Nothing wrong with Rex's guarantees

There was nothing unusual about Rex Ryan yesterday during his news briefing at the NFL Scouting Combine. It was Thursday, a fine time for - what else? - another Super Bowl guarantee.

Fresh off a second consecutive run to the AFC Championship Game and a day after making a cameo on the CBS hit television show "CSI: NY," the Jets' coach was at it again.

"I thought we'd win it the first two years," Ryan said. "I guarantee we'll do it this year."

It's the same thing he said during an interview at a recent Knicks game at Madison Square Garden. And really, it's the same thing he's been saying since he was hired by the Jets in January 2009. But this time he showed some defiance when he was asked if he might be making a few too many guarantees and whether they'd start to ring hollow. Especially when the Jets don't follow through on them.

"We made it to the AFC Championship Game two years in a row when some people predicted we'd win six games," he said. "So I don't care what people think. I care what our organization believes and what our fans believe.

"Empty promises? We've gotten better. I know we got to the same place last year. You think we can improve a little more, then why not us?"

Ryan cited a partial list of his team's accomplishments last season, including playoff wins over the Patriots and Colts.

"We did beat the team with the most wins in the league at their place," he said, referring to the Jets' playoff win in New England in the divisional round. "We came here and we beat a great [Colts] team. We're the only team to make the final four the last two years, so why wouldn't I be positive?"

Even if there's a lockout, once the labor issue is resolved, Ryan expressed confidence the Jets can win. If no deal is made on a new collective-bargaining agreement, the owners are expected to lock the players out beginning next Friday.

"We feel great about our plan," Ryan said. "We're making no excuses. We're going to find a way to get it done. That's our goal. That's what we want to accomplish."

The Jets have exceeded expectations in Ryan's first two seasons, going to the AFC Championship Game with a rookie quarterback in Year 1 and doing it again with a more experienced Mark Sanchez in Year 2. Ryan truly believes now is the time for his Jets, and he's unafraid to say so.

There never are apologies from the big-talking coach. Never excuses, either.

So even if Ryan has watered down the word "guarantee" by using it so often, it doesn't seem to get old when he talks about winning it all.

Rex being Rex? Perhaps. But in a league in which boring coach-speak still is the norm, Ryan is refreshing every time he opens his unfiltered mouth.

Is it guaranteed that Ryan will be back in Indianapolis to coach in Super Bowl XLVI? Of course not. Too much can happen between now and then regardless of how much confidence he has.

Hey, if the labor dispute drags on, there might not even be a season.

But give Ryan credit for not flinching, even in the face of skeptics who question whether he's using the "g" word a little too often these days.

"We're set up to succeed," he said. "Why wouldn't I stand up and say that? I'm just speaking what I believe to be the truth. That's what I said I was going to do the day I took the job, and that's what I'm doing."

No need to stop now.