And The AFC East Goes Yap, Yap…
If they gave out playoff spots in June for talking, the AFC East would have 3 teams in already (and that’s before T.O. really opens up his mouth!). First, there was all this talk up in New England about 2009 being better than 2007:
“The sky’s the limit for this offense,” Patriots receiver Randy Moss told me over the phone Monday afternoon. “I think that we could be a little bit better than two years ago.
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“I feel we’ve gotten better,” Welker said. “Back in ’07, Randy and I were in our first year here, and I don’t know about Randy, but I was worried about where the hell I was supposed to line up a lot of that season.
Then there was that “Kiss the Rings” stuff from Florham Park:
You know, they can figure it out and when they come here the second week of the season we’ll see. ‘Cause see, I never came here to kiss Bill Belichick’s, you know, rings. You know, I came… you know, to win. Let’s put it that way and so we’ll see what happens. I’m certainly not intimidated by, you know, by New England or anybody else and so, you know again, I’m not a guy that is going to say well, this guys that. Hey look, Tom Brady is a hell of a quarterback, no question. I’ve got great respect for him, but I also have a great deal of confidence in the people we have in this building. Again, if that team can beat us, if New England can beat us, then they must have one hell of a football team.
As if you thought it would end there. After the jump, the latest salvo in the war over the AFC East.
Apparently Joey Porter decided he’s had enough of everyone else talking…:
The Miami Dolphins outside linebacker had just made reference to being the reigning division champs, saying almost in passing that “the AFC East comes through Miami,” and “we’re the champions until proven otherwise.”
“I don’t understand how you can put somebody in front of us,” said Porter, who would be the cleanup hitter on my all-interview team. “We won the championship. We were AFC East champions. I just don’t think it’s supposed to happen like that. You’ve got to beat somebody to be the champs. We had to beat somebody to be the champs.
Oh, and there’s this quote you just have to appreciate from Channing Crowder:
“Oh, he’s going crazy,” Crowder told Ethan Skolnick of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “He’s going absolutely nuts. I know it’s his first chance to be a head coach, and I know he’s excited about life. But, like I said, I’ve never played a football game in June in my whole life. So congratulations to him. He’s the OTA, the OTA Super Bowl winner.”
Here’s the scary part if you’re a Jets fan. Crowder, Porter, Welker and Moss all have reasons to be confident and right. Between the two teams, they’ve won the division the past two seasons, re-defined the idea of a dominant offense, brought the Wildcat into the NFL again, and they’ve got two guys running their franchises (Belichick and Parcells) who know a thing or two about not only winning but beating the Jets.
The truth is that the biggest talker has absolutley been Sexy Rexy and he’s got the least “hard evidence” to back it up. As much as Jets fans are excited to have someone who’s ready to talk the talk, they have to be concerned that all this talk is going to land the Jets in hot water come bulletin board time.
Some of you have to wonder if it’s worth it and fans of other teams are surely hoping the entire division will just go away, but either way, it’s not going to be a quiet summer.
14 Responses to And The AFC East Goes Yap, Yap…
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NYJ09 says:
If Ryan thinks he can back it up then talk all you want. I’m confident the defense will do the things he say they will. He isn’t talking up a storm, he’s speaking his mind and letting everyone know the Jets are gonna be a good football team and that’s refreshing. Corey, somewhere on ESPN in TG’s blog there’s a transcript of Porter and Chowder and I think you should get that up so we can get some reaction to that, Chowder in particular. Chowder called Ryan insane. Chowder witnessed Ryan in the playoffs design the near decapitation of Chad Pennington; he’s gonna have a front row seat to that this year as well (hopefully).
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TJBfan says:
This team needs the confidence Rex brings. If you arent playing for a Super Bowl its time to find another job, so I’m glad we have someone who is willing to fight for us.
Theres way too many years in which the voice of the Jets confidence came from the fans. There are way too many teams where the voice comes from a few players who end up looking stupid(see: Detroit Lions playoff guarantees).
This is an all new look, from the coach, to the players to the fans we are becoming believers in ourselves and not backing down. This is the only way to overthrow those Patriots who have been “bullying” and “intimidating” us in recent years.
As for the dolphins saying they are “champions”….ha…don’t forget you were 1-15 the year before and Chad doesnt have the best record of competing highly at a consistent basis….how else can you win come back player of the year twice?
