Even When It's Grim, There's Fun to Be Had

Rex Ryan walked into today's press conference, paused, and set a box of tissues down on the podium in front of him as the media in the room burst out laughing. This was of course a reference to reports that Ryan was in tears when speaking to the team on Monday.

He then brought out a statement, which he read purposefully in a monotone - to more laughter. "New England's pretty good. Any questions."

Ryan made no excuses for the events of Monday. "I'm always going to be myself," he said. "It's more passion than it is anything."

This certainly was in keeping with the personality we've seen from him since he arrived. While maybe some of the "swagger" has toned down - "The losing will take [the swagger] from you a little," he said today - Ryan is still the same guy.

The problem is, is the team still the same team? With four losses in the last five games, fans are having trouble believing it, in spite of the insistence of the coach and his players that they are. The losses of NT Kris Jenkins and RB Leon Washington are still being felt.

Speaking of those two, while we haven't yet seen Washington, we ran into Jenkins as we headed into the locker room after Ryan's press conference. He was on crutches, with a brace on his left knee following surgery for the torn ACL. He was in good spirits, smiling and joking, as is typical of Jenkins and said he was doing great. Unfortunately, he won't be able to contribute again until next year.