NFL

Girardi: Jets sure lookin’ like champs

Yankees manager Joe Girardi knows a champion when he sees one, and he likes the Jets’ chances of beating Peyton Manning and the Colts on Sunday and getting back to the Super Bowl after a 41-year absence.

“I think they have a very good chance,” Girardi told The Post yesterday. “No one thought they’d get this far. I think they’re exciting to watch. I love defense, and I love the pressure they put on.”

Girardi grew up in Chicago as a fan of the Super Bowl champion ’85 Bears, whose dominant defense was coached by Rex Ryan’s father Buddy. What would the World Series champion manager of the Yankees tell these Jets if Rex asked him to say a few words to them before the AFC Championship game?

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“Keep doing what you’re doing,” Girardi said. “It’s working. Stay together, pick each other up. Don’t panic. We’ve been behind before, we can come back. We try to wear the other club out. … continue to do what you’re doing.”

Asked if this Jets defense reminds him of those ’85 Bears, Girardi said, “It does to a certain extent. They play with that same style of pressure, pressure, pressure. Obviously, Buddy’s defense was together a little bit longer.”

He mentioned Mike Singletary and Wilber Marshall and Hall of the Fame pass rushers who played for Buddy, and said, “It was relentless. I remember them completely shutting down Eric Dickerson at Soldier Field. The 46 defense … they were gonna hit you, and they hit you hard.”

Girardi met Rex Ryan last summer at Yankee Stadium and obligingly gave Mark Sanchez some sliding pointers at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center before the Bills game in Toronto. He chuckled when asked if he might become more outspoken, given Ryan’s unorthodox bravado.

“No, I’m not gonna make predictions,” Girardi said. “The interesting thing about that to me is he believes in his team, and he knows his team. That’s the No. 1 thing that as a manager or head coach, you know the heart of your players.”

Girardi liked Rex when he watched him work.

“I thought he was a happy-go-lucky guy,” Girardi said. “You could tell he had a real passion for what he does, and I love people that have a passion for their job.”

Girardi enjoyed working with Sanchez. “I thought he was a young man who had confidence in his abilities,” he said. “I thought he had an energy and a passion for the game.”

Girardi chuckled when asked why Sanchez neglected to slide during the Bills game, spraining his knee and incurring Rex’s wrath.

“I know personally, it’s hard to switch legs that you’re sliding on,” Girardi said. “I’m not sure I can slide on my other side very well. There’s also that competitiveness that kicks in when you’re trying to get the first down. That’s the competitive nature of players. You can’t simulate that in practice.”