Jets thank fired-up Fireman
The Patriots weren’t the only ones who noticed how Fireman Ed got the Jets fans fired-up in Sunday’s win over New England. Rex Ryan noticed, too, and gave the ubiquitous Ed Anzalone a game ball at a team meeting yesterday in appreciation for his effort.
“On behalf of the fans, representing the fans, we gave him the game ball. … We gave him one because he does a great job,” Ryan said. “That’s really the first time I’ve ever seen him. … It’s hard not to notice him when you’re standing on the sideline and he’s getting the fans going.”
Anzalone, an FDNY firefighter, has been stoking Jets fans into a frenzy for years, wearing his helmet and leading the “J-E-T-S! Jets! Jets! Jets!” cheers. After Ryan had challenged the season-ticket holders to make the Pats “miserable,” he praised them for doing just that.
“We decided it was a little token of our appreciation to give him a game ball. … He was great. He was all fired-up,” Ryan said. “He’s expecting a lot of wins, as are our fans, and he said this is only the start.”
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Titans FB Ahmad Hall has made it clear he doesn’t like Jets LB Bart Scott. Ryan’s take: “Hey, bring it on. Nobody likes Bart, that’s the beauty of it. Only his teammates like Bart. Trust me, Bart’ll be more than happy to accommodate him.”
When asked if there would be a lot of trash-talk, Ryan dropped this gem: “I don’t think our guys really instigate anything, but we’re going to be out there one way or another, so if somebody wants to fight us, we’ll line up and fight them. We don’t care. Whatever they want to do, we’re more than happy to accommodate.”
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Mark Sanchez wasn’t wearing a knee sleeve at practice, and will play, Ryan said.
