The New York Jets really don't care if Tom Brady hates them. In fact, they expect it.
The Jets were fairly tame when it came to their reaction to Brady's recent comments where he said he hated the Jets, and he wouldn't support their HBO series Hard Knocks. Brady even suggested that he could say quite few more "mean things" but he'd hold back on live radio.
When the press approached the Jets for their reply to the Patriots quarterback, most of the team said they expected that kind of comment from a division rival. Staying true to form, Jets head coach Rex Ryan laced his comeback with a slight expletive.
"Hell, he knows we hate the Patriots so what's the difference?" Ryan said Monday, according to ESPN.com. "That's great. Hey, join the club."
The Jets have definitely attracted some eyeballs this summer. From the Darrelle Revis holdout to Ryan's crystal ball predictions for a Super Bowl victory, Gang Green has been lighting up television and computer screens across the country.
However, Jets center Nick Mangold doesn't expect Hard Knocks to be lighting up Brady's television on a weekly basis.
"Hard Knocks, we never had it with anybody in our division," Mangold said. "I don't expect him to be sitting there with a bowl of popcorn enjoying the show every Wednesday."
The hatred of the Jets by Brady is mutual coming from Mangold's end. He expects it considering the teams are AFC East rivals.
"It's part of the excitement of games. You dislike the other team," he said.
Defensive end Jason Taylor also realizes the division hatred is a part of the game. Taylor should know considering he's played for the other AFC rival, Miami.
"They're supposed to hate the Jets — they're the Patriots," Taylor said. "Just like the Dolphins are supposed to."
Some of the players in the Jets locker room, however, did not take the news so lightly. Wide receiver Braylon Edwards thinks Brady should be a bit more careful with his words in the future, considering free agency could be just around the corner for the veteran quarterback.
"A team he quote-unquote hated he's the starting quarterback for," Edwards said.
Scrappy offensive lineman, Rob Turner, thinks this is as far as the words will go, as he believes Brady wouldn't dare mess with him in the Patriots-Jets matchup at the New Meadowlands on Sept. 19.
"Brady wouldn't fight me," Turner said. "I'd break his jaw."
We'll just see about that come September.
