Tensions have been heating up all week between the Jets and Patriots in anticipation of Sunday's AFC divisional round playoff game. Rex Ryan is taking the game very personally, virile cornerback Antonio Cromartie has been trash talking Tom Brady, and The Post is so excited, they churned out one of their most epic Photoshopped covers in years! But yesterday, Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker may have gone a step too far: during an interview, he slyly referenced feet or toes in his answers to 11 of 17 questions. Listen buddy, Sexy Rexy and his alleged foot fetish are ours. Just because we can make fun of our beloved loudmouth coach doesn't mean you foliage-gazers can.

Here's a list of the various statements Welker made while straight-faced during his nine-minute press conference with the Boston media on Thursday (via ESPN):

  • [In reference to Darrelle Revis] "He's got great feet, he moves around well and [he] does some good things out there."
  • [In reference to Darrelle Revis] "He has good feet. He moves around well. He understands the game."
  • [In reference to Deion Branch] "He is another guy with great feet and he can really move around and do some things out there."
  • [In reference to Tom Brady] "Having Tom in there - it goes without saying, the guy is who he is and he does a great job of making sure everyone is on the same page and putting their best foot forward going out there and playing well and doing what they can out there."
  • [On being back in the playoffs after sitting last season] "It is definitely a little bit different especially [last year] I had my foot up in the air trying to get the swelling to go down and things like that."
  • [On playing in the playoffs] "This is what you spend all year getting ready for and you want to go out there and put your best foot forward."
  • [On handling practice during the bye week] "... you never know when you will get the chance to run it again before the game, so you want to make sure that you are putting your best foot forward out there and making it happen."
  • [On feeling the playoff atmosphere at practice] "Yeah, absolutely. [We’re] really moving forward and we’re going out there being good little foot soldiers."
  • [On communicating during Jets blitz packages] "A lot of teams you don’t see all year, so you definitely have to be on your toes and make sure that you’re ready to go."
  • [On how he tells the young guys to handle the playoffs] "It’s a playoff atmosphere and you can’t just stick your toe in the water, you’ve got to jump right in and make sure you’re ready to go and make things happen."
  • [On the offensive unit since the Cleveland game] "I think we have had some younger players really step-up this year."

We're not sure about "step-up," but the others all got our blood boiling. In case you needed any other reasons to hate the Patriots, Filip Bondy has compiled a list of ten reasons why Jets fans hate the Patriots, many of which revolve around Coach Bill Belichick—his resignation letter was the original sin, and his "fish handshakes" are incredibly unfriendly.