New England Patriots: Could Rex Ryan and Wes Welker Really Be Friends?

Prior to the New York Jets' and New England Patriots' playoff game in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, Patriots' wide receiver Wes Welker had a press conference he definitely regrets. 

During the press conference, Welker deliberately made foot references to mock Ryan. As most of the NFL world knows, there are videos all over the internet of Ryan smelling his wife's feet, and declaring that he has a major foot fetish.

Welker's press conference resulted in being benched for the team's first offensive series.

Ryan, who hasn't really spoken about the incident since, had something to say Tuesday at the NFL coaches breakfast in New Orleans, LA.

"It never surprised me," Ryan said. "It's not the Patriot way of doing things. So [Belichick] was upset about that. At the time, I was, like, that's pretty cool. It was kind of neat." 

Ryan went onto say how Welker and him are relatively friendly, and have made jokes about each other before.

"We text back and forth and rip each other back and forth before we ever play," Ryan said. "That's what we do. 'Who's going to be on me?' 'We're going to put [Jets nose tackle] Sione Pouha on you.'"

Well, that's news to me, and much of Patriot nation: Wes Welker and Rex Ryan text—now that's interesting.

Ryan finished his response emphasizing it's all just fun and games.

"But we have fun with each other. Trust me, we've said a lot worse to each other than what was reported. But I think he just went public with those comments, and that's probably what upset Belichick." 

The New York Jets made the AFC Championship game for the second straight year, but have yet to win a divisional title since Ryan has been there.

Expect the 2011 season to be a heated race between both teams, as the Jets versus the Pats is becoming the league's most heated rivalry.

NOTE: This article was first seen at PatriotsPlus.net.

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