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Team Grades: Jets Self-Destruct Against Chicago

By Tyson Rauch

The New York Jets entered Monday night's match-up with the Chicago Bears as a team looking to right their ship after a disappointing collapse to the Green Bay Packers.  Unfortunately for the Jets (1-2) their plan did not come to fruition as the team experienced another meltdown in a 27-19 loss to the Bears (2-1).

Offense Grade: D

The game plan for the Jets offense was fairly obvious: run the ball against one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL in order to open up the passing game.  Well that approach was never put into action as Geno Smith opened the game with an interception for a touchdown. Then before you know it New York was down 14-0 and the Jets had to play catchup the remainder of the game.

The Jets were able to effectively move the football in between the 20's but once again struggled mightily in the red zone going 1-6.  The play calling remains questionable in crucial situations and often puts Geno Smith in challenging situations.  When Geno did have some time to throw the ball he was able to connect with wide receiver Jeremy Kerley who had an excellent game catching 7 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown.  Greg Salas had a couple of big grabs and 56 receiving yards for Gang Green helping replace Eric Decker who left the game with a hamstring injury.

Defense Grade: C-

As expected the New York Jets defense was able to completely shut down the Chicago rushing attack limiting the Bears to 60 yards on the ground. The pass defense is where the problems lie as the revamped secondary was torched by Jay Cutler and his talented receiving group.  Alshon Jeffery beat the unit for 105 receiving yards while tight end Martellus Bennett put up 54 yards of his own along with two touchdowns.

Rex Ryan tried to hide his secondary issues with a variety of blitz packages but for whatever reason Cutler always found enough time in the pocket to make a play downfield.  It is almost time to press the panic button for the New York defensive backfield.

Quarterback Grade: D

Just when you think that Geno Smith is ready to take the next step the second year signal caller has an awful game.  Geno started off the game with a pick six and continued to make questionable decisions the rest of the game.  Smith stared down his primary receiver, held on to the ball too long, and made risky/erratic throws.  Add in a terrible interception in the endzone and it is only a matter of time before Rex Ryan starts answering Michael Vick questions.  Not exactly the performance you were hoping for on the Monday night stage.

Special Teams: A

This grade is all about placekicker Nick Folk who went 4/4 with a long of 43 yards.  Folk is once again the Jets biggest weapon on offense, not sure if that is good or bad.

Back to square one

Back to back sloppy performances by the Jets will have everyone scrutinizing Rex and his players and rightfully so. The Jets came out flat and the Bears took it right to them. Ryan's defense cannot defend the pass and the Jets air attack is a work in progress at best.  Not an ideal situation when Gang Green has to play some of the best teams in the NFL over the next 4 weeks.  Rex better find some answers fast or this could quickly become a lost season.

For more Jets news and updates, visit Jets Central.

Tyson Rauch is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

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