09/10 — Bart Scott was one of the topics of the day for Rex Ryan at today's news conference. Needless to say, the head coach was very expansive on what he expects from his loquacious linebacker when the lights go on the regular season for the Jets at Houston on Sunday.

"I expect him to play lights-out," Rex said. "I expect him to be a physical presence like he always is and to bring that type of mentality to the defense — and he already has. The great thing is I think he feels great about David [Harris] playing right next to him. Those two, that's the Big Two right there in the middle."

How does Rex appreciate Bart? Let him count the ways:

"He's just a guy who's fantastic for the whole unit. He's enthusiastic and I think the whole group feeds off him. He's not a selfish guy at all, just the opposite. He'll do the dirty work, he doesn't mind that. He'll always try to help free a teammate up. He's an excellent teammate."

And then there's the rock-'em-sock-'em quality to Scott's game.

"Just that passion he plays with, that intensity. Bart's one of the most physical players in this league," Ryan said, then chuckled at the mental video of Scott's first game in green in the preseason opener against St. Louis.

"His first play as a Jet I think is funny," said Ryan. "We watched that tape where he knocked that guard out. That just tells you a lot about Bart."

And thinking ahead to the Texans got Rex laughing again, thinking of Bart Scott needing to work his way around 253-pound fullback Vonta Leach to get to RB Steve Slaton.

"This fullback Houston has is a big fullback, one of the most physical fullbacks in the game," he said. "So that's going to be a collision now. That's going to be fun to watch."

Bedtime Story

Rex was asked if he's considered yet what he'll say Saturday night at the team's Houston hotel in his first night-before-the-game talk to his players. He said he hasn't thought about it yet, but whatever he says, it won't be scripted or punched into a TelePrompTer.

"I'd rather just speak from the heart," the coach said. "Am I a fiery guy? I'll give you one guess. I'll speak from the heart and I'll speak the truth. I don't plan anything in advance. I think if I did, it might come off weird and I might miss my message."

More Scott Ahead on Newyorkjets.com

Want to hear from the linebacker himself? Bart Scott will be talking with Eric Allen every week this season on Jets Radio, with the first show scheduled to become available on the site Friday afternoon. EA will have more details but he gave me the green light to give you the heads-up. Make it a weekly habit to listen to Bart on newyorkjets.com.

The I-Reports

Both teams' injury reports remained the same from Wednesday to today. The Jets are still listing Mike DeVito as limited in practice. Ryan said the D-lineman with the sore hamstring "wasn't full-go but he did practice some, so that's encouraging."