PFT – The Jets are preparing to play the Patriots this week, and Rex Ryan is wasting no time in giving bulletin-board material to his AFC East rival. “I want them to know — and they know that, I think — I think we’re going to beat them,” Ryan said on Monday. “I recognize that they’re a great football team and [Bill] Belichick’s a great coach. I’ve never once said that he wasn’t. But again, we’re not going to back down or concede anything.” In the surprisingly competitive AFC East, where all four teams are 3-3, Ryan says he views playing the Patriots like a title fight. “They’re going to get our best shot and we know we’re going to get theirs,” Ryan added. “It really doesn’t matter who says what. But we are going to be ourselves. We’re coming there to take our swing. We’ll see if we land that punch to win the game.”

We’ve heard this rhetoric from Rex Ryan every single year since 2009. But guess what? He’s finally got a reason to make this argument. Facts are facts. Right now the AFC East is the most wide open division in all of football. Everyone sitting at 3-3. Everyone mediocre. Everyone has shown flashes playoff football. Everyone has shown some sloppy garbage. Brady and Belichick’s invincible days are over. And despite an incredible amount of off the field dramatics, and on the field injuries and disappointments, the Jets have been able to muster up just as many wins as the big bad Patriots.

The Jets have obviously had stronger teams than this 2012 squad. But as far as the Pats go, sitting at week 6 with 3 losses, they are clearly more vulnerable than they’ve been in years. Losing to rookie QBs. Losing at home. You can talk about 1 point losses all you want. Bottom line is the clutch play and execution that the Pats have always displayed just isn’t there this year. If it ain’t a blow out, they’re prone to losing. No better time than now for Rex and the Jets to beat the Pats again.