Jets' Ryan Needles Patriots' Belichick, Brady At Breakfast
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) -- Jets coach Rex Ryan never has been someone who passes up a good punch line, particularly at the expense of the rival New England Patriots. He was in fine form Tuesday during the coaches breakfast at the NFL owners meetings.
He spoke about Patriots coach Bill Belichick ("I feel, like, at times, we're the only team that can beat him") and quarterback Tom Brady ("You know he can't stand me"), among other topics.
A sampling:
— On Belichick: "You know what's funny? We have conversations. We talk about baseball. We talk about anything. I personally like Belichick. And I have more respect for Belichick than any coach in this league, as you guys know. But again, I still want to beat him. And the fact that he's in our division — I'm paid to beat him. ... They lost three games last year, two to us."
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— More on Belichick: "I'm not going to just say, 'Bill, don't kick my butt too bad.' No way in hell. And I feel like at times we're the only team that can beat them."
— On Belichick benching Wes Welker at the start of the Jets' playoff victory over the Patriots after the receiver's verbal digs at Ryan: "It's not the Patriot way of doing things, and he was upset about that, obviously. I thought it was kind of neat." Ryan said he took that as a sign of Belichick's respect for him.
— On Brady: "I had to give him hell. ... One day, I expect him to roll out one time, launch a ball at me and take the incompletion. That's what I worry about. I do like to play with him a little bit, but what a great quarterback."
— On Brady watching game film of the Jets' postseason win over New England: "I don't think it'll be any more than normal. I mean, he's not Peyton Manning when it comes to that."
— On why three-time Super Bowl champion Brady was only a sixth-round draft pick: "We all saw him run that 40. Oh my goodness, that's the slowest 40 I've ever seen in my life."
— On his brother, Rob Ryan, the new defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys: "I always say this to him, and I believe it: I think they'll be second in the league in defense this year."
— On the reaction of his father, Buddy Ryan, to Rob's job, given Buddy's clashes with the Cowboys while coaching the Eagles: Buddy Ryan is "struggling with it a little bit. ... He looked at Rob like he's Benedict Arnold or something."
Ryan also looks forward to rockin' and rollin' after the NFL lockout is resolved, although he's not keeping tabs on his guys.
"They're on their own," the Jets coach said. "It's not like you organize anything. Somebody said, 'Are they working out?' I have no idea. You don't know who's working out, who's not working out, all this stuff. But I'm confident that when our guys come back, they will be ready to roll."
What'll Rex say next? Give us your prediction in the comments below...
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