Shh, listen closely. There’s not much noise coming out of Dallas about the Cowboys for once.
Jerry Jones is not talking Super Bowl. Tony Romo is not being talked about as one of the quarterbacks on the rise. A division title even seems like a stretch.
A 6-10 season will do that.
But the Jets are not fooled.
“I haven’t gone into an NFL season where Dallas wasn’t supposed to be good,” said safety Jim Leonhard, entering his seventh season. “Maybe situations come up where they struggle throughout the season, but at the start of the season they’re always either supposed to go to the Super Bowl or have the team that could. It’s definitely going to be a test for us. We’re really looking forward to it.”
The Cowboys present a particular challenge for the Jets defense. Romo is back after missing 10 games last season with a broken collarbone. He has wide receivers Dez Bryant and Miles Austin to throw to, tight end Jason Witten in the middle and tailback Felix Jones behind him.
“It’s brutal,” coach Rex Ryan said. “It starts with Romo. He’s a Brett Favre type — a guy that can make every throw, that moves well. . . . The guy’s a very talented quarterback. Then you look at his receivers — start with the tight end who caught almost 100 balls or something last year. Big, fast guy, complete tight end. You’ve got Dez Bryant, you’ve got the young kid from here. They’re loaded. Felix Jones probably only runs about a 4.3 in the 40. They’ve got a ton of weapons. That’s for sure.”
The Jets’ defense finished No. 3 in the NFL last year, and that was a disappointment. This will be a good test to see where Mike Pettine’s unit is. Witten caught 94 passes last season, Austin caught 69 and Bryant had 45.
The Jets counter with Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie at cornerback to face the receivers, but Witten could create matchup problems.
“You look at a guy like Witten, he’s the security blanket,” Leonhard said. “When anything bad happens, that’s where the ball’s going. You know just the trust level between a quarterback and a tight end like that poses some difficulties for a defense.”
The Cowboys went through a brutal 2010, losing their quarterback, their head coach and 10 games. All of that has led to them being a little more under the radar than in most seasons. Add in the moves the Eagles made in free agency, and the Cowboys are in the unusual position of preseason underdog in the NFC East.
It is the Jets who come into this matchup fueled by Super Bowl hype. If the defense gets blown up by the Cowboys on Sunday night, watch that hype turn into panic. But the Jets defenders feel good about where they are at with 10 of 11 starters coming back from last year.
“We feel very confident,” Revis said. “We’re a veteran group.”
There was a different feel around Jets headquarters yesterday. The roster had been trimmed to 53 over the weekend, fans were no longer watching practice and the focus shifted completely to facing Dallas.
“This is what you wait for,” said Leonhard, whose 2010 season ended early after he broke his leg. “Everyone can tell it’s here. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t played a game in the NFL or you’ve played a lot. You know when the regular season is coming and you’re definitely excited for it.”
brian.costello@nypost.com