Regrets In The AFC East? Come On!

Halloween is fast approaching and it’s way too early to tell what kind of costume the Dolphins will be wearing. A black mask and cape silently making a move in the night or a pair of pink slippers because it’s time to go to bed. Either way, the rest of the Miami Dolphins season starts this Monday night when they face off against their most bitter rivalry. Yet somehow and for some reason, this week, like Halloween, is eerily quiet.

This was the calendar game entering the season. The Rex Ryan/Channing Crowder war of words during the off-season seemed to indicate a special return to hatred between the two clubs. Now, with only a few days remaining before the teams face off, Crowder is quiet and Ryan is apologizing for the whole incident. What the hell? Do they not know this is the Dolphins Vs. Jets? They are supposed to be spitting barbs back and forth…apologies? Next thing you know Channing Crowder will be seen shaking hands with Ryan during pre-game warm-ups with a nice cozy hug to shrug off the whole thing.

Ryan said to South Florida media earlier this week that he resents the way his comments were misconstrued towards Crowder. He says they were all in good fun and that it was nothing personal and in fact wasn’t even meant…in a nutshell.

“Clearly I was joking about the whole thing, which I had done before in the past,” Ryan said Wednesday, mentioning some previous tweaking of Bengals receiver Chad Johnson when Ryan was the

Ravens‘ defensive coordinator. “For some reason I don’t think the tone was reflected that way.”Joking? This is the freaking AFC East man, you don’t joke. This isn’t the Central or the North where two teams are good and the rest are worthless. This is the AFC East one of the most dominant divisions historically in football. Forget the West with the Raiders, Chiefs, and Broncos. The only division/s in the NFL that compare are can be debated as better are the NFC East and the old Central divison. Joking?

If Rex Ryan was joking, and I am sure he was, soon enough he will know that in the AFC East you don’t admitt to it. There have been some really great games and word exchanges through the years between clubs in this division. From the middle finger salute of Bryan Cox to the more recent snubs of Bill Belichick to Eric Mangini. It’s a way of life. There have been plenty of times that mutual respect is evident but even Jason Taylor doesn’t openly talk about his friendship with Tom Brady. It’s a no-no on a grand scale.

Rex Ryan is about to find out the difference between being a coach in Baltimore where the closest thing to a rivalry is what is left over from the old Cleveland team with Pittsburgh. This is ugly football at it’s best. These teams don’t want to embarrass the other’s, they want to hurt them. The Dolphins have no qualms about knocking the hell out of a rookie named Mark Sanchez and dont’ for a second think that the Jets defenders don’t want to knock the crap out of Chad Henne.

Apologies? Regrets? Yeah right, and for Halloween I’m going as a New Yorker.