Jets coach Rex Ryan is offering some flattery to Colts quarterback Peyton Manning prior to their Saturday playoff meeting — and offering some bulletin-board material to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the process.
Asked to assess Manning, Ryan described him as like a coach on the field — and then said that makes Manning different from Brady, because Brady benefits from the presence of Bill Belichick.
“There’s nobody like this guy in the league,” Ryan said of Manning. “Nobody studies like him. I know Brady thinks he does. I think there’s probably a little more help with Belichick with Brady than there is with Peyton Manning.”
That comment could also be perceived as a slight toward the Colts’ coaching staff, although Ryan did offer praise for Colts coach Jim Caldwell, former coach Tony Dungy and longtime Colts assistant Tom Moore.
“Tom Moore has done a great job with [Manning] forever, Caldwell and Tony Dungy and things like that,” Ryan said. “But it’s Peyton Manning, that’s who it is.”
Brady mentioned before the season that he hates the Jets, and Ryan doesn’t much like the Patriots either. If the Jets beat the Colts on Saturday, Ryan and Brady will meet again in New England on January 16.