Jets coach Rex Ryan clearly fired up the Giants with his brash talk last week, but he said he does not plan to change his approach because of it.  Read more after the jump.
“That’s who I am,†Ryan said on a conference call. “Do I regret it? No. Did it work out? Nope. It never worked out. I’m never going to say I regret anything that I believe in my heart, and I’ve always said from Day 1 I’m going to be true to myself. When I leave this job 10 or 15 years from now, I’m going to be true to myself. Maybe it’s not the traditional way of doing things. But for me, this is who I am. I made the statements and I’ll stand by everything I said.â€
Ryan pronounced the Jets the best team in town last week among other things, lighting a fire under the Giants, who had plenty to say about Ryan after their 29-14 win.
No one was louder than running back Brandon Jacobs, who got into a confrontation on the field with Ryan after the game. Ryan declined to respond to any of Jacobs’ comments yesterday.
“To me, I talked about that after the game,†he said. “I said it was a private conversation we had and I really have nothing to add to it.â€
In an interview on 1050 ESPN radio, running back LaDainian Tomlinson backed Ryan and said the team does not want Ryan to quiet down.
“Not at all,†Tomlinson said. “Rex is very confident in his team, himself, and that’s how he feels. It’s all about us, and he’s going to say what’s on his mind. And as players, we really enjoy that a lot of the times.â€
* Tomlinson reiterated he does not plan on retiring after this season. His contract with the Jets is up.
“I’m coming back [to the NFL],†Tomlinson said. “I’ve been saying if I was able to make it through the season healthy and still feel strong and like I can still have an impact on the game and play, that I will continue to play ’cause I still have fun playing. I mean, I enjoy the journey, every year, starting in August, and that journey to try to win a championship, I just have fun doing it. So I’m going to play ’til I can’t play no more.â€
* Ryan believes of all the pieces of the equation that have to go the Jets’ way Sunday to make the playoffs, the most challenging is for his team to beat the Dolphins.
“Of all the scenarios, that might be the toughest thing,†Ryan said. “You’d hate to have everything fall into place and us not take care of our own business. That’s where our focus is.â€