referred to his team by saying, “We have a very resilient, committed unbelievable group of guys” Reiman notes a jaw shift and a negative head roll the jaw shift is typically indicative of embarrassment and discomfort.

Several times when Idzik was asked pointed questions about the team and his role, such as if he has the support of owner Woody Johnson or asked about the play of Smith, his embattled quarterback, he turned to some telling coping mechanisms.

“Notice the increase in mouth movements, jaw shifts, lip biting, leg rubbing and high fidgeting as the Q&A has started – indications of anxiety starting to leak out,” Reiman said.

“Geno Smith's name is mentioned and again note the leg rubbing pacification done to calm yourself down and relieve stress. Later, another question about Geno is raised -'Is it fair to say you overestimated Geno?' Watch as Idzik takes a deep breath. We typically take a deep breath in they are trying to take in additional oxygen to calm themselves down. As the question continues again you see the leg being rubbed.”

Leg rubbing is no good, apparently. Keep that in mind on first dates guys. Or when you're defending your 1-8 team.

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Kristian R. Dyer writes for Metro New York and is a contributor to Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KristianRDyer

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