Rex Ryan’s return highlights Bills-Jets prime-time showdown

As if the midseason showdown between two AFC East rivals needed any more prime-time buzz, Ryan found a way to up the ante to no one’s surprise – including the Jets. Jets fans will wince watching a Ryan-led team that is healthy and featuring a powerful ground game that draws extra defenders toward the box, only to open up vertical shots to WR Sammy Watkins. “I just saw it. He’s insane”.

The Buffalo Bills coach opened his news conference Tuesday wearing a Clemson helmet and suggesting he had nothing to talk about. Ryan has a connection to the No. 1 ranked Tigers. But I’ll continue to cast my lot with the uber-serious, sullen coach who gives lousy press conference because he’s hyper-focused on contingency plans for preparing his second year center to play right tackle and how to onsides kick in the first quarter.

The Jets always embraced Ryan and never shied away from the polarizing head coach, even when he let the inmates run the asylum and repeatedly saw his staff and his own antics embarrass the team.

But in the next breath, he said he’d share his true feelings after the game. In case you’d forgotten, Enemkpali was the onetime Jets teammate who broke quarterback Geno Smith’s jaw during training camp, turning a locker room argument over money into a violent confrontation, earning himself an immediate dismissal from the team and a four-game suspension from the NFL. He’s named IK Enemkpali a team captain for this week.

“He did enough for us to win”, Decker said. And Pryor is a friend of Enemkpali’s.

Why would Rex reward or honor that by naming him team captain?

If you want decency, go watch golf. He said, via Seth Walder of the NY Daily News, he thought Ryan was a good defensive coach but offered a “no comment” when asked if Ryan was a good head coach.

Additionally, Smith shed a bit of light on the cause for the sucker punch, but he didn’t get into much detail. It’s just what we do. Would it have been a long leash, a short leash or no leash – all decisions Bowles never had to make. Ah, no worries, Ryan’s message went. The moneyline has the Jets between -130 and -145, and the Bills between +115 and +125. Lousy first half against the lowly Jaguars in a 34-31 defeat in London?

His act still works in Buffalo, just as it did early on with the Jets.

“So much was made of the captain thing”, Ryan told Brian Costello of the NY Post. Will [former Jets tight end Matthew] Mulligan be out there? Pryor had a rocky rookie season under Ryan, often being forced to play free safety instead of his natural strong-safety position. He’s a smart football man, a no-nonsense leader whose players trust him and play hard for him. He said he’s now fine and will play against Buffalo….