Rex tweaks Brady while praising Peyton

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Rex Ryan just couldn't help himself, not when it comes to the Patriots.

Ryan delivered a subtle shot at Tom Brady while praising Peyton Manning Thursday. The Jets' coach was describing how Manning takes control of the offense unlike any other quarterback and how he's basically the offensive coordinator and everything else on the field for the Colts.

"He's not just a coach on the field. You give the coaching community too much credit," Ryan said. "This guy is one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the game, and he's one of the smartest guys. He's not just a coach dialing up plays. He dials his own plays up.

"Each play has three options. He comes up [to center], 'OK, I'm going to take Option 1. No, forget those options. I'm going to Option 4.' This is who he is. There's nobody like this guy in the league. Nobody studies like him."

That's when Ryan's zinger cropped up.

"I know Brady thinks he does," Ryan said. "But I think there's probably a little more help from [Bill] Belichick with Brady. With Peyton Manning, Tom Moore has done a great job with him forever and Caldwell and Tony Dungy, but it's Peyton Manning."

Whether intended or not, Ryan added another log to the fiery rivalry. It's sure to get a lot of play up in New England if the teams meet Jan. 16, which they will if the Jets win their wild-card game Saturday night in Indianapolis.

Just as he does with Belichick, Ryan loves to find ways to tweak Brady. During the week before the Week 13 game in which the Patriots thrashed the Jets, 45-3, Ryan joked that he mirrors Brady in certain aspects.

"I never realized how similar that I am to Tom Brady," he cracked then. "I mean, the obvious physical appearance would be the first thing. The fact that he's married to a supermodel? Hello?"

That's when Ryan reached underneath the podium, pulling out a December edition of a women's fashion magazine and turning to a page that featured a picture of his wife, Michelle.

"Yeah," Ryan quipped then. "I'm also married to a supermodel. I just happened to turn to 'InStyle' magazine, page 329. OK? So I just realized that we are very similar that way, all right?"

So it's no surprise that Ryan couldn't resist taking one more poke at Brady yesterday.