Ravens' Lewis rips Jets for Super Bowl talk

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - The folks at waste management probably should prepare to work overtime late Monday night, given the extra rubbish they'll have to contend with.

There's sure to be a lot of trash left on New Meadowlands Stadium's field - and we're not talking about hot dog wrappers and beer cups.

"I expect quite a bit," the Jets' LaDainian Tomlinson said Thursday. "You look at the history of these two teams and the background, the coaches right on down to the players. Really and truly, it's the same team if you think about it. So there will be some trash-talking."

And it's already commenced, in part because Ray Lewis couldn't wait a few more days before opening his mouth and letting the Jets have it. Baltimore's chatty linebacker blasted them Thursday for their brash Super Bowl talk. He even unloaded on his former defensive coordinator, Rex Ryan, saying Ryan's bravado can backfire - in a hurry.

"The only danger is writing a check that you can't cash," Lewis said. "I mean, Rex can talk all he wants to; Rex ain't putting on pads. So that's pressure on his players. And if his players respond to that, then they're going to respond. But at the same time, you put that bull's-eye on your team's head and they're doing all their talking - they're in the Super Bowl, they're in the Super Bowl.

"OK. That's fine. Do what you do, but come Monday night, no matter what you do, the whistle's got to blow and somebody's got to get hit."

So will the Jets be able to get to the nearest check-cashing office soon?

"That's for the Jets to deal with that pressure for the rest of the year," Lewis said. "I don't have to do nothing but deal with my team, the Ravens, and get us ready to play. So whatever check they wrote - saying they're this and they're that - we'll see Monday night."

Ryan mostly laughed off Lewis' shots - he did say they were going to "smash him" - but disagreed that his chest-beating can put a strain on his team.

"My players haven't made those comments. I made those comments," Ryan said. "So the pressure is on me. If it doesn't work out the way I think it will work out, then who's it going to be on? It's going to be on one person, and that's gonna be me.

"If you want to win it, you ought to be man enough to stand up there and say, 'We expect to win.' And I've got news for you: We expect to win this week, next week and every week."

Lewis also took umbrage with Antonio Cromartie's calling the Jets the NFL version of the Miami Heat, saying, "If you're the Miami Heat, we got to be the Lakers and multiple rings."

"Man, I really don't care what Ray has to say," Cromartie said. "Ray is going to be Ray. He's going to say what he wants to say. That's just how I felt about guys that we have on our football team. We'll find out on Monday night who's the real football team anyway."

Jets fullback Tony Richardson said: "We don't get caught up in the jaw-jacking. The bottom line is we can talk until we are blue in the face . . . They are a good football team, we believe we have a good team, and it's going to be a tough, physical game."

A game possibly for the trash-talking ages.

"I know they are gonna be ready and be poppin' out of their skin," Ryan said. "I've got news for you: So are we. This is going to be a great game, it's going to be a physical contest, and I think it's going to be a game that people are gonna remember."