In light of a very surprising 8-8 record in 2013, the New York Jets have done a lot of talking this offseason. Quarterback Geno Smith and cornerback Dee Milliner’s recent comments about their place in the league has coach Rex Ryan thinking “this is who we are.”

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In the recent weeks, many Jets players have taken it upon themselves to tell the world where they think they stand. Smith said that he will be among the NFL’s top five quarterbacks in the next few seasons, Milliner said he is already the league’s best cornerback and line back Calvin Pace said New York has the leagues best defense top to bottom.

This type of talk is nothing new on the Rex Ryan era and Ryan believes that this is just who the Jets are.

"You get a few bullets shot at you when you take this approach, so maybe that's not recommended, but you know what? It's who we are. It's how we feel," Ryan said Tuesday after practice. "They can laugh, but they have to play us too, so we'll see at the end of the day.

"The beauty of it is we get to find out. We're not running from it. We're running into it.”

The Jets are coming off a season where many believed they were the worst team in football, but proved all their critics wrong by missing the playoffs by just one game. The Jets have posted a top-10 defense in four of Ryans’ years as head coach and have also seen promising, yet erratic, play from both Smith and Millner.

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With the additions of Eric Decker, Chris Johnson and Michael Vick, the Jets look to build on that 8-8 season and make the playoffs after missing out the past three seasons.

[ESPN]

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