Bill Belichick and his New England Patriots respect the Jets as an opponent and think they’re a dangerous team? How dare they! When Gregg Rosenthal of Pro Football Talk said the Jets are desperate for bulletin board material, he hit the nail right on the head. I have no problem with the Jets talking trash because they tend to back it up. However, it gets a little sad when they start trying to convince people that the other team is talking trash.
According to Rex Ryan, the Patriots’ recent praise of the Jets is disrespectful — we just don’t know it. “I know they say we are a great team, and I see the sarcasm,” Ryan said. “Well, they are going to find out if we are a great team or not, I can tell you that much.”
First of all, it’s no secret that praising the opposition is the style in Foxboro. It’s not some subtle way of insulting the other team. Rather, it’s Belichick’s attempt to keep his team focused and avoid giving the opponent any additional motivation heading into the game. Secondly, Ryan can leave it to teams like the Lions to accuse the Patriots of being sarcastic. If your team is 2-8 and Belichick starts talking about how great you are, it’s understandable to think he’s being sarcastic (not that I think he is in those situations, either). How can New England not respect the Jets? Both teams are 9-2, and New York won the only head-to-head meeting this year.
The bottom line is Ryan and his squad need something to be pissed off about. We all know they’re desperate to be despised. They want to go into a game looking for blood and feeling disrespected — even if the opposition has done nothing to indicate they don’t respect them. Hey, whatever works.
