The Jets are preparing to play the Patriots this week, and Rex Ryan is wasting no time in giving bulletin-board material to his AFC East rival.
“I want them to know -- and they know that, I think -- I think we’re going to beat them,” Ryan said on Monday. “I recognize that they’re a great football team and [Bill] Belichick’s a great coach. I’ve never once said that he wasn’t. But again, we’re not going to back down or concede anything.”
In the surprisingly competitive AFC East, where all four teams are 3-3, Ryan says he views playing the Patriots like a title fight.
“They’re going to get our best shot and we know we’re going to get theirs,” Ryan added. “It really doesn’t matter who says what. But we are going to be ourselves. We’re coming there to take our swing. We’ll see if we land that punch to win the game.”
Ryan said the Jets have built their team with the goal of matching up with the Patriots in mind. And he thinks that on Sunday, the way the Jets have built their team will pay off.