If things are “personal” between Jets coach Rex Ryan and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, it might be news to the latter.
A day after Ryan said that this week’s wild-card matchup between the two was “absolutely” personal, Manning responded — by showering the Jets with praise.
“They’re every bit as good as advertised,” Manning said via conference call, according to ESPN.com. “They’re excellent from a scheme standpoint. I think player-wise they’re better than they were last year. They’ve added some really good players. … They’re playing really well on defense, [and] statistically, they’re ranked high in all the categories, so it’s going to be a tough challenge.”
If one of the game’s best signal-callers does have difficulty with the Jets’ defense, it hasn’t shown. In his two games against the Jets since Ryan took over, Manning is 40-of-70 for 569 yards and three touchdowns. A good chunk of that stat line came in last year’s AFC Championship Game when Manning burned the Jets to the tune of 26-for-39 for 377 yards and all three of those touchdowns.
“I don’t have really a good explanation for it,” Manning said of his past successes against Ryan’s defenses. “I know that he is an excellent football coach, and I’m not sure who the defensive coordinator is or what the title is, like you said. It is his scheme, it is an extremely difficult scheme. Every time we play him, he’s always had good players but I’m not sure he’s had as good of players as he has now.”
The Jets and Colts battle in Indianapolis on Saturday, Jan. 8, at 8 p.m.
