Ryan confident 'D' will deliver without Pace, Revis

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - That snickering you hear in the background comes from those who simply don't believe it, the masses who listen to the words and immediately roll their eyes.

Even before losing Calvin Pace for a few weeks, the Jets made it be clearly known they can still be a top-flight defense minus Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis, who's holdout has reached 30 days. With their top pass rusher - whose versatility can't be matched by anyone else in the linebacker core - sidelined with a broken bone in his foot that required surgery in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, some would think the Jets would be whistling a different tune right about now.

They're not about to play "Taps," though. Instead, someone might as well toss on "Triumph," that old Wu-Tang single.

"We can get it done," Rex Ryan said Monday. "We've proved it all through the years. That's all I know is great defenses. That's what we stand for. It's not about one guy or one or two guys. Every team is going to go through one or two guys you are going to miss. That happened last year.

"This is what we do. We're a team defense. That's why I know our defense will play great. There's not a question in my mind that we'll play great."

The Jets point to last season as a reference, especially the way things went down early on. They were without Pace and Shaun Ellis, their two sack leaders from the previous season, for the opener and still won, recording a pair of sacks in the process. They found themselves ranked fourth in total defense through those first four weeks, compiling a 3-1 record.

People thought the defense was going to head south after Kris Jenkins tore his ACL Oct. 18 against the Bills, figuring a run defense that was a bit shaky would only get worse without the massive nose tackle there to disrupt things. In actuality, the Jets' run defense went from yielding 115.7 yards per game to 98.6 by the time the regular season was over, jumping from 21st in the NFL to eighth.

"Everybody on defense just needs to step their game up when we lose players like that," linebacker David Harris said of Pace and Revis. "It would be great if they were here, but injuries and things like that happen. So you have to go out there and be prepared when your number is called. We have a lot of good talent in this locker room that's ready to step up."

They could get some reinforcements, although it likely won't happen for another two weeks. Adalius Thomas remains on the Jets' radar and the 33-year-old told SI.com the team wants to sign him after the Sept. 13 season opener; that way his 2010 salary wouldn't be fully guaranteed.

Ryan's preference would be to ink Thomas, who was released by the Patriots in April, before Thursday's preseason finale against the Eagles in Philadelphia "to give him a shot and opportunity to see if he was the same kind of player. Would have made the decision really easy."

However, that apparently will have to wait. In the meantime, the Jets continue to say what they have is good enough to get the job done and be among the league's elite defenses again in 2010 - with or without two key cogs in Pace and Revis.

"Oh yeah," linebacker Bryan Thomas said. "I know that Rex is going to pick the best roster to put out there to make this thing happen. So when one guys goes down, the next guy just has to step up and keep the ball rolling. You can't say, 'OK, we are going to put the season on pause because one guy goes out.' The next guy just has to step up and keep the ball rolling."