In June, Rex Ryan added fire to the already heated rivalry between the Jets and New England Patriots.
“I never came here to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings,” Ryan said in an interview on WFAN. I came here to win, let’s put it that way…. I’m certainly not intimidated by New England or anybody else.”
Rex Ryan and the Jets have a chance Sunday to back up the talk and send the Patriots home with a loss.
Just days later, the head coach added this: “I’m not going to concede anything. Do I recognize the fact that Belichick is a heck of a coach? Absolutely. My thing is, I’m not intimidated by him or anyone else in this business. Period. I don’t care who it is. Our football team certainly isn’t going to be intimidated either. If there are some issues with that, so be it.”
That message certainly resonated with his players, most notably with safety Kerry Rhodes, who back in June said that the Jets ”will be the best defense in the league this year.”
This past week, there was more from the Jets’ safety: “You go out from the first quarter on, from the first play on, and try to embarrass them. Not just go out there and try to win, try to embarrass them. Try to make them feel bad when they leave here. We don’t want to just beat them. We want to send a message to them, ‘We’re not backing down from you and we expect to win this game, and it’s not going to be luck, it’s not going to be a mistake.’ ”
Tomorrow afternoon at the Meadowlands, the Jets must back up the tough talk. That means beating the Patriots. The thought of the Jets having a chance against New England seemed inconceivable a week ago. But then Mark Sanchez showed his poise, the defense dominated, and Ryan had his team believing they could win. And they did, a 24-7 victory over the Texans. On Monday night against Buffalo, the Patriots looked vulnerable despite an impressive comeback late in the game.
Rex Ryan left this voicemail message with season-ticket holders this past week: ”Hey, this is Rex Ryan, the head coach of the New York Jets,” is how the message began. “I just wanted to let you know how much we need you this week. You know, I’ve already admitted that, hey, the Patriots have a better head coach and they’ve got a better quarterback than us. But we’re going to see who’s got a better team.”
He continued: “Again, I admit that I’m not as good as Belichick, but at the end of the game, I want to be 1-0 against him,” Ryan said at the end. “So, help me out if you don’t mind. That’s my challenge, OK? Thank you. Bye.”
If Ryan’s going to be 1-0 against Belichick after Sunday’s game, then he, and his players, better back up their tough talk.
