NEW ORLEANS -- New York Jets coach Rex Ryan never passes up a good punch line, particularly at the expense of the AFC East rival New England Patriots. He was in fine form Tuesday during the coaches' breakfast at the NFL Annual Meeting.
Ryan spoke about Patriots coach Bill Belichick ("I feel, like, at times, we're the only team that can beat him") and quarterback Tom Brady ("You know he can't stand me"), among other topics.
A sampling of Ryan's comments:
» On Belichick: "You know what's funny? We have conversations. We talk about baseball. We talk about anything. I personally like Belichick. And I have more respect for Belichick than any coach in this league, as you guys know. But again, I still want to beat him. And the fact that he's in our division -- I'm paid to beat him. ... They lost three games last year, two to us."
» On Belichick benching Wes Welker at the start of the Jets' playoff victory over the Patriots after the wide receiver's verbal digs at Ryan: "At the time, I was like, 'That's pretty cool.'" Ryan said he took that as a sign of Belichick's respect for him.
» On Brady: "One day, I expect him to roll out one time and just launch a ball at me and take the incompletion. That's what I worry about. I do like to play with him a little bit. But what a great quarterback."
» On why three-time Super Bowl champion Brady was just a sixth-round draft pick: "We all saw him run that 40 (-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine). Oh my goodness, that's the slowest 40 I've ever seen in my life."
» On his brother, Rob Ryan, the new defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys: "I always say this to him, and I believe it: I think they'll be second in the league in defense this year."
» On the reaction of his father, Buddy Ryan, to Rob's job, given Buddy's clashes with the Cowboys while coaching the Philadelphia Eagles: Buddy Ryan is "struggling with it a little bit. ... He looked at Rob like he's Benedict Arnold or something."
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
