It's Hard To Hate Rex Ryan

"I didn't [back off]," Ryan said told the paper. "I just told the truth. I came here to win. As much as I respect and admire Bill Belichick, I came here to kick his (butt), and that's the truth. That's just the way it is." The Jets and Patriots are tied atop the AFC East. The winner of Monday's game in Foxborough will have the inside track for the division title, a playoff bye and home-field advantage in the postseason. Ryan's swagger has been apparent since he arrived with the Jets in 2009. All year, he hasn't shied away from saying his Jets are the best team in the NFL. On Monday, he wants to prove that to Belichick and the rest of the league. "I came to win my own (Super Bowls) here, and whether he's coaching or not on the other sideline, that's what I came to do," Ryan told Newsday. "Do I respect and admire him? Absolutely."

Is he cocky and a little too sure of himself? Yup. Does he come off as big headed prick all the time who has never won shit and sometimes you wish you could strangle him? Absolutely. With all of this is he a tad entertaining? I'd say so. You know who else is like that? Me. Listen, there's nothing I hate more than the Jets besides the Yankees. It goes Yanks, Jets and Lakers but Rex Ryan does something to me and I don't know what it is. Same with Mark Sanchez. The kid has stones and they're big, brass ones. I'll root against him my entire life but I know if he didn't play in New York, he'd probably be my second favorite player behind Tom Terrific because he has that young swagger we all try to capture. Having said that, I hope the entire New York Jets defense, Santonio Holmes, LT and Braylon Edwards die a slow and painful death. Preferably before next Monday night.