LET'S HEAR IT

Art Stapleton
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
01-10-2011
LET'S HEAR IT
Byline: Art Stapleton
Section: SPORTS
Type: News

In looking ahead, LaDainian Tomlinson had no problem looking back Saturday night.

Surprisingly, he was one of the only Jets willing to do that so soon.
Rex Ryan begged out of talking about the Patriots immediately after his team's 17-16 playoff victory over the Indianapolis Colts, preferring the focus remained on how his Jets just beat Peyton Manning in his building and not the next round in New England.

Even Bart Scott, often the locker-room conduit for Ryan's bravado, stayed quiet on the Patriots' front, at least for now.

Tomlinson, the future Hall of Fame running back chasing a Super Bowl ring with the passion of an NFL rookie, declined to sidestep the embarrassment of last month's farce in Foxborough.

All it took was one question regarding the Jets' next opponent to bring him right back to the field that fateful night inside Gillette Stadium five weeks ago.

"I remember late in the fourth quarter and the Patriots were talking and yapping about the game that night," Tomlinson said of the Jets' 45-3 loss Dec. 6. "And I said to a couple of guys, 'We'll be back. You guys got us tonight, but we'll be back.' "

The Jets earned that return trip with a brilliant performance that included two Tomlinson touchdown runs, an outstanding defensive game plan that seemed to frustrate Manning and the winning field goal by Nick Folk as time expired.

On the heels of their biggest victory since Joe Namath's guarantee, this is not the time to back down from their loudmouthed persona.

If anything, as they head back to the site of the worst regular- season debacle in recent franchise history, the Jets have to stay true to themselves and talk even more.

Anything else would render them a bunch of phonies.

Say what you want about the Jets since Ryan has been in charge, but their best quality - albeit their most polarizing -- is that what you see is what you get.

Beating Peyton was personal for Ryan.

Beating the Patriots should be personal for the rest of the Jets, all of whom should carry the humiliation of what New England did to them on national television.

Ryan need not worry about providing bulletin board material to the Patriots this week, not that he ever has before. He already did enough by taking a shot at Tom Brady while praising Manning's study habits last week.

"There's nobody like this guy in the league. Nobody studies like him," Ryan said of Manning. "I know Brady thinks he does."

Thanks to the Internet, the zinger made its way to New England within minutes.

Ryan's sound bite will be played countless times this week, as it should.

The Jets will not outcoach Bill Belichick. They will not outthink Brady, who has not thrown an interception in his last 11 games, a staggering stat to go along with his 36 touchdown passes and four picks.

The Patriots have lost once in their last 12 home playoff games.

That does not mean the Jets won't beat the Patriots and advance to the AFC championship game for the second consecutive year.

They can do it with the same blueprint that bested Manning and the Colts, but not without rallying the same kind of emotion the Patriots used against them on "Monday Night Football" last month.

Ryan buried a football from that game in the ground near one of the Jets' practice fields, hoping his actions would help the players and coaches leave the experience in the past.

Something so mentally and emotionally taxing is not that easy to leave behind, however.

Just ask Tomlinson, who reminded us of how he told the Patriots he and his teammates would be back to prove that one-sided outcome was an aberration.

If he is as sly as he has been calculating with some of his gimmicks, Ryan should dig up that ball, paint "45-3" on it and bring it with him everywhere he goes this week.

Only a triumph in New England will satisfy critics of the Jets' reputation as all-style, no-substance contenders. Even then, the Jets still will be two wins shy of the Super Bowl ring Ryan has promised, but plenty closer than anyone would have predicted the last time they departed Foxborough.

"We've waited on this opportunity," Tomlinson said. "We're going against a great team. We know the history, a great coaching staff over there ... but we hope to put on a better performance this time."

Compared with what they already have experienced, the Jets can't do any worse.

If Saturday night in Indianapolis is any indication, they can only hope the best is yet to come.

Illustrations/Photos:
Caption: Antonio Cromartie sees the opening for his 47-yard kickoff
return that set up Nick Folk's winning field goal Saturday.

2011