Rex Ryan Gets Patriots-Jets Week Started Right and More AFC East News

It just wouldn't be a week in the rivalry between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets if head coach Rex Ryan wasn't delivering sound bytes by noon on Monday before the game.

Mike Vorkunov of the Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger points out that Rex wasn't holding any punches at his Monday press conference:

"

I want them to know and they know that I think we’re going to beat them. I don’t buy into all that other stuff. I recognize they’re a great football team and Belichick is great coach. I‘ve never once said that he wasn’t. We’re not going to back down or concede anything…We are going to be ourselves and we’re coming up there to take our swing and we’ll see if we land our swing.

"

Where once it appeared the Jets might begin to slip while the Patriots might begin to pull away in the AFC East standings, all four teams are now in a dead heat in the division. The Jets are riding high off a win over the Colts, and have a lot to prove after dropping two straight while their offense has underachieved in the process.

The Patriots, meanwhile, have even more to prove following a huge letdown against the Seahawks, which has some calling for Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to be held more responsible for the shortcomings of the team (more on that later).

It is clear that for all kinds of reasons, which include the standings, bragging rights and myriad more reasons, this game will be as big as just about any in the Patriots-Jets rivalry with Rex Ryan involved.

Here are some more updates from around the AFC East.

New England Patriots

Doug Kyed of NESN.com thinks Bill Belichick should take more criticism for the Patriots struggles to stop the pass.

Mike Rodak of ESPN Boston writes that Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington will take what he can learn from the loss to the Seahawks, during which he was benched after giving up a few big pass plays of his own.

New York Jets

According to Conor Orr of the Star-Ledger, Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis has vowed to return stronger after ACL surgery.

John Breitenbach of Pro Football Focus delivers a second look at the Jets' win over the Colts from a perspective of PFF's grading metrics for the game.

Buffalo Bills

According to Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News, the Bills have brought back defensive end Shawne Merriman to help the ailing pass-rush.

According to Paul Hamilton of WGR 550 Sportsradio, Bills head coach Chan Gailey offered up some explanations for some bad decisions in the game against the Cardinals. 

Miami Dolphins

Andy Kent of MiamiDolphins.com talks about the challenges the Dolphins face on their bye week.

Ben Volin of The Palm Beach Post points out that Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill is beating teams through the air as teams are inviting him to do so.

Erik Frenz is the AFC East lead blogger for Bleacher Report. Be sure to follow Erik on Twitter and "like" the AFC East blog on Facebook to keep up with all the updates. Unless specified otherwise, all quotes are obtained firsthand.