Two Weeks Later, Rex Ryan Is Still Going On The Patriots: 'Clearly Trying To Embarrass Us'
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's well-documented how much the Patriots are in their opponents' heads. With teams protecting themselves from "cheating" instead of preparing for Sunday, the Krafts own enough mental real estate to buy Boardwalk and Park Place.
So it should come as no surprise that Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan is still talking about the Patriots, nearly two weeks after his supposed top-ranked defense took a 40-point beatdown from Tom Brady & Co. in a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicated.
Zolak & Bertrand talked yesterday how the Patriots are out to embarrass the rest of the NFL, and Rex has taken notice.
"Our emotions got the better of us but I loved how we battled back when a team was clearly trying to embarrass us," Rex said on his team's focus after losing to the Patriots, according to the Buffalo News. "We scored three TD to their three points [in the 4th quarter]. We'll see. We'll play [the Patriots] down the road."
You can't possibly say that Rex is over the loss, because he himself admitted it. When asked about facing Eli Manning in the Bills' Week 4 matchup against the New York Giants, Rex went out of his way to bring up Brady: "I like the fact that he beat Brady twice. I like that. I'm not all the way over the Brady butt-kicking he did against us."
Against one of the league's most formidable (and expensive) defensive fronts, Brady threw for 466 yards and 3 touchdowns - and left points on the board, making dubious play-calls late in the 4th quarter up multiple scores. It came after a week of Bills bravado that made the losers look silly in retrospect.
To Rex's credit, the loss didn't exactly send the Bills into a tailspin. Buffalo followed up that disappointment with a 41-14 drubbing of the Miami Dolphins, on the road. But Miami right now is an absolute dumpster-fire and a reflection of lame-duck coach Joe Philbin, who has the personality of a stale triscuit. Are the Dolphins really an accurate barometer for how well the Bills are performing?
Rex rejected the notion that the loss to the Patriots lit a fire under his team, saying "I don't think it had any effect," and that's fair of him to say. The loss may not have affected the Bills' performance on Sunday, but there was still no need for Rex to bring it up nearly two weeks later - yet he did, multiple times. Rex admitted he's not over the loss - and if it continues to fester in his mind, will it begin to show on the field?
Rex may sport a different logo now, but he is still bringing the same old bluster that's poured out of his mouth for his near-decade as an NFL head coach. His rhetoric sounds intimidating and essential to his team's identity when they're winning, but becomes hackneyed when things go south. Not that I'm complaining - the man's a human headline factory. At least he's consistent.
It remains to be seen which direction Rex will take the 2-1 Bills from here. But it's obvious that even as he prepares for the Giants, he's still obsessed with the Patriots.