Jets football blog

Jay backs Rex

Rex Ryan flipped the bird at a heckling Miami Dolphins fan last Saturday night at a mixed-martial arts show only after having been accosted by the man on three different occasions and getting spat on, according to Jay Glazer, the FOX Sports NFL insider who was with Ryan at the event.

Glazer, who detailed the incident yesterday on WFAN and later in a phone interview with The Post, said that not only shouldn't Ryan have been fined $50,000 by the Jets for the gesture, he should be given a bonus for showing remarkable restraint.

"If [GM] Mike Tannenbaum and [owner] Woody Johnson were there, they would [have] hit the guy," said Glazer, who had invited Ryan to join him and linebackers Trent Cole of the Eagles and Patrick Willis of the 49ers at Strikeforce: Miami. Continue

Sanchez ready for surgery

Mark Sanchez compared himself to a car that needs an alignment. The bad wheel is his left knee, an old college injury he aggravated late in the season.

Discussing his upcoming surgery for the first time, the Jets' franchise quarterback revealed Wednesday that he suffered a subluxation (a partial dislocation) Nov. 29 against the Panthers, hinting that it affected him for the remainder of the season.

Sanchez, who will have a "minimally invasive" procedure in two weeks, downplayed the surgery and vowed to be ready for training camp in July. Continue

Ryan may avoid punishment

The big question to arise along with Rex Ryan's middle right finger salute to rowdy Dolphins fans Saturday night is this: What's the fallout?

Earlier this season, Titans 86-year-old owner Bud Adams was fined $250,000 by the NFL for giving Bills fans a double-barrel one-finger diss during a game.

So the natural question is this: Does that mean Ryan, who used only one hand to deliver his lewd message at that Mixed Martial Arts event in South Florida, is in for a $125,000 hit -- half of Adams' punishment from the league?

A league source told The Post yesterday that is not the case at all, because when it comes to poor conduct from its players and coaches, where the incident took place is a factor in doling out punishment. Continue

Jets not done making moves

The chances of the Jets standing pat after their meteoric rise to last week’s AFC Championship game are about as realistic as coach Rex Ryan canceling all of his 2010 press conferences.

“We are going to be invigorated by what happened,” general manager Mike Tannenbaum said. “But we also realize that come six, seven weeks from now, we’ve got to be humming and we need to have the best offseason of anybody in our division.” Continue

Dream is over, but Jets have bright future

All week, the Jets had visions dancing in their heads of confetti showering down on them.

They got exactly that this afternoon. The problem was that it came two weeks too early.

The confetti that streamed down onto the field today was blue and white, celebrating not the Super Bowl victory the Jets dreamed about, but a Colts AFC Championship title.

The Jets, trying desperately to get to their first Super Bowl in 41 years, were unable to ride their magic carpet out of Indianapolis en route to South Florida for Super Bowl XVIV, losing to the Colts 30-17. So the Colts, now 16-2, will be representing the AFC in the Super Bowl on Feb. 7 against the winner of the Saints-Vikings NFC Championship game. The Colts won Super Bowl XLI in Miami, so they’re reaching for some good karma of their own. Continue

Rex pulling out all stops vs Colts

First came Joe Namath, walking into the lobby of Jets hotel headquarters yesterday afternoon, 41 years and 11 days after Super Bowl III. Then came fiery Rex Ryan, making one last guarantee of his own last night, to mesmerized disciples who would follow him to the end of the earth, that the team he will be coaching today for the right to advance to Super Bowl XLIV is better than the team on the other side of the field, quarterbacked by Peyton Manning.

Same Bold Jets.

Same Bowl Jets.

It was, of course, music to the ears of Jets who have heard a symphony of bravado from Ryan ever since this improbable Super Bowl run began and, even before flying here yesterday on Cloud 9, had joined in chorus to sing that very same tune. Continue

Colts LB Sessions starts to yap

Colts linebacker Clint Session has a message for the tough-talking Jets:

If Rex Ryan and Co. think they can ground and pound their way to another playoff upset, they are in a for a big surprise.

"We're licking our chops right now," Session said Thursday. "We can play the run pretty aggressive this week. It gives us a main focus on what we've got to do to win the game. We love games like this and we're looking forward to rising to the occasion and stopping them." Continue

Jets soar with new identity under Rex

Of all the things coach Rex Ryan has given the Jets, the most important thing may be their identity.

For most of this franchise’s existence, identity is something it’s lacked. While their Big Blue cousins gained a reputation year after year for playing stingy defense and running the ball down opponents’ throats, the Jets seemed to switch philosophies as often as they switched coaches.

Now, Ryan has brought his “Ground and Pound” mantra to the Jets and it has them in the AFC Championship.

“This is the first time I’ve experienced a team that has a true identity,” guard Brandon Moore said. “You know it. Everybody knows what we do. You go into games and you know exactly what it takes for us to win. I’ve never seen that come alive like it is right now.” Continue

Of course Rex likes Jets' chances

Rex Ryan fired the first shot of Jets-Colts championship week by not even attempting to disguise his expectations going into the AFC title game, insisting he would be "shocked" if the Jets don't win and get to the Super Bowl.

He may have looked a little tired after the Jets got back from San Diego at 4 a.m. following their 17-14 victory over the Chargers, but Ryan's bravado was in midseason form as he stood in a hallway talking with the Daily News yesterday about his confidence level going into Sunday's game. Continue

Jets on to Indy with 17-14 win over Chargers

In what may have been their greatest upset since Superbowl III, the Jets took their rock 'em-sock 'em act on the road (again) and dismantled the high-scoring Chargers, 17-14, in a heart-pounding AFC divisional playoff Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium.

The Jets advanced to the AFC Championship game for the first time since 1998 and - how's this for a delicious storyline? - they will meet the Colts in a rematch of their controversial Dec. 27 victory. They will face Peyton Manning for a full four quarters, with a chance to prove the last game wasn't a fluke. Continue