FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Attention Jets tailgaters: Rex wants you to fire up your grills a little earlier this Sunday.
New York coach Rex Ryan is challenging his offense to start fast, and is calling for the fans to be loud right from the opening kickoff against the Houston Texans.
"Last time we played Houston, they had a 'white-out,' everybody wearing white," Ryan said Wednesday. "I'm not calling for anything like that. I'm just calling for a 'loud-out.' Let's be loud and proud and get after these guys."
The Jets are 5-0 on the road, but 2-2 at home. In an effort to establish more of a home-field advantage, Ryan would like Jets fans to get to the New Meadowlands Stadium earlier than usual and get their pregame meals out of the way. This way, they can be in their seats by the time the team is introduced before the game.
"By the time introductions come out, we've got a butt in every seat," Ryan said. "I think it's going to show the commitment that we have to each other, the team, the fans that we're in there for introductions."
There were several empty seats at the start of the Jets' last home game, a 9-0 loss to Green Bay, three weeks ago.
"This team is a good team we're playing," Ryan said of Houston. "I have a tough time believing they're going to beat us with our team at our best, our fans at our best. No, let's make sure they're getting everything we've got from the fans, from the team, our preparation."
Ryan said he understands that the Jets haven't done much early in games to entice fans to get there right away. He wants that to change, too.
"That's why I'm challenging our fans: 'Hey, you know what? You guys don't realize how important it is to the guys,'" he said. "Certainly not our fans' fault that we've started slow. We should always start fast at home and we're going to finish strong at home. Make it miserable."
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
