If the Patriots and their fans have a Public Enemy No. 1 it has to be Jets head coach Rex Ryan.
(Before Ryan arrived in New York three years ago, there wasn't one person you could point to for that honor, primarily because Bill Belichick and Rodney Harrison would accuse just about anybody of disrespecting the team, presumably as motivation for whomever the Pats happened to be playing next. Now, thanks to Rex, we now have a face and a name.)
Ryan announced early in his tenure that he wasn't going to "kiss Belichick's [Super Bowl] rings," and then went about beating the Pats twice last season -- including a playoff game in Foxboro -- and splitting the season series in 2009. It was so bad that Tom Brady announced his sheer hatred of the Jets, no doubt to Jets fans' great satisfaction.
If Belichick took pleasure in whipping up on Eric Mangini-coached teams, he must daydream about destroying the Jets twice a year. So far, it hasn't happened. But for all that New York has done right against New England, Belichick has something Ryan doesn't -- and he managed it without the bluster: three Super Bowl rings. And to Ryan's credit, he'll happily concede that, despite whatever success the Jets have attained, ultimately, they've fallen short of their goals (though it's not from lack of talking about it).
During a recent interview with NFL Network's Michael Irvin, Rex, as usual, spoke frankly about where the Jets are in relation to the Pats and where they want to be.
"You know, I can put my resume out there, stats, with anybody that’s coached in this league," he said. "And that’s a fact. Defensively, that’s a fact. But, you know, I don’t need any credit. I just want to win.
"I want what Bill Belichick’s got. I think Bill Belichick is the best coach in this game. I don’t even think it’s close. But I’m trying, there. But I know one thing – and he knows – that I’m going to compete with him every time we play them. You know, if it ever comes down to just me versus him, we’re going to come out on the short end of the stick. But when it’s about us, and it’s about our football team versus his football team, that’s where I have even more confidence.”
Blustery? Sure, it's Rex, after all. But the man's also telling the truth. It's one thing to smack your gums for the sake of doing it, it's something else entirely to accept the truth and work to change it. And let's be honest, most coaches wouldn't implore the rest of the league to beat the Patriots to help the Jets win the AFC East but -- you guessed it -- Rex did that, too.
It'll be interesting to see how Belichick responds. Hopefully, it'll involve tattoos.
