OWINGS MILLS ~ The Ravens won their first meeting a year ago against Ryan, their brash former defensive coordinator.
And Ryan reminded everyone that he has been to two AFC championship games since leaving Baltimore and taking over the Jets
"We have not beat them since I’ve been here, that’s for sure," Ryan said. "You can throw in the preseason game, too, if you want. That’s exactly right. Now I will say this: we all talk about it, but I was there 10 years, and I’ve got a ton of friends there and the utmost respect for them and all that.
"But the fact of the matter is, we all said we were going to meet in the AFC championship game. Now, we haven’t won the AFC championship game, but we’ve got there two years in a row. The Ravens haven’t. So you can throw that one right back at them as well."
The Ravens have been to three consecutive postseasons since Ryan left the organization, winning at least one playoff game each year.
"Well, I’ve gone to the playoffs every year, and I’ve gone to the championship game every year since I’ve been here as well," Ryan said. "But who cares? This is what it is. They know I did a great job there for 10 years. Those players did a great job for me there. They’re the reason why I’ve been put in this position and all that. And no matter what kind of ridiculous question it’s going to be, the simple fact of the matter is, they’re two pretty good football teams going at it."
A year ago, middle linebacker Ray Lewis took umbrage at the Jets’ swaggering ways that included Ryan boldly predicting a Super Bowl victory.
"I never got into the overhype," Lewis said. "I’m just saying that you listen to all these different things that people are saying, and until you say all of that, you’ve got to really go do something first, and that is, you’ve got to win one before you say all of that. But that was last year. Hopefully, they don’t say nothing this year, and we can just play a good clean game."
As for Ryan pointing out the Jets making it to the AFC title game for the past two years, Lewis pointed out that New York was in the same position as Baltimore during the Super Bowl: left out.
"Yeah, the only response I could ever have for that is he was sitting in the same place I was sitting: watching the Super Bowl," Lewis said. "He had to be because he wasn’t in it. And that’s the only thing you can ever talk about. I don’t care how far you go. The ultimate goal is to feel that confetti drop. You can ask the Pittsburgh Steelers. They wouldn’t be proud to go back to a Super Bowl.
"The bottom line is, you have to win the Super Bowl when you get there. So going to the AFC championship, going to the playoffs, I’ve done all of that, and at the end of the day, the only thing that I remember the most is when I touched that confetti in 2000 and that’s what I’m still in the game for. So whether it’s them in the way or whoever’s in the way, here we go again."
