NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Observed and heard in the New York Jets' locker room after their 16-11 victory against the Tennessee Titans:
No apologies: The victory probably cost the Jets their chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick -- presumably, Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota. They dropped from fourth to sixth in the current draft order, no doubt infuriating fans who want them to "Suck for the Duck." Rex Ryan's candid response?
"Tough you-know-what," he said. "Real fans -- real Jet fans -- want to win. It doesn't matter what pick you get or whatever. If it were Peyton Manning out there, I could understand it, but I don't think Peyton Manning is out there. But either way -- you know what? -- we're going to fight every game. We're going to fight next week, too, against New England, and we're looking forward to it. Jets fans want to win. Are you kidding me?"
Sucker punch: To a man, the Jets said Titans defensive end Jurrell Casey should've been ejected for punching Geno Smith, which triggered a third-quarter brawl. Casey was penalized for unnecessary roughness, and that's it.
"It was a dumb move on his part," said right tackle Breno Giacomini, who rushed to Smith's defense. "He's a good player; he doesn't need to do that stuff."
Guard Willie Colon, who also was involved in the melee, said the referee admitted to him he saw the punch, but that he didn't eject Casey because the punch didn't land. Colon said he told him he was wrong. In any event, the fight seemed to spark the Jets. As safety Dawan Landry said, "It kind of riled us up a bit."
Heated words: There was a brief exchange on the sideline between kicker Nick Folk and assistant special-teams coach Louie Aguiar. It happened after Folk missed a field goal from 53 yards, hitting the crossbar. Folk came off the field holding up three fingers, meaning the 33-yard line -- what he felt was the outer limit of his range. The line of scrimmage on the miss was the 35. There apparently was a difference of opinion.
"It was just a miscommunication," Folk said. "It's frustrating because I hit exactly the kick I wanted to and it hit the crossbar."
Folk knows his range, that's for sure. On the Jets' next possession, they got to the 33-yard line and he was good (barely) from 51 yards. Said Folk: "We had a laugh after that kick."
