Rex Ryan: Maybe He Knows What He's Talking About

Critics laugh at Rex Ryan for believing in his team during his briefing with the media on a daily basis. They look at him as a fool when he praises his team.

Several talk show hosts and a certain Bleacher Report writer demand that he keep quiet and not plead for attention.

Who's laughing now?

Maybe it's time for us to be quiet and embrace Ryan's style after the Jets trashed the Bengals in their 24-14 victory in the AFC Wild-Card game.

After the Jets' performance, it's time to realize they are as good as any team in the NFL. In fact, they might be the best team in the conference right now.

We saw much evidence of that in this contest.

The Jets ranked first in defense for a reason. They pulverized opponents to the point that players winced in pain when they entered the sidelines.

In this playoff contest, the Jets' defensive unit destroyed the Bengals' offensive line. It was a carbon copy of what happened last week in the Jets' final game ever at Giants Stadium.

Carson Palmer hoped he was not going to get beaten up by running all over the place when he threw the ball, and even then, the Jets sacked him three times. They should have gotten more.

The Jets secondary underwhelmed the Bengals receiving corps again.

Darrelle Revis showed why he should be the AFC Defensive Player of the Year. He shut down Chad Ochocinco the entire game by covering him at every move, capping off a great day with an interception that spoiled the Bengals' momentum.

Ryan and Mike Pettine know what they are doing in creating good defenses. This defense is better now than it was two months ago, with guys better understanding the system.

That's bad news for the rest of the AFC opponents right now. With the unit playing with confidence, there's no reason to think they can't keep it going.

They proved they can handle an explosive offense. They limited the Colts from scoring when Peyton Manning played for a half a couple of weeks ago.

It was expected the defense would fare well, but no one knew how Mark Sanchez would fare in his first taste of the postseason.

Sanchez played like a polished veteran. He outplayed Palmer the entire game.

He executed several third-down conversions that helped give the Jets more time with the football, and he led the Jets to the red zone several times in the game. He capped off a great day by throwing a touchdown that gave the Jets the lead after they tied it in the first quarter.

He looked fearless out there. It was like he wanted guys to follow his lead.

Sanchez was one of the few stars on this team, and that's important.

If he plays like he did here, the Jets increased their chances of going to the Super Bowl. Right now, everyone likes them more now than they did before the game started.

There's no reason to think the Jets can go take a page from what the Giants did in Super Bowl XLII. It's about being the hot team at the right time.

The tools are there.

This team turns out to be interesting to follow, with good young players that are starting to reach their potential.

They will be a great team next year, but what's the point of waiting?

If a team has that opportunity, they should take advantage of it, and now is the time.

It's up to Sanchez to sustain this, and maybe he can. When quarterbacks can get into a rhythm, they tend to flourish for several games in a row.

That's what the Jets hope to see out of their rookie quarterback.

Ryan's critics learned something after this. They realize he is not a guy that loves the sound of his voice.

He truly knows his team can get to Miami.