One of the great truths of NFL coaching chances is that if the last guy was fat, the next guy will probably be skinny.
While that’s not a comment on the relative density of Rex Ryan and Todd Bowles, it does speak clearly to the way the former and current Jets coaches approached the Patriots.
Ryan always made it clear the Patriots were the target, the standard. Bowles lacks any of Ryan’s bluster, so he eased into the it.
“I don’t think it means anything to us right now,” Bowles said of the rivalry with the Pats, via Phill Perry of CSNNE.com. “Right now we’re trying to become the New York Jets. We’re trying to become a winning ball club. We’re gonna concentrate on us. You can’t beat the Patriots in February.
“And just beating the Patriots is not gonna cut it if we lose to everybody else. We gotta have a growth process of learning how to win while we’re winning or trying to win and beat more than just the Patriots.”
The Patriots clearly have an edge, having won seven of the last eight meetings between them.
But under Ryan, any win against the Patriots always seemed to mean more, including the 2010 playoff victory at Gillette Stadium.
It seems Bowles is just looking for wins period, more than four in a season anyway.