As Rex Ryan boasts about how the Jets are going to come out with a win in Foxboro on Monday, Bill Belichick continues to act like his modest self.
Monday night will be the fourth Ryan-Belichick showdown and the biggest of all, as both teams are 9-2, fighting for the AFC East title. Ryan owns a 3-1 head-to-head advantage over Belichick.
Belichick has nothing but good things to say about Ryan, despite the aggressive nature of his counterpart.
"You can definitely see his stamp on the team, how they play and how successful they've been over the last two years," Belichick said on a conference call to the New York media, according to ESPN.com. "I have a lot of respect for him, what he does and the success that he's had doing it throughout his career, particularly the last two years where we've gone head-to-head with him."
Throughout the week, Ryan has been talking big, even telling Newsday that he "came [to the Jets] to kick Belichick’s ass." When asked the last time he remembers an opposing coach saying such a thing, the humble Pats coach responded "I don't know" and left it at that.
Belichick has somewhat of a history with the Ryan family as Rex’s twin brother, Rob, was an assistant coach on Belichick’s staff. The Pats won two Super Bowl rings with Rob on Belichick’s staff.
"It sounds like they have a lot of similarities, and I think they both describe it that way," Belichick said. "I feel like I know Rex through Rob probably better than just the amount of time that Rex and I have spent together."
Unlike Rex, Belichick doesn’t mess around with his words and gets straight to the point.
"In the end, I don't think anybody's record really matters right now," he said. "It's all about the preparation and the game this week. I don't think any of that is really significant as far as the outcome of this game because this game is more about the preparation and the performance of the two teams. That will be on Monday night. That's how we look at it."
