It's getting downright chippy between the Patriots and Jets as they prepare for Sunday's match-up In East Rutherford. Forget bulletin board material, each team could write a novel with the amount of smack that's flown around.
It all started earlier this week when Jets defensive tackle Kris Jenkins called this game the Jets' "Super Bowl," which actually should have made the Patriots feel honored if you think about it. Then again, folks like Tom Brady, who have played in an actual Super Bowl or four, might disagree on the stance.
"They can treat it however they want to treat it," Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said. "We’re going to treat it like we treat every game
Then on Wednesday, New York safety Kerry Rhodes said the Jets' plan of attack is to "try to embarrass them."
"Not just go out there and try to win, try to embarrass them. Try to make them feel bad when they leave here. We don't want to just beat them. We want to send a message to them, 'We're not backing down from you and we expect to win this game, and it's not going to be luck, it's not going to be a mistake.' "
On hearing about the impending embarrassment, Patriots RB Laurence Maroney thought "it's funny just listening to it," while quarterback Tom Brady more succinctly went with "talk is cheap."
Not content to let his play on the field speak for him at this point, Rhodes continued his verbal assault today.
"We will hit him more than six times. I promise you that," Rhodes said, according to the Daily News.
Rhodes insisted the Jets "won't play dirty" but that Brady will be vulnerable.
"I'm sure if somebody is around his leg, or he feels pressure below, he's not going to step into his throw," Rhodes said, according to the Daily News.
Jets' coach Rex Ryan has no problem with Rhodes' verbal lobs. The Jets haven’t defeated the Patriots at home since 2000 and he's not anxious to continue that trend.
"I think they just want to win,'' he said. "Our franchise has been embarrassed eight straight losses at home. You'll have to ask Kerry if that's what he meant, but that's probably where that tone was coming from.''
Ryan is so adamant about turning the tide for the Jets, he's personally calling each and every fan. Kinda. It's a recorded message, but, it gets the point across.
...And my challenge to you is that we need you at your best, so let’s come get ready to go for four quarters and get after them, especially when our defense is out there we really need you and we want it to be miserable for Brady & Company and seem like there’s 13 or 14 guys out there on defense. It’s tough enough when we have 11 but when our fans are into it it’s almost impossible to do anything against us.
And so, we've still got two days to go before the showdown. More words are sure to fly. The final word for now goes to Maroney and it's not so much a word but a state of being.
"Hahahahahaha," Maroney told the Boston Herald.
How did they get all the ha's right? Someone actually sat there and figured it out, right? I bet they did.