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At this time a year ago, the Jets had a beleaguered Mark Sanchez competing with an inexperienced Smith for the starting job. There were five other new starters on offense and seven on defense. Ryan also pointed out that there was a new punter and 11 new assistant coaches, including offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg.
Yes, they're talking again. And maybe even a little more than before.
"You get a few bullets shot at you when you take this approach,China Jerseys, so maybe that's not recommended," Ryan said. "But you know what? It's who we are. It's how we feel. They can laugh, but you've got to play us, too. So we'll see at the end of the day. The beauty of it is, we get to find out.
"And if we do so, then we'll have a good team."
Ah, that's right.
"You know my Ray Robinson quote,Authentic Jerseys Wholesale, 'To be great, to be a champion, you've got to believe in yourself when nobody else will,'" Ryan said. "And that's it. You can't hide in this league. So if you're saying it, that's great, because they really believe it. But you don't want to get embarrassed, that's for sure.
Linebacker Calvin Pace also proclaimed to the newspaper that the Jets have the league's best defense. Geno Smith told ESPN New York he thinks he can become a top-five quarterback.
The Jets have made headlines for opening their mouths in the past — with Ryan leading the charge — and now, they're starting to do it again.
"I have no idea where they get that from," Ryan deadpanned after practice Tuesday. "No idea."
Even if it's still only July and the regular-season opener is more than a month away.
"Maybe I wasn't as confident initially," Ryan said. "I mean, I was confident, but it was like, 'Whoo, I don't even know these guys.' But again, I knew myself. I knew we'd give it our best shot, for sure."
Since then, Ryan has outlasted one general manager (Mike Tannenbaum) and somehow endeared himself to the new GM (John Idzik), despite the two seeming to have opposite personalities.
CORTLAND, N.Y. (AP) — Welcome to Camp Confidence,Cheap Jerseys Online, where bold proclamations are among the annual rites of summer for the New York Jets.
"That means you're going to put in the work. You're willing to do that, and you know what comes with it."
"We understand that it takes a ton of hard work and you've got to prove it out on the field, but we never want to sell ourselves short," Smith said. "The main thing is that we continue to stay focused. We're all levelheaded. No one's here saying we cornered the marked on anything. We believe that we have to put the work in.
"We're not running from it. We're running into it."
Opposing teams will take notice, that's for sure. And, they'll probably chuckle at the public displays of confidence — even if every other team is also feeling pretty good about itself at this point. More quietly, though, of course.
The bottom line, however, is New York hasn't been to the playoffs in three seasons, the longest drought since owner Woody Johnson bought the team in 2000. Ryan is brimming with confidence this summer, though, and it seems a bit different from a year ago.
Ryan has always been known to make bold proclamations since becoming coach in 2009. While he has toned down some of the bravado in recent seasons, his players have stepped in for him.
Second-year cornerback Dee Milliner recently declared to the Daily News that he believes he's the NFL's top cornerback, refusing to acknowledge that any player is better than him at his job.
Oh, and guess what? Rex Ryan doesn't mind one bit, even though he might be a bit puzzled by what's gotten into some of his players lately.
Ryan always takes a positive approach to his teams heading into a season — like the time in 2010 when he signed the side of ESPN's camp bus and scrawled "Soon To Be Champs" under his autograph.
Idzik then went out and signed wide receiver Eric Decker, running back Chris Johnson and quarterback Michael Vick,NFL Jerseys Cheap, among the best players available at their positions. They also signed right tackle Breno Giacomini, fresh off a Super Bowl win with Seattle, and filled huge needs in the draft by taking hard-hitting safety Calvin Pryor and pass-catching tight end Jace Amaro with their first two picks.
And then, he threw this out there with a wry smile, knowing he'd draw laughs: "Because you know I'm a great coach. Just ask me."
"Maybe there's a reason,NBA Jerseys China," Ryan said. "Maybe I am more confident in this team."
Helped by improved play by Smith, the Jets won three of their last four to finish 8-8 and saved Ryan's job in the process.
Well, that didn't quite work out. The Jets got close, though,Wholesale Jerseys From China, falling a game shy of the Super Bowl after getting to the AFC championship game for the second straight year. |
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