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Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham


New York Jets coach Rex Ryan regrets the way his lighthearted smack-talk exchange with Miami Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder turned into a national story.

Ryan, on a conference call with South Florida reporters to chat about Monday night's game between the Jets and Dolphins in Land Shark Stadium, addressed the summertime flare up.

"I think the thing with Channing Crowder, if I had to do one thing over, that would probably be it," Ryan said, "because clearly I was joking about the whole thing, which I had done before in the past in Baltimore with Chad Johnson [Ochocinco] and with some other guys.

"For some reason, I don't think the tone was reflected that way. That is what it is. I'll say this to you guys: I'm not going to be hard to find out there. I’ll be wearing a white jersey with a 77 on it."

No. 77 is Jets nose tackle Kris Jenkins, politely listed at 6-foot-4 and 360 pounds.

When Jets training camp opened at SUNY Cortland, Ryan started a diet. He claimed to weigh 340 pounds then.

"I think bulletin board material is something that if I was being disrespectful, or somebody’s being disrespectful to an opponent, I think that’s where it could probably motivate you," Ryan said, "but I’ve never been disrespectful to anybody.

"But also understand this: We think we have a heck of a football team, and we're confident. We're not afraid of anybody. We're not backing down from anybody. We came here to try to win a championship, and if people have a tough time with it, so be it."