Rex Ryan wasn’t high on the New England Patriots this season, but the former NFL head coach would’ve been even more skeptical of the defending Super Bowl champions’ 2019 potential if not for Tom Brady.
Ryan heaped immense praise on Brady during Monday’s episode of “First Take” while discussing whether the 42-year-old quarterback will take his talents elsewhere in free agency this offseason. The Patriots, of course, have dominated the AFC East for the past two decades, so Ryan dealt with plenty of nightmares at the expense of No. 12 while coaching the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills.
“The greatest player (I’ve ever faced), and it’s not close, was Tom Brady,” Ryan said on ESPN. “Part of it is, you’re right, the greatest game manager in the history of the game. By the way, his arm’s the most underrated arm in the history of the game. And by the way, he’s the smartest guy that I’ve ever gone against. This guy is ridiculous. And he’s tough. Like, you can’t believe how tough this cat is. To me, it is a joke when you look at this team.”
From there, things went off the rails a bit.
Ryan ripped last season’s Patriots, only to eat crow when Bill Belichick’s bunch defeated the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII. That didn’t stop him from doubling down on his criticism back in December, though, and he’s now taking a victory lap in wake of New England’s loss to the Tennessee Titans in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs by absolutely trashing the Patriots’ roster beyond Brady.
“I told you when they were 9-1, I said, ‘There’s something wrong with this team. If they don’t get a bye, they’re absolutely done. One and done.’ I was right,” Ryan said Monday. “Why? N’Keal Harry. By the way, that’s a bust. He was gonna be a bust the day he got drafted. Why? He can’t run. He can’t run. Julian Edelman is a slot receiver, only you’ve got him playing outside. Who the hell’s gonna double him outside? He ain’t gonna beat anybody. He’s got no speed and no length. Now, you’re gonna go back in, you’ve got this one kid who’s got speed, Phillip Dorsett. He was a failure in Indianapolis. Here’s his problem: He can run, but he can’t play football. Your tight ends: Old, slow.
“The team stunk. You’ve got a great quarterback, still, in my opinion, with no weapons. When we call them weapons, what? I don’t see a weapon. I see a BB gun or something. It’s nice to have anything. They’ve got nothing.”
Yikes.
Obviously, Ryan was trying to hammer home his point about how little Brady had to work with in his 20th NFL campaign. But you’d never know the Patriots went 12-4 during the regular season and won their 11th consecutive division title based on Ryan’s rant.
For the record, the former coach believes Brady and the Patriots should stick together for the 2020 season.
