Veteran Richardson has mind on present - not future

CORTLAND, N.Y. - Tony Richardson refuses to let his mind drift and think about the inevitable. He isn't ready to start pondering the afterlife - as in life after football.

The veteran fullback is entrenched in his 17th training camp, one that could be his last when you consider the wear and tear he's endured since coming into the league in 1994 as an undrafted free agent. Richardson has played in 218 games, surprising longevity for someone whose job is to essentially serve as a battering ram while pogo-sticking his way into the chests of beefy defensive linemen and collision-happy linebackers.

Aware of the beating he already has taken and knowing he can't keep fending off Father Time with a stiff-arm, the Jets drafted John Conner. That leads to questions about the guy known as T-Rich and whether he has anything left, and if he's ready to hang up his spikes for good.

But the 38-year-old hasn't thought one bit about calling it quits after this season, preferring to live in the moment.

"You never really think about that," Richardson said Friday, "because the minute you start thinking that, 'This is it.' . . . I mean, anytime a teacher says, 'Hey, this is the last week of school,' you go ahead and freakin' cash it in. So mentally, I'm not going to even think about, 'Hey, is this it?' because I think then you kind of get in cruise control.

"Like, 'Aw, man, this is my last training camp. OK, now I've got through this. OK, this is my last first regular-season game.' So you don't even think about that. You go out and play this game as hard as you can for as long as you can and then at the end, you do a self-assessment."

Richardson might've been the most underrated member of the offense a season ago, paving the way for the league's top-ranked rushing attack. Judging solely by the numbers, you'd probably think he didn't do much, given he had only seven carries for 48 yards and wasn't overly effective as a receiver. However, the three-time Pro Bowler was a steady presence for quarterback Mark Sanchez and a ground attack that amassed a franchise-best 2,756 yards.

Now, he has Conner breathing down his neck and isn't the least bit worried. In fact, being the professional he is, Richardson still helps out the person who'll likely be taking his job.

"I'll be doing this league a disservice and obviously doing John a disservice if I can't teach him the things that some people have taught me over the years," Richardson said. "I'm going to go out and do my job, I've been competing since 1994. So that's one thing I'm not afraid of is competition. And so just come out and bust your butt and work hard and obviously help the young guys, and that's all my guys in my group. As the leader of that, anything I can do from a pass protection standpoint, run block, whatever it is, I've seen it from all different aspects."

"I think he can definitely do it another season," Rex Ryan said Friday. "The fact that he's a fullback in this league 17 years . . . Amazing. It just speaks volumes about the way he takes care of himself, the kind of player he is because that's usually a spot where most teams keep one fullback.

"With all the pounding that a fullback takes, that's amazing that the guy has played that long."