The Sports Xchange

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Barring a Super Bowl meeting in February, the New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks won’t meet again until the 2016 season.

That is a shame because the comments Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie this week about Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman would have fed the hype machine for weeks, if not months, ahead of the game.

Cromartie told SiriusXM Radio that Sherman isn’t the best cornerback in the league because he gets help from safeties Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas, and stays in one place instead of shadowing the opposing team’s top receiver.

“Go follow the No. 1 receiver,” Cromartie said. “Follow him around for a whole entire game and let’s see what you can do. Darrelle Revis has done that his whole career. I’ve done that. Patrick Peterson has done it. Joe Haden has done it. (Sherman) is the only defensive back that hasn’t.”

In the Seahawks’ perennially top-ranked defense, Sherman spends most of his time on the left side of the field, regardless of receiver. But Cromartie said he didn’t want to hear any excuses about Sherman’s scheme.

“His (response) will be ‘We don’t have to do that, I have trust in the other corner on the other side,'” Cromartie said. “That’s not the point. If you’re going to consider yourself the best, do what the best do. They follow around the best.”

There is little doubt the notoriously talkative Sherman will follow Cromartie into the fray here and come up with a retort of his own. But Revis, who got into a memorable Twitter tussle with Sherman in February 2013, shortly before Revis was traded by the Jets to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, wanted nothing to do with the Cromartie-Sherman battle Wednesday.

In fact, Revis sounded like he was still suiting up for the New England Patriots when he offered the same response: “That’s Cro’s opinion” to three different questions about Cromartie’s comments.

As for Cromartie, he wasn’t available to discuss his comments Wednesday because he was excused from the second day of this week’s “voluntary” minicamp in order to attend NFL broadcasting boot camp.

One might suggest he’s a natural.