Ryan and the Jets fell due to their lack of smack talk in the AFC Championship.
After the Jets’ 24 – 19 loss to the Steelers in Pittsburgh, New York head coach Rex Ryan declared “we didn’t talk enough shit.” Right after sitting down at his post-game press conference, he solemnly grabbed the microphone and began a heartfelt speech about the boys in green. He thanked his team for being “the classiest guys on the field, all season long”, and gave a shout-out to the entire NFL for always supporting them and having their backs. “Every game we played, the opponent walked away respecting us. Not because of our performance on the field, but how we conducted ourselves.”
When asked what he and his team could’ve done differently, Ryan replied that the Jets needed to talk more trash. “We were the Mr. Nice Guy team all the way through this season,” he declared. “Being classy got us into the playoffs, past the Colts and Pats, but not tonight. Had we been more annoying and spewed more crap for ESPN to pick up, this game couldn’t been ours.” When a bewildered reporter asked “…Wait, are you serious?”, Ryan replied, “Yes.”
Ryan gave a big compliment to cornerback Antonio Cromartie, saying, “[He] is the classiest person I’ve ever met besides me. A true competitor. It might’ve helped if he publically called Ben Roethlisberger an asshole this week, but I still love the guy.” Cromartie, who has first grade level reading skills, later commented on Ryan’s quote: “Uhhmm, yeaa, whaa?”
