"Rex Ryan may scale back his brash guarantees after the Jets missed the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.

"I certainly don't want to fuel the fire," Ryan told WFAN radio on Friday. "I want to take pressure off our players. In actuality, maybe I was putting more pressure on our guys."

A humbled Ryan gave a blunt assessment of what went wrong this season after his team had previously reached two consecutive AFC Championship Games.

"What else is there to go for?" Ryan said. "It's Super Bowl or bust. Well, we busted."

Missing the postseason even prompted Ryan to drive by MetLife Stadium a couple weeks ago when the Giants faced the Falcons in the wild-card round.

"I just wanted to see our stadium and it was in blue and it drove me crazy," Ryan said. "I drove by there specifically to see it and just to get that taste in my mouth. . . . Next year we're going to be here."

In a conference call with season-ticket holders earlier Friday, Ryan maintained that "better things are coming."

GM Mike Tannenbaum backed Mark Sanchez, who as reported in the Daily News last week has been criticized within the team as being coddled. Members of the organization, current Jets and former teammates such as LaDainian Tomlinson and Damien Woody expressed doubts in Sanchez's leadership abilities given the way the team has handled him."