Sheldon Richardson Kinda, Sorta Guarantees A Win Against New England

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — If the New York Jets win on Sunday at the New England Patriots, and Jets defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson thinks his team is capable of that, then it won’t validate their season to date. Instead, Richardson tells Metro, it will simply be another win.  After a preseason where the Jets were thought by most insiders to be improved but still would be decidedly mediocre, the team has rolled out to a 4-1 start. Brimming with confidence and owning what is arguably the best defense in the league, the Jets head into a divisional match-up in Foxboro that has huge implications in the AFC East and for the postseason. The six-time defending AFC East champions are 5-0 but that doesn’t mean that Richardson thinks they’ll be getting their sixth win this weekend. Richardson wasn’t afraid to state his opinion when asked if this game has the potential to validate the Jets’ rebuilding process. “This is going to be another win for us. We’ll let you all write the columns about validating wins and stuff like that. This is going to be another win in the win column if we got out there and execute and do what we’re supposed to do,” Richardson told Metro. “We’re going to be up in the division, that’s how we’re going to look at it.  We’re going to be the front-runners, that’s how we look at it.”

I dont want to be hypocritical here because in the past I’ve talked about how I like some arrogance and swagger and bravado and all those other synonyms for running your mouth. This is who Sheldon Richardson is. He’s cocky and aside from Revis he’s probably the most talented person on this Jets defense. You dont wanna castrate a guy and tell him what he can and cant say when you know his personality is the way it is.

But I really would have liked to go into New England without any of these nonsense headlines. Its not like he came out and gave a Rex Ryan decree. He didnt make a real guarantee or a specific prediction. He was asked about getting a win in New England and he answered about getting a win in New England. But you give an interview like that and you’re gonna get headlines like this:

 

Its lame. Its annoying. People often take quotes out of context or exaggerate their headlines and that sucks. But thats why you gotta be careful with what you say. Todd Bowles has run such a tight ship and answered every question perfectly. Everything Rex used to screw up, Todd Bowles does right. Theres been no bulletin board material. No extra fuel on the fire. And its obviously been working.

So I think I’d like to see Sheldon fall in line a little bit more with this stuff, especially considering the year hes had. Again I dont really think this is a bad quote but it just could be better. A little more vague. A little more typical-canned-response. Those answers are fake and lame and sometimes I like an athlete being honest and cocky. But the quiet under the radar demeanor has worked so far this year and is going to work for Todd Bowles for years to come. I’d like Richardson to get on that same page now and save everyone the headaches.