Crying game rings hollow

Late Sunday night Bill Belichick felt like crying. Monday morning Rex Ryan did. That's the difference between having three Super Bowl rings and having none. Belichick's chuckle-headed decision to go for it on fourth-and-2 at his 28-yard line with 2:08 to play contributed mightily to a bitter 35-34 loss to the undefeated Indianapolis Colts but he could live with it. He could even stand firm a day later, insisting he'd done ``what gave my team the best chance to win.'' If giving the ball to Peyton Manning 29 yards from the game-winning touchdown gave his Patriots the best chance to win then they really had no chance, or so he seemed to be saying. Whatever he said though, he could always fall back on his jewelry box for a soft landing. For Ryan it's different. He has no resume as the boss and so must live in the moment and, of late, those moments have been something to cry about. Ryan's grounded Jets have lost five of their last six games, including a 24-22 defeat Sunday to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They appear ill-equipped to handle success, even if you only define success as starting the season 3-0 and upsetting the Patriots at the Meadowlands. At that juncture, Ryan was running his mouth as if he was Terrell Owens on crystal meth. He talked as if his team had actually accomplished something. It hadn't, at least not by Belichick's standards. The Jets had won three games. He's won three rings. Since that start the Jets have lost nearly every weekend. They became what they hadn't been for a long time -- a team you could rely on. Talk all week, shut up on Sunday. Bank on it. So now they stagger into the Big Razor Sunday afternoon 4-5, facing Belichick's angry team in what has become a key game for both but for different reasons. The Patriots must win because the thought of having lost two straight on their way to New Orleans on Nov. 30 to face the very likely still undefeated Saints is ``not what you're looking for.'' Armed with a defense he no longer trusts, Belichick would be facing an offense similar to the Colts but more varied because its running game is far better than Indianapolis' and he would be doing it in another loud dome with a defense whose confidence in itself would be shaken. The easiest way to avoid that is to make Ryan burst into rib-shaking sobs Sunday by beating up his mystified rookie quarterback, Mark Sanchez, and handling the many blitzes of his still aggressive but nowhere near as growling defense. Knowing that, this week is a sob story for Ryan. On Monday he dissolved into tears and then fired defensive line coach Kerry Locklin for ``personal reasons.'' What'd he do? Run out of tissues? It's no wonder Ryan broke down and cried as he addressed his team after watching the way they've been playing. While the stone-faced Belichick was telling his players he does whatever he feels gives them the best chance to win so get used to it, Ryan was weeping as he urged his players to stick together because they didn't know how good they were. The way they've been playing neither does anyone else. According to the New York Post, Ryan's speech led Jets lineman and ex-Patriot Damien Woody to remark, ``Rex believes in our team so much I can't even put it into words and it would be a shame if we didn't capitalize on our opportunity.'' What opportunity? Does he really think coming to Foxboro to face a surly and seething Patriots team and a fiercely focused Bill Belichick is an opportunity? It's an opportunity all right. An opportunity to get a beating, which gets us back to that stinging loss in Indianapolis. As bad as the Jets have played, if they upset the Patriots they'd only be a game behind them in the division and would hold a sweep in the season series. That would probably bring a tear to Bill Belichick's eye, which is why it's not likely to happen even if Ryan makes good on his threat to consult this week with his father, ex-Eagles coach and Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, Brian Billick and even Belichick's mentor, Bill Parcells, about how to turn his team around. It's unlikely any of them will tell him tears are the answer. - rborges@bostonherald.com