The Jets have been flying high (right past the Empire State Building) this week since their impressive victory over the New England Patriots last weekend. Now comes the build-up to this Sunday's AFC Championship Game with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But unlike last week's trash-talking funfest, things have been decidedly less hostile between the two sides.
While Sunday's game was a "personal" battle between Rex Ryan and his nemesis Bill Belichick, Ryan has taken on a decidedly different tone this week, drawing parallels between himself and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin: "You look at our backgrounds, we're similar. We're defensive guys. We both have incredible opportunities, we know that. I just want to win a Super Bowl like he has." Perhaps some of that has to do with the fact that the Jets beat the Steelers just a few weeks ago in Pittsburgh. There was also much praise for Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger: "He'll just stand there and then make plays down the field. I've never seen a guy take the hits he can take and also make people miss the way he does and be as accurate on the run," said Ryan. Virile cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who called Pats QB Tom Brady an "a-hole" last week, echoed Ryan's statements: "I love Ben man. Ben's a competitor."
One thing is for sure: thanks to last week's jubilant win, and now two consecutive appearances in the AFC Championships Game, NYC has Rex fever. People are embracing his loud-mouth style: “Keep talking that trash the way you’re doing’. It’s working. It’s getting to them psychologically,” said Johnny Villanueva of Teaneck, N.J. “His freewheeling style; his playful style is freeing up the players, at least this group of players to perform to their fullest potential,” sports psychotherapist Dr. Jay Granat, founder of “Stay In The Zone,” told CBS. Even Giants players love Rex: Giants safety Antrel Rolle said in an interview Monday, “People like to talk about Rex Ryan, but that team is going to war for him. They would die for him...If you match us up against the Jets, do I think they’re a better team? No, I don’t think so at all. But when it comes to their chemistry, I think their chemistry might be better than ours. I think that they have a lot more fun than we have.”
