“We don’t pay attention to anything that goes on outside this locker room” is a familiar refrain to hear from player and coaches over the course of a football season.
Jets coach Rex Ryan has never really beaten to the same drummer as the masses when it comes to dealing with the media, something he reinforced this summer when he took issue with ESPN ranking the Jets 32nd in their preseason power rankings. Five weeks into the season, the Jets are 3-2 and the title of the worst team at MetLife Stadium belongs to the Giants.
Ryan said Tuesday that winning three of their first five games doesn’t leave the Jets feeling “like we’re King Kong or something,” but reiterated that he thought the consensus opinion of the team was wrong. The people in the locker room are very aware of that consensus opinion and, according to Ryan, that’s helped them get off to a fast start.
“To think it doesn’t put a little fuel to the fire -- of course it does,” Ryan said, via ESPNNewYork.com. “With that being said we know they’re not in the meetings. They’re not seeing what we’re seeing. I’m not going to lie to say it doesn’t have something -- that it doesn’t spark you a little bit.”
Proving doubters wrong is always strong motivation, whether or not those motivated choose to admit it. For Ryan and the Jets, it has helped them to a winning record thus far. Keeping any delusions about being King Kong at bay would be a good thing as the voices outside the locker room move away from using the Jets as a punchline.