Ryan twins will test family bonds Sunday

Rex Ryan stood in the batter's box as the fastballs whizzed by him.

The slugger was the first to admit he couldn't hit a curveball to save his life. But fastballs? They never got by him. But because of a problem with one of his contact lenses, he was rendered helpless against one of the best pitchers in Illinois.

The frustrated high school senior wasn't about to embarrass himself by striking out again, so he called timeout - down 0-and-2 in the count - and walked over to the kid waiting on deck.

"He goes, 'Rob, give me your left contact,' " Rex's twin said via conference call this past week. "I give it to him and he plucks it in his eye and goes up and smashes a home run. I think the thing is still going. They found it in Cuba somewhere.

"He circles the bases and comes in with a big smile on his face and goes, 'Do you want that contact back?' I'm like, 'Nah, you can keep it.' "

After 29 years, some of the details of that day are fuzzy, but it's still one of Rex's favorite stories.

"I think I closed my eyes anyway," the Jets' coach said with a smile.

It's just one of many tales featuring the Ryan brothers, who - like their dad, Buddy - share a unique passion for football and a tell-it-like-it-is approach to life. But those family bonds will be tested Sunday when the identical twins face off for the third time in their NFL careers.

The Jets (6-2) may be facing their former coach, Eric Mangini, and the Cleveland Browns (3-5), but the Ryans will take center stage in a game that will pit two of the best defensive minds in the game.

Rex has warned his coaching staff about Rob, the Browns' defensive coordinator.

"He probably breaks down an opponent better than anybody I've ever been around," said Rex, who is five minutes older. "He's a football junkie."

The zeal for pressuring the quarterback has been passed down from father to sons like an old family recipe, perfected over years of experimentation.

Rex is 2-0 against his brother in the pros. Both were defensive coordinators at the time - Rex with Baltimore, Rob with Oakland. But sibling rivalry took on new meaning in the days leading up to today's game.

It began with Rex throwing darts at pictures of his brother, Mangini - a good friend of his - and Browns quarterback Colt McCoy. Insult-laden speakerphone conversations between both camps ensued, followed by Rex delivering his Wednesday news conference in full "Rob" costume - wig and all.

Those verbal jabs are a long way from the physical beatdowns the pair dished out growing up, though. The strategy always was the same, Rex said. The first guy to step forward or out of the car to fight them was his. "That was the one I would fight because, generally, that's the toughest guy," he said. "I was the closer. When it had to get done, I generally did it.

"Everybody's got a certain amount of rope they can take. Rob's is a lot shorter than mine. It wasn't necessarily about messing with me as much as messing with my family. And I think that's probably still the way I am."

Rex believes his personal success should - and will - pave the way for Rob's first head- coaching gig.

"The fact that Woody Johnson took a chance on me, that's all he needs is a guy that has the courage to maybe hire just a football coach," Rex said. "That's who he is. He might not [have] the corporate image. He probably doesn't fit that. I know one thing, he's a great coach."

The same can be said about their father.

Buddy Ryan - the former NFL coach and defensive genius who worked as the Jets' linebackers coach from 1968-75 and created the fearsome 46 defense that helped the 1985 Bears win the Super Bowl - never wanted his sons to follow in his footsteps. His eldest, Jim, became a lawyer. But Rex and Rob were drawn to the strategy of the game.

"We've always been destined to be football coaches," Rob said. "We idolized our dad and loved what he was doing."

Their college coaching careers took them all over the country before each landed an NFL job - Rex with Baltimore in 1999 and Rob with New England in 2000.

And today, the two brothers, who talk daily and developed their own language as kids, will face off for bragging rights within the Ryan family. Buddy, of course, will be among the crowd at Cleveland Browns Stadium. And there's no doubt whom he's backing, Rex said.

"He's with the Jets all the way," he said with a laugh. "One hundred percent."