Rex Ryan, NFL stars to be featured in Nickelodeon cartoon series

The New York Jets already had an Al Toon.  Now it has Rex Ryan the toon.

The Jets head coach has always had an animated side to his larger than life personality — whether it was cursing on the sidelines or wearing a blond wig to a press conference — but now the slimmed down Ryan will be joined by other NFL stars as animated characters in the new Nickelodeon series, "Season of the Guardians."

The cartoon series — based on NFL RUSH ZONE, the league's online site for kids — will also feature Drew Brees of the Saints, Calvin Johnson of the Lions and DeMarcus Ware of the Cowboys as some of the animated characters in the half-hour series set to premiere in November.  It is the first-ever original animated series developed by a major U.S. sports league and a cable network.

"Season of the Guardians" is about a group of kids — led by the protagonist 10-year-old Ishmael — who team up to save the NFL from a master villain.  As far as we know, the Patriots' Bill Belichick or  the Cowboys' Jerry Jones are not involved.  Hell, the Jets themselves are good for about a half-dozen bad guys.

If the NFL is involved with the show, maybe the kids are looking for the scourge of the league —  bounty hunters. First, Little Ish and his group might want to start by eliminating the NFL of replacement refs.

While the new well-behaved version of Ryan seems right for prime-time Nickelodeon, the old profane head coach would have been perfect for Adult Swim.