Rex Ryan just can't get away from the New England Patriots.
The Bills coach on Thursday was a verbal waterfall on the topic of Bill Belichick's Foxborough dynasty.
Essentially conceding the division to the undefeated Pats -- Buffalo's opponent on Monday night -- Ryan grew unusually testy with the New England media when pressed about his seeming obsession with the club he's lost eight of his last nine matchups to as coach of the Bills and Jets.
"The only reason I talk about them is that they're the No. 1 team in our division," Ryan said, per CSN New England. "That's where we want to be. I know you guys say I'm obsessed with them and all that but you guys are obsessed with them, not me. I want to beat them. But you're the ones who talk about them every single day.
"We prepare, I'll tell you this, we prepare for them the same way we prepare for every team that we face. Do we want to beat them? Absolutely. Do I want to beat them more than any team we face? Yeah, because they're the standard. They've won. They're the ones who've won the division. To me, that's why.
"But do I obsess about them and all that? You guys write about that I've lost seven of eight, so why are you even talking to me? I obviously have no clue how to attack them or defend them, so you guys should talk to someone else who has a better record than I do against them."
Longtime Patriots beat writer Tom E. Curran said Thursday that in all his conference calls over the years with Ryan, he's never "heard him that persnickety." Curran noted that Rex was civil out of the gate before becoming "amiably irritated."
"I have a history with (the Patriots), but I mean of course they want to bury me," Ryan said. "I mean, no question they want to beat me. But this is nothing to do with me, it has something to do with our team. You know, yeah, they want to put us away, there is no question."
At this stage, per Phil Perry of CSN New England, Ryan "shut down," all but dismissing a subsequent query on the play of Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
"You guys are the experts. You'll figure it out," Ryan jabbed, before swatting down a scribe asking if Taylor's accuracy had improved: "I don't know. You need to do a little more of your homework then to find out. I'm not gonna answer your question. It's pretty obvious you guys have been pretty decent, but you guys will figure it out."
In a separate chat with Bills writers, Ryan managed to boil down his deep-seated frustration with the Patriots to one simple truth, admitting: "Now the reason they say 'obsessed'? I want what they have."
Can you blame him?
