CORTLAND, N.Y. — The Mad Backer and Silent Assassin are complete opposites in the middle of the New York Jets’ linebacker corps.

Bart Scott is loud and never shies away from a camera. David Harris is quiet and reserved. They couldn’t be more different — except when it comes to making plays all over the football field.
“It’s the perfect marriage,” Scott said. “You can’t have two people that are vocal or nobody will get a word in. I think opposites attract and we can complement each other.”
Added Harris: “It really works out. You don’t want two loudmouths back there, so he can talk and I’ll listen.”
It’s a playmaking union that has everyone on the Jets, especially coach Rex Ryan, downright giddy.
“Individually, they’re outstanding,” Ryan said. “But collectively, they’re even better.”
Ryan has talked all summer about how he anticipates Scott and Harris will be able to play “on a string” where one moves in concert with the other while helping shut down opposing offenses.
“He’s not afraid to hit somebody and I’m not afraid to hit somebody,” Scott said. “He’s athletic enough to cover running backs and tight ends, and so am I. We can flip-flop that way so it’s not just me taking the hard coverage all the time. We can really wear the opponent out rather than wearing ourselves out.”
Scott loves to razz his teammates on the practice field, particularly rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez. Harris would rather sit back and play the straight man.
“I don’t really know what you’re talking about. They seem very similar to me,” Ryan said, laughing. “That is the odd couple right there. Harris never says anything and then you have Scott, who’s talking all the time, running his mouth.”
While the two have opposite personalities, they also have some things in common. Both Scott and Harris are from Michigan, and have a handful of the same friends. Still, Scott knew very little about his new teammate until getting to New York. Harris, on the other hand, had heard plenty about Scott.
“I saw how he played, and he played like a wild man out there,” Harris said.
He recalled the Monday Night Football game in 2007 when Scott was twice penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct against New England, the second coming after he picked up the official’s flag and threw it into the stands.
“I saw that and was like, ’Yeah, this would be the type of guy who would be fun playing next to for a long time,”’ Harris said. “I just knew he was very passionate.”
When Ryan left Baltimore to become the head coach of the Jets, he went all out to bring Scott along with him. Ryan wanted to establish a tough and physical attitude and knew Scott would be a perfect addition.
“My role is to set the tempo,” Scott said. “I go out there and make sure that we’re playing at a high tempo with high energy.”
That’s what Scott did during his seven seasons with the Ravens as Ray Lewis’ right-hand man.
“I’m a thumper,” Scott said. “You got beef? I go handle it. Before you’d get to Ray, you had to get through me. I’ve always been that guy.”
Scott has never had the gaudiest of numbers, but statistics don’t tell the whole story.
“I’m the guy that goes in and takes two (blockers),” said Scott, a Pro Bowl selection in 2006. “I don’t fear that. I may not be the biggest linebacker, but I’m definitely one of the most fearless. I don’t fear anything. I don’t care ... two, three people, I’m going to throw it in there and if you throw me out, you throw me out.
“The true measure of a man is how often one man can take pain over another.”
Meanwhile, Harris was a one-man tackling machine when he took over for an injured Jonathan Vilma as a rookie in 2007. He had 117 tackles and five sacks in 16 games, including nine starts, and had 87 tackles and a sack despite missing five games last season due to a groin injury.
“It was frustrating because I put a lot of expectations on myself,” Harris said. “Having to stand on the sideline during games just doesn’t sit well because you want to contribute to the team.”
Harris said he focused on eating better and increasing flexibility during the offseason. With Scott doing the dirty work next to him, Harris is expected to do even bigger things.
“You can look at the first game and he made some great plays, and if that’s a sign of things to come, then I’m extremely excited,” Scott said, referring to Harris’ three tackles and a sack in the preseason opener against St. Louis.
Scott had no tackles but made his presence felt against the Rams. He put a punishing hit on St. Louis’ Jacob Bell that knocked the left guard out of the game early in the first quarter. He also got into it with right guard Richie Incognito, running off with his helmet.
“That’s my job, man,” Scott said with a smile.
“He’s the same player I thought he was before he got here,” Harris said. “He’s always joking. And, yeah, you can always hear Bart from a mile away.”