Rex Ryan’s book, based on the reports of those who’ve received advanced copies, is pretty much what you’d expect from the Jets coach, when you think about it: plenty of confidence in his team and the occasional honest thought about, say, a former player, but nothing overly controversial. And though the part about how he says he tried to get Brett Favre to return to the Jets (before they drafted Mark Sanchez) makes one wonder how differently all sorts of things would have played out, Play Like You Mean It reportedly doesn’t include any major revelations.
Among the quotes making the rounds today:
• “I really don’t know Tom Brady, but who wouldn’t hate him?” Ryan said. “Look at his life. Actually, look at his wife. Every man in America hates Tom Brady, and he should be proud of that.” (This is pretty much a compliment.)
• “I know it’s going to piss off every Giants fan to hear this, but here you go: We are the better team. We are the big brother.” (Perhaps the Jets won’t be the better team for the next decade, as Ryan says they will, but right now — after two straight AFC title game appearances? He’s on solid ground there.)
• On Vernon Gholston: “Truth be told, I didn’t like the kid coming out of college.” Also: “He’s a good athlete and a smart guy, but I thought he was a phony.” (That’s still probably the nicest thing anyone’s written about draft-bust Gholston this month.)
There’s more — he calls Kerry Rhodes “a selfish-ass guy” at one point — but nothing particularly outrageous. (He even says nice things about Wes Welker, the man responsible for this memorable press conference.) In fact, perhaps the most surprising thing about the book is this, via the AP: It includes “only a smattering of the cuss words that drew so much ire during the HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ series last summer.”
Rex Ryan: Vernon Gholston a ‘phony’ [ESPN New York]
Jet sets it straight: Ryan exudes trademark confidence in book [AP via NFL.com]