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Pats09 says:
There’s a difference between being confident saying, “we’ve got a good team, we’re gonna work hard and stick it to whoever we play,” and Rex Ryan saying we’re gonna meet the president after we win the superbowl multiple times and BB and that Pats better move over and I’m not gonna kiss his rings.
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kc. says:
BOTTOM LINE: we have made GREAT moves in the offseason ie. COACHES,FREE AGENTS,and DRAFT PICKS. With that being said tho,we STILL havent addressed one of our BIGGEST needs. A TALL,FAST widereciever with HANDS. I dont care WHO our starting quarterback is(i like BOTH of them,so whoever),he is gonna need another weapon to THROW too. Pair BURRESS or BRAYLON with cotchery,stuckey,keller,and brad smith(yeah,i said it)and THAT is a recieving core that would make TWO INEXPERIENCED quarterbacks lives THAT much EASIER. The running game OBVIOUSLY helps the passing game,but we have that aspect pretty much locked down.
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Harvlis says:
I think the key to stopping New England is stopping Wes Welker. If we can take him out of the game, they are a different offense. Welker’s ability to keep the ball moving, by getting big first downs, can be the difference. Good defense stops good offense. Is it week two yet?
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My Pet Goat says:
Nice job with the caps, kc. It truly helped to underscore your point. Anyhoo, I know mangini was no fun and all, but I always disliked the constant yammering of the Ravens. And as awful as it was, it started with an all-time great TE in Shannon Sharpe and possibly the greatest MLB of all-time. And they won a super bowl. Last I checked that Super Bowl title as well as the primes of Lewis and Sharpe stayed in Baltimore.
Now Bart Scot talks too damned much but I understand the media’s fascination with an actual quote after hearing nothing but canned answers for three years. But Rex Ryan should STFU. By all means talk ‘em up at Florham Park, but at the pressers just tone it down. He’s going to get eviscerated when this team struggles.
BTW: the Hangover is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen.
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Dean Barbella says:
Kiss my ring, Randy Moss, who gathered no stones in Oakland.
Brady and company got a steel of a deal with a fourth round pick. Now, Jets are gonna get one of our own… in fellow damaged goods wide receiver – Plax!
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EssentialEducator says:
Pats09,
So Ryan should say, “I’m going to kiss BB’s rings.” And he never called out the Pats…just saying that his team is not going to play in awe of them.
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I wrote above what a good response would be that won’t make Rex look like an idiot after they play him. Confidence is a good thing and I understand that he’s trying to break the Jets image as losers, but you can do it without sounding like an idiot.
Randy and Wes’ comments are example’s of ways to say, “yea I think we got a good team and we can be even better than we were in the past.”
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Albert says:
I see nothing wrong with Rex’s comments. He is saying he is going to bring his own unique feel to a team and is not going to be a model after the patriots. See the point that has killed this team so far is that we want to be like the patriots mind set that has been floating around. Teams need to form their own identity and that is what Ryan is bringing here. All he is saying is he is going to put a good team on the field and he won’t be intimidated by the pats Super Bowl Rings. It’s not sounding like an idiot like some Pats fans say. Come to think of it, i don’t fear the division as a Jets fan. Dolphins have a gimmick offense that will be stopped this year, a year after the new scheme and the Pats are still the team to beat. Not miami, they got lucky to face teams hit with injuries toward the latter part of the season.
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Pito190 says:
All the stuff that is being written about what Rex is saying or whom ever is saying whatever about whomever is stupid. With what Rex has said there are two good things that I see here.
First, none of the players have said it. Only Rex and that is taking pressure of the NY JETS team.
Second, it already has all the other players in the division all worked up and thinking about the JETS and no focusing on what they should be.
The JETS are going to have a brand new Defensive scheme that this division doesn’t see on a regular basis. I believe the offense will be conservative in the beginning and get better with time. The JETS are going to catch people by surprise and have a great year.
So let the TALK continue!!!!
Maybe I’m splitting hairs here, but I do not feel like Ryan is necessarily talking-trash or guaranteeing victory. He is trying to establish confidence amongst the team and is really being honest. He never said the Jets are going to win the division. He has not spoken ill of any coach or player.
With that said (written), this is just part of the game. Everybody is trying to psyche out the other team in the papers now, which as Chowder said, does not mean anything. All it is doing now is getting some players off-track and talking about the Jets, while putting a lot of pressure on Ryan. That’s why its nice to have someone like TO on your team, so that an individual takes the pressure of the media off the teams back and onto one player.