The Jets got back to work on Monday and defensive end Sheldon Richardson showed that the departure of Rex Ryan didn’t change everything in the organization.
Richardson made the kind of April statement familiar to Ryan when he said that he believed the Jets were going to be the best team in the league in 2015. The bravado sounds the same, but Richardson’s rationale for that prediction was that there are big differences in talent on both sides of the ball and tight end Jace Amaro said that those aren’t the only differences under new coach Todd Bowles.
“He’s not really playing around with everyone being late. We had an issue with that last year,” Amaro said on Sirius XM NFL Radio with Alex Marvez and Bill Polian. “Guys just weren’t accountable last year as much as they could be. I think that’s the biggest thing, he’s making sure everyone’s gonna be 100 percent in or he’s not going to be on the team.”
Amaro’s comments call to mind last year’s trip to San Diego, when quarterback Geno Smith started despite missing a meeting the day before the game because of what was blamed on the time zone difference in California. Smith wound up getting pulled during a 31-0 loss that made it clear that punctuality wasn’t the only thing wrong with the Jets last season.