Sheldon Richardson says Jets are "licking our chops" to play New England ...

EAST RUTHERFORD Jets defensive end Sheldon Richardson knew exactly what he was going to do upon returning home after Sunday afternoon"s 34-20 winover Washington.

He would settle in, flip on his television, and watch the Patriots" Sunday night game at the Colts. Richardson can"t wait to get a look at New England, which will either be 5-0 or 4-1 when it hosts the 4-1 Jetsnext Sunday.

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"We"re licking our chops," Richardson said of anticipating Jets-Patriots. "He"s run this division for a while now, so I"m kind of happy we"re getting after it."

Richardson could"ve been referring to either Patriots quarterback Tom Bradyor coach Bill Belichick. Either one works in that context.

The Patriots have won the AFC East in 12 of the past 14 seasons, including six straight years. The Jets last won the division in 2002.

This will be the first majortest of how good these Jets can be. The Patriotsaren"t just the defending Super Bowl champions (and an impressive-looking squad so far in 2015), but they have also defeated the Jets in seven of their past eight meetings since the Jets won in New England in the 2010 divisional playoff round.

The Jets" past three losses to the Patriots were by one, two, and three points. There"s also another three-point loss and a three-point Jets win among thosepast eight Jets-Patriots showdowns.

"Our confidence is really high," Richardson said of the Jets" mindset entering this game. "We"re not on no high horse, but you"re supposed to have confidence in yourself."

This Jets team might be the best-equipped bunch, in recent years, to finally get over the hump against New England on a consistent basis.

"We were equipped every other year, too, but guys just didn"t make plays when they were supposed to," said Richardson, a third-year pro who had half a sack Sunday in his return from a four-game marijuana suspension. "We have playmakersnow, so that"s pretty much the only difference."

Or, as defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson put it: "It"s a new season."

Richardson has no love lost for Brady. Richardsonmade that clearafter the Jets lost 17-16 to the Patriots at home in December the teams" most recent meeting.

"It"s extra disappointing losing to Tom Brady," Richardson said, bitterly, that day.

This year"s Jets have long since moved past last season"s 4-12 misery. So Richardson is clearlyfired up for this upcomingJets-Patriots game.

"Yeah, why wouldn"t I be?" he said. "It"s just big for us."

Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DarrylSlater. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.

Source: http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/10/sheldon_richardson_says_jets_are_licking_our_chops.html