NEW ORLEANS — Rex Ryan, the tough-talking coach who said he wasn’t going to “kiss the rings” of the New England Patriots, showed a more vulnerable side when discussion turned to the New York Jets’ highly anticipated visit to New Orleans.

“Please tell me Drew Brees is not playing,” Ryan said wishfully. “I’ll be honest with you. I’m really not looking forward to this one. I wish we could play somebody else, but this is going to be great competition and I’m certainly not ducking it. That’s for sure.”
Sunday’s clash between the Saints’ NFL-leading offense and the Jets’ fearsome defense has all the makings of a memorable matchup. In this case, it’s one subplot to a game that features not only the prolific Brees in his prime, but also rookie Mark Sanchez, the smooth, charismatic former Southern California quarterback whose pro career is off to a decidedly charmed start.
It’s the big-market Big Apple vs. the small-market Big Easy, one first-place team against another, and the winner will be 4-0.
“It’s a great opponent: 3-0 vs. 3-0,” Brees said. “Only one of us is walking out of this game undefeated. We want it to be us.”
Brees referred to Ryan and Saints coach Sean Payton as “gurus,” Ryan specializing in defense and Payton calling the plays for an offense that has led the NFL in two of the previous three seasons.
This year, the Saints have matched their best start since 2006, when Payton, then a rookie head coach, took New Orleans to the playoffs with a 10-6 record. Brees and the Saints had the NFL’s No. 1 offense that year, too, but they didn’t fare so well against Ryan, who was Baltimore’s defensive coordinator at the time. The Ravens came into the Louisiana Superdome, intercepted Brees three times and jumped out to a 35-7 lead before cruising to a 35-22 victory.
The success Ryan had as a coordinator has translated to his first head coaching job in New York. That was never more evident than when the Jets kept Tom Brady and the Patriots out of the end zone in a 16-9 victory in Week 2.
“They earned my respect that night, you talk about three field goals,” said Saints fullback Heath Evans, who played the previous four seasons with New England. “I know what Tom Brady brings to the table. I know what the Randy Mosses of the world bring to the table. We’ve got our hands full and it’s going to take probably close to a perfect game to get these guys an L in that column.”
Jets defenders are similarly complimentary of New Orleans’ offense, which is averaging 438 yards per game and a league-leading 40 points per game. The Saints’ smallest margin of victory so far is 18 points.
“With Drew Brees, there’s no one receiver that you can focus on and say he gets the ball, double him, roll coverage to him,” linebacker Bart Scott said. “He gets the ball to everybody. Everybody plays harder when they feel they have a chance to get the ball. Sometimes some guys don’t run their routes hard because they’re not getting the ball and they’re a decoy. (Brees) gets other guys the ball. That ball is spread all over the place.”
Case in point: Evans, who hasn’t carried the ball once from his fullback position, has two touchdowns receiving, tying him for second on the team with tight end Jeremy Shockey. They’re each one behind Marques Colston.
This season, the Saints’ offense has been made even more difficult to defend thanks to a credible running game. When Buffalo crowded the defensive backfield with zone coverage last week, making it tough for Brees to find an open man, Payton started dialing up running plays and New Orleans racked up 222 yards rushing. Pierre Thomas had 126 yards and two touchdowns in the second half alone.
“As balanced as we’ve been running and passing, I think we’ve shown that if you come in against us you need to be ready for both and you better have an answer for both,” Brees said. “We’re going to try to formation you to death and personnel you to death. ... We go into every game with the attitude that we’re going to dictate the tempo of this game and you’re going to have to worry about us and not the other way around.”
Fittingly, the Jets’ defensive leaders say the same thing about their unit.
“We don’t adjust. We do what we do,” Scott said. “We respect the opponent, but we’re not going to change the way we play for an opponent. We have to believe in our system like (the Saints) believe in theirs.”
Meanwhile, the Jets’ offense and Saints’ defense have been pretty good in their own right.
Under new coordinator Gregg Williams, New Orleans is creating more turnovers, with nine so far, and is giving up fewer yards and fewer points. New Orleans allowed only one score on a fake field goal at Buffalo last Sunday.
Likewise, the Jets are pleased with the way Sanchez has led the offense, with largely mistake-free performances highlighted by timely completions and even a courageous touchdown scramble last week.
“He’s doing a great job for them as far as understanding that they have a very good defense, they have a very good running game and he’s going to play to those strengths,” said Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who spent his first four NFL seasons with the Jets. “I’m happy for him. I know how the New York media can be. All eyes are on him right now and I’m happy as heck for him that he’s able to go out there with a cool, calm demeanor and play well. ... Hopefully he won’t do that Sunday against us.”
All the national attention given to Sanchez and the Jets hasn’t gone unnoticed in New Orleans, but Saints players don’t seem to mind.
“I prefer staying under the radar,” Vilma said. “Us being 3-0, that’s not newsworthy yet. That’s fine with us. We’ll keep playing and keep playing well.”
Regardless of whether Vilma’s perception matches reality, it’s clear football fans everywhere will be paying attention to this game.
“I don’t know if there’s any other game this weekend where there’s two undefeated teams playing each other, so if it’s not the game of the week, then I don’t know what other game would be,” Saints running back Reggie Bush said. “I feel the excitement. ... These are the types of games you love to play in. This is what you live for.”