Schwartz: Jets Smelling The Stench Of Defeat
By Peter Schwartz
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As I walked into the interview area for Rex Ryan's post-game press conference, I couldn't help but detect an awful odor in the room. It was appropriate that there was a really bad smell in there because the Jets really stunk up MetLife Stadium with a 34-0 loss to the 49ers.
"We got our a--es kicked," said Ryan.
Truer words were never spoken.
The Jets embarrassed themselves on Sunday. They turned the ball over four times and the defense allowed the 49ers to rush for 245 yards. On special teams, Robert Malone had a punt blocked with just one man rushing.
You can't make this stuff up.
And to make matters worse, Santonio Holmes suffered what looks to be a serious foot injury when he made a catch in the fourth quarter. In true Jets fashion, Holmes thought the play was over the flipped the ball away. Carlos Rogers ran in back 51 yards for a touchdown.
I've never seen Rex Ryan as angry as he was after the game. Say what you want about him, but he didn't deserve an effort like that. He said that maybe the coaches are doing something wrong, but this was on the players plain and simple.
And now we get to Mark Sanchez. I've defended the Jets starting quarterback over and over again. Despite his awful performance Sunday that saw him complete 13 of 29 for 103 yards, a pick, and a fumble lost, I still believe in him. The Jets don't have much of a running game, the wide receiver group is thin and now even thinner without Holmes, and the offensive line continues to have some cracks in the foundation.
But on Sunday, the way the game was unfolding called for the Jets to make a change. The offense was doing nothing so would it have hurt to put Tim Tebow in there for a series or two? He couldn't have done any worse. Hey he actually threw and completed a pass out of the wildcat!
Things are not going to get any better this week as the Jets prepare for next Monday night's game against the 4-0 Houston Texans. The loss of Darrelle Revis wasn't really felt in the 49ers game as they did all of their damage on the ground, but this week will be different as Andre Johnson comes to MetLife Stadium. Throw in the ground attack of Arian Foster and the Jets could be headed for another tough day…make that night at the office.
Some players said after the game Sunday that it's not the end of the world as the Jets are 2-2 and tied for first place in the AFC East. That may be true, but there is just a bad feeling around this team. This could spiral out of control very quickly.
Sunday was an awful day for the Jets franchise. Large pockets of seats looked like seas of red as there were a great number of 49ers fans in the building. In the fourth quarter, as most of the Jets fans headed for the exits, it seemed as if many of those 49ers fans banded together and formed larger seas of red.
The whole day made the Jets look red-faced.
OOPS!
In my Jets/49ers preview blog, I made a mistake about the 2012 Jets Ring of Honor ceremony. Mark Gastineau and Wesley Walker will be inducted at halftime of next Monday night's game against the Houston Texans and not the October 28th game against Miami. On that day, the Jets will retire Dennis Byrd's #90 at halftime.
Rex Ryan has given the players Monday and Tuesday off to reflect and recover from the 49ers debacle. They return to practice on Wednesday to begin preparations for Monday night's game against the Texans.
That's all for now! Check back later in the week for a Jets/Texans preview!
Can things possibly get any worse for Gang Green? Be heard in the comments below…
