Glutton for Patriots Punishment: Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan Can't Stop Putting His Foot in His Mouth

Roughly a month after Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan said that the New England Patriots were "clearly trying to embarrass" his team during a 40-32 defeat, the division rival is at it again. He was asked a question about whether or not he was looking forward to facing his former team the New York Jets, for Thursday Night Football.

"I promise that I'll give you an honest answer [about playing the Jets] after the game [Thursday]," Ryan said via ESPN's Mike Rodak. "Because right now I haven't thought about it. What I'm telling you is the truth. We're just trying to prepare for a game on a short week. Would it had been different if it was a longer [week]? Maybe.

"But at no point was I like, 'Oh, I have this one circled.' Everybody knows me, I circle the Patriots. That's what I do."

The Patriots play host to the Bills on Monday Night Football in week 11 and it's clear that Rex is looking for revenge.

I was a little hesitant about posting this story, to be honest. I have a friend who was unfortunately born as a Bills fan who told me that it's not Rex with the obsession, but Patriots fans.

"I think Pats fans just like to talk 'bout Rex," he said. "The media and blogs make a big deal about a whole lot of nothing."

And that got me thinking. Reflecting. Is that true? Do we have an unhealthy obsession with Ryan and a bizarre desire to see him fail at every step, celebrating his every miscue and fault?

Is Rex really just telling his team that they have to beat the best in order to be the best? Maybe the Bills head coach isn't overlooking the Jets, but is simply saying that he understands that the division goes through the Patriots and that they have to win head-to-head in order to have a shot in the division.

Oh, who knows, maybe Rex just has a really unhealthy obsession with trying to beat Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and that's why he's opted to stay in the division get whooped twice a year, instead of going to Atlanta and winning in an easier division.

For years Ryan has been trying to get under the skin of both Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady and he hasn't found any sort of answer. His teams have just one victory in their past nine games against the Patriots, and that one victory came on the back of the only time a "pushing a teammate during a field goal" penalty has been called in the history of the league.

And Rex has some final words of praise for Brady, prompted by a question by the media:

"Oh baby, that one's gonna be tough," Ryan said when asked about the upcoming game with the Patriots. "The quarterback [Tom Brady] never gets worse. What's wrong with him? That quarterback never gets worse. Like what is wrong with him. You know what I mean? When you get older, you're supposed to get worse. This dude's getting better.

"Like, it's sick. It's not right. I'm waiting for the wheels to fall off."