Jets coach Rex Ryan won’t go near MetLife Stadium on Sunday. He’s going to stay home and watch from the couch.
“I’m going to be at home watching it just like any other fan,” Ryan said Friday. “I thought about going to the game, but I don’t know if I can handle it.”
Ryan spoke to reporters while handing out ice cream cones from a truck in midtown Manhattan, where he was promoting New Era caps. He said he thinks Peyton Manning will win his second Super Bowl ring.
“I have to go AFC. There’s no question,” Ryan said. “We don’t play Seattle next year. We play Denver, so I’m picking Denver. I think it’s going to be a great game. You have statistically the best offense in the league against the best defense in the league. I really think Denver’s defense can determine the outcome of this game. I think they have to use their players. You have a couple of really good cover corners. You’ve got to use it and you have to attack their running game. If you sit back and play seven-man spacing against Seattle, they’ll run the ball right down your throat. They have to come after these guys.”
Ryan said having the Super Bowl in his backyard just reinforces his desire to take the Jets there.
“It’s great having it here, no question. It could be worse. New England could be in it,” he joked. “I think it just kind of fuels it a little bit. You realize how bad you want it and how bad you want to be in it. It’s great for New York. It’s great for New Jersey. You’ve got the greatest city in the world, so it’s a great spot to have a Super Bowl, whether it’s cold or not.”
A month after the Jets finished 8-8, Ryan praised the development of rookie quarterback Geno Smith, but would not commit to him being the starter in 2014.
“With anything, you can’t say anything with any certainty right now because you’re just starting the offseason,” he said. “You don’t know who your roster is going to be and things like that. It’s probably not the best thing to say this guy is going to be a starter or this or that. Let’s just let it play out.”
But Ryan sounded impressed with Smith’s performance in the final month of the season.
“I think there are very few players that grew as much as Geno did,” Ryan said. “He had to come a million miles, and he did. When you look at the way he closed out, we saw our team ascending and part of that was the way Geno played. Statistically, he had the second-highest quarterback rating over the last month of the season. I think that’s something that people don’t focus on, but it’s a fact.”
The Jets’ biggest concern this offseason is finding some wide receivers. As Ryan spoke to reporters, a fan nearby kept screaming for the team to draft Vanderbilt receiver Jordan Matthews. Ryan would not say they would draft a receiver early, but he said the team will get one.
“I know it’s a deep draft at receiver,” Ryan said. “Do I anticipate us taking somebody? At some point in the draft, I’m sure we’ll address it.”