Ryan: We always had belief

“SAME old Jets,” Rex Ryan smiled, goading the naysayers who had dismissed his ‘Gang Green’ prior to New York shocking the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass on Sunday night.

“Same old Jets” is a damning mantra which even the team’s own fans were often forced to concede to during a rollercoaster season which has dramatically seen New York peak at the right time, their impressive defence orchestrating a 28-21 victory which sets up a trip to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC Championship game Sunday night (11.30pm, Irish time).

“Maybe everybody else never believed, but we believed,” Jets coach Ryan said. “We’re moving on. Same old Jets, back to the AFC championship. The only difference is this time we plan on winning.”

This time last year, the Jets fell short to the Indianapolis Colts in the season’s penultimate clash and Peyton Manning’s Colts proceeded to lose out to the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl.

But this month, the Jets have dispensed with both Manning and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as they begin to live up to their own pre-season hype.

The build-up to Sunday’s much anticipated clash was the most feverish in years as Ryan tried and failed to draw out his opposite number, Bill Belichick. But it led to several players trading blows via the local press and Twitter.

Jets cornerback Antonio Cromatie called Brady an “asshole” and Brady countered that he had been called a lot worse.

In the end the siege mentality that settled around East Rutherford, New Jersey, worked a treat, inspiring them to destroy the memory of December’s 45-3 defeat to their fierce rivals.

“Nobody gave us a chance,” linebacker Bart Scott said. “No chance. You act like we’re 6-10 (win-lose record). You act like Rex is a buffoon. No one says anything about other coaches’ weight. You don’t hear people talk about (Philadelphia Eagles coach) Andy Reid like that. I wanted this game for Rex. I wanted it so you can give him respect. Shut up. Just shut up. Rex is a great coach, and he would have been if we won today or not.”

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez threw three touchdown passes while the defensive line sacked Tom Brady five times to render the three-time Super Bowl winner clueless in the face of an intense New York rearguard.

The Jets led 14-3 at half-time before Brady’s two-yard touchdown pass to Alge Crumpler and Sammy Morris’ run for a two-point conversion made it 14-11 late in the third quarter.

But Sanchez came right back with a seven-yard scoring pass to Santonio Holmes and New York copper-fastened the upset with a Shonn Greene touchdown in the fourth quarter.

After a week of trash talk, it was only natural that Greene would be punished for his entertaining celebration — using the ball as a pillow for him to lay down on.

And Jets coach Ryan couldn’t resist a Jose Mourinho-esque dash down the sideline to join his ecstatic players.

But the mutual dislike wasn’t about to be left on the field if Patriots receiver Deion Branch is to be believed.

“I’m not embarrassed. I’m just frustrated,” said Branch, who scored a late touchdown to narrow the Jets lead with 24 seconds remaining.

“The embarrassing part came from a few classless (Jets) guys after the game. There were a lot of classless things that went on after the game ended.”

Not that this will bother Ryan and his Jets who, if they can get past the Steelers, will face either the Green Bay Packers or the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium on February 6.

* LEGENDARY quarterback Brett Favre looks set to finally retire after 20 seasons in the NFL, having filed his retirement papers for a third time.