NFL 2009: Pressure’s on Jets coach Rex Ryan and quarterback Mark Sanchez to perform

Ryan, Jets begin task of justifying their big talk

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — It’s time for Rex Ryan and the New York Jets to start backing up all the big talk.

The brash rookie head coach has been pumping up his team with bold declarations and headline-grabbing statements from the moment he was hired in January. While that has rubbed some around the league the wrong way, it might’ve been exactly what the Jets needed following last season’s dismal collapse.

“What he’s brought to this team, everybody is buying into,” nose tackle Kris Jenkins said. “You have to understand, we have a coach that’s like one of the players. He communicates and he talks trash like one of the players, and he’s about business when it’s time to be about business.”

Under former coach Eric Mangini, it was mostly all business, all the time. So, imagine the shock when Ryan opened his introductory news conference by saying the Jets would someday meet President Obama after winning the Super Bowl.

That swagger continued through the offseason and into training camp, and now leading up to the season opener at Houston.

“I know the schedule is what it is, but I think we’re a team that if teams are signing up to play somebody, I don’t think a lot of them would want to schedule the New York Jets,” Ryan said. “That’s just how I feel about it.”

A lot of Ryan’s success, as well as that of the Jets, will ride on how well Mark Sanchez handles the pressure of being a rookie starting quarterback.

New York was aggressive during the draft, trading with Cleveland — and Mangini — to acquire the No. 5 overall pick and taking the Southern California star. Sanchez beat out Kellen Clemens in training camp, and will become the first rookie quarterback to start a season for the Jets.

“You get a little more confidence when you know your coach believes in you and has named you the starter,” Sanchez said. “It was similar at USC. Once you’re the guy, you’re the guy. You talk a little different, you walk a little different, you act a little different.”

Sanchez will be helped by having one of the league’s top offensive lines, and a three-headed running attack that includes AFC rushing champ Thomas Jones, the speedy and slippery Leon Washington and bulldozing rookie Shonn Greene.

“I think the guy’s been confident in his abilities since he got here,” Washington said. “The guy’s young and he has a long way to go, but it’s our job to help him out along the way.”

Sanchez has heard the frequent comparisons to Joe Namath, still the face of the franchise 40 years after leading the Jets to their only Super Bowl victory. The rookie has fans excited again, a group that felt similar optimism a year ago when Brett Favre came out of retirement and was traded to New York.

Things appeared promising as the Jets jumped out to an 8-3 start. But a biceps injury sapped Favre of his accuracy and zip, and New York lost four of its last five games and missed the postseason.

Favre retired again, only to resurface with Minnesota, but that all seems like a distant memory now that the team has a quarterback they believe can help the Jets fly again.

“I think we’ve got a shot, you know?” Sanchez said. “I think with the talent around us, man, everywhere you look, there’s guys who have either played in this league for a long time or have gotten started here the last few years and are pretty good that people respect.”

One of the team’s biggest question marks is who’ll be catching Sanchez’s passes. After veteran Jerricho Cotchery, the Jets have a group of inexperienced wide receivers, led by Chansi Stuckey, Brad Smith and David Clowney. That uncertainty had New York linked to just about anyone with a pair of hands, including Plaxico Burress and Brandon Marshall.

“People can say we don’t have this big-name guy, but we feel like we have a stable of receivers,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. “Without question, we can move the football, score points and do what we need to do to win.”

Ryan, who helped build Baltimore’s dominant defense the last 10 years as an assistant and then coordinator, has brought an aggressive scheme with him to New York — along with new defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and a trio of former Ravens in chatty linebacker Bart Scott, playmaking safety Jim Leonhard and run-stopping defensive lineman Marques Douglas.

“We’re not going to submit to anybody,” Scott said, echoing his coach’s bravado. “We’re not going to bow down for anybody and we’re not afraid to compete against anybody. That’s what makes this game so great.”

The defense, expected to be a major strength, will have added pressure at the start. Outside linebacker Calvin Pace was suspended four games as a result of violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances, while defensive end Shaun Ellis will miss the opener because of a marijuana-related arrest last November. Vernon Gholston, the team’s top pick last year, is expected to fill in for Pace after a miserable rookie season.

“They brought me in to be a player and it’s the same pressure, it’s that same goal in mind,” Gholston said. “That was always my goal, but I guess this gives me a chance to actually step in and actually do it.”

And, after nine months of talking the talk, Ryan’s Jets gets their chance to show they’re about more than words.

“I heard this a bunch when I took this job: the ’same old Jets,’” Ryan said. “It just gave you a little burr in the saddle. Our belief is going to be that we’re going to win and we expect to win. Regardless of who we play, we expect to win.

“We could be playing a Pro Bowl team on Sunday and we’re going to expect to win. That’s just the mentality. That’s my mentality. That’s our team’s mentality.”