If the Jets’ personal-foul frenzy carries over in the regular season, the NFL may need to install a penalty box for them.
After seeing his team commit a dozen penalties in a 25-17 preseason win at Cincinnati, including seven personal fouls, Rex Ryan was still cavalier about the players’ recklessness Monday and continued to talk tough.
“I’ll stick up for my statement, which is that we want to be a physical football team,’’ Ryan said. “But we also want to be within the confinement of the rules. Are there things we need to clean up? Did we cross the line a couple times? I think we did, OK? [But] the point about guys sticking up for each other, that’s what we do and we’re going to do it.
“You’ve got to take care of your players. You’re not going to let somebody get their helmet ripped off and not respond. … You’re going to be there for them. We’ve just got to be smart and understand how far we can take it.’’
After saying he wants to be the least penalized team in the NFL, Ryan pointed out, “The last two years, both teams, Seattle and the Ravens, were the most penalized team in the league and won the Super Bowl. I’ll sign up for that.’’
To be exact, Super Bowl champion Seattle led the NFL in offensive penalties and penalty yardage last season, while the Ravens led in defensive penalties and yardage, along with leading in offensive penalty yardage [and second in infractions] during their own Super Bowl campaign a year earlier.
Maybe that’s the model Ryan is going for. And most of his players followed suit, saying they’d rather dish out the punishment than take it, and saying they took more than they cared to from the Bengals.
Several admit they went into Paul Brown Stadium looking to get some get back for last October’s 49-9 emasculation. Others alluded to simply defending their teammates, and unapologetically saying they’d do the same thing again.
“The last time we played them, we got our butts kicked,’’ right guard Willie Colon said. “We know they’re a playoff team and the chances are if we want a seat at the table, we’re going to have to go through them. It was one of those things where we came and we were like, ‘Hey, we didn’t forget.’
“We’re trying to build a mold and a motto — we’re going to play tough and hard-nosed. Obviously, we don’t want to beat ourselves; we’ve got to be smart. But we’re not going to make excuses for defending our brothers, playing to the whistle, and not backing down. … Sure, there’s a fine line. Penalties are bad, let’s not get that mistaken. But some penalties are worth it.’’
Colon and the offensive line were the biggest culprits. Right tackle Breno Giacomini and guard Brian Winters [who came off the bench] each had two personal fouls, while Colon, Demario Davis and even wide receiver Stephen Hill each had one.
“It’s great having Breno and Willie next to each other,” center Nick Mangold said. “We refer to them as the Bash Brothers. That kind of mentality — as long as it’s within the whistle — is a great thing for us.
“It’s cause for concern if it becomes a habit. You always talk about personal fouls, holding, how they can hurt a game. You can talk about it until you’re blue in the face, and I don’t think it registers a lot of times with guys. But this time we’re actually able to see the detriment it had.’’
Mangold admits he’d be shocked if Oakland didn’t try to goad the Jets into personal fouls in the opener.
“Oh, yeah, I’d assume [they would]. If they don’t, they’re probably not doing their due diligence,’’ Mangold said. “But I know our guys are going to be smart enough not to get roped into that.’’
Geno Smith talked about needing to clean up the penalties, but when told of Ryan’s comments about the Seahawks and Ravens, he said, “Obviously when you win a lot of things get swept under the rug. We don’t want to be the most-penalized team. We want to play a clean game. But I guess if there’s something to it, we’ll keep doing what we’re doing.’’