Green Lantern: Stubborn 'Gang Of 3' Has Turned The Jets Into A Total Disgrace
By Jeff Capellini
WFAN.com
The Jets are in worse shape now than they were before head coach Rex Ryan arrived prior to the 2009 season. They are just a mess.
Sunday's 31-0 loss to the Chargers in San Diego was an embarrassment on just about every level. Not only did they not show up from the get-go, the Jets seemed to disintegrate in certain areas as the game progressed. And the things that went south were surprising and a bad omen for Ryan.
Considering the week that was heading into the game -- the relentless criticism of general manager John Idzik, the fallout over the Geno Smith tirade on a fan following the Week 4 home loss to Detroit and the never-ending speculation about Ryan's job security -- Sunday's effort and result were just about the worst things that could have happened.
Now, it's just open season on every single person associated with the franchise, including enabling owner Woody Johnson, who just last week tried to calm fears by standing behind his GM's unorthodox plan to rebuild. Yet, the firestorm that has engulfed the Jets will not dissipate just because the great and powerful Woody has spoken, mostly because every week they look more and more like one of the worst teams in the NFL.
As I have stated many times both online and in print, this season was never about a commitment to winning in the sense of what the fans and media expected. People who pay massive PSL and ticket prices to go to MetLife Stadium every week can understand the idea of rebuilding to a degree, but what Idzik is in the midst of trying to do -- while on some levels admirable considering the Jets' need to get younger and deeper in a league that has no use for the old and thin -- has created such a backlash that there's no telling if fans will ever trust him.
Certain reporters have been going after the organization for years, mostly because of Ryan's braggadocio ways back when he was a neophyte head coach. For even the more muted Rex of today, the only way to keep the media at bay is to win, but for the last three-plus years the Jets have at best treaded water. Since the plan to rebuild was put in motion things have only gotten worse for Ryan.
As a result, no one cares about the AFC tittle game appearances in 2009 and 2010 anymore. They no longer act as ammunition for Ryan's supporters, of which I still am but understand is becoming a losing stance. This coach, while a colorful character of the highest order and brilliant in certain aspects of the Xs and Os, hasn't been successful for what will soon be four consecutive seasons.
And his boss has done him no favors.
The popular belief is the Jets are using the Seattle Seahawks' blueprint of building a contender. While that plan would likely take several years and require the utmost patience, it's just a tough sell at this point because the Jets have not even been able to maintain the status quo, which in this case would be rivaling the mediocrity bar they set last season.
I've read the conspiracy theories -- that Idzik is purposely setting Rex up for failure so that he can bring in his own coach. That line of thinking is just garbage. It's typical of the grassy knoll approach that fans take to everything.
Right. Idzik wants to embarrass his head coach and owner, alienate all fans and put his own job at risk just so he can bring in some hot-shot college coach or flavor-of-the-month NFL coordinator next season. It's an utterly absurd notion.
But what isn't absurd is the criticism being lobbed in Idzik's direction. As I stated in several columns over the last few weeks, Idzik cannot speak of contending and then approach an offseason the way he did this past one. Sure, he signed Eric Decker, Chris Johnson and Michael Vick, players that any team with the needs the Jets had would have targeted. But since the start it all seemed like a strictly cosmetic fix, something done to keep the wolves at bay.
The Jets' failure to add another top quality receiver and to even come close to addressing cornerback screams one of two things: Either this GM is 100 percent committed to his long-term rebuilding plan where results at the start really don't matter, or he's completely off his rocker and not even qualified to drive a golf cart on the Florham Park grounds.
You tell me which he is. The Jets remain more than $20 million under the salary cap, a fact that has hijacked this season's narrative, and they are coming off a horrendous loss that featured the benching of their young starting quarterback and the realization that the much-heralded backup is no savior either, given the supporting cast.
The Jets are staring at a 1-6 abyss, assuming God doesn't intervene next week against Peyton Manning and the ridiculously good Denver Broncos, followed by a short-week trip up to New England for a Thursday night game against the Patriots. The Jets stand to get booed out of their own building next Sunday and laughed out of another the following week.
Idzik can stick to his mantra about the draft and being cost-efficient all he wants, but when the Jets regress -- as they have incredibly since ending last season on such a surprising high -- it becomes more and more difficult to say the team's record this season doesn't matter, which is what he wants you to believe is the case.
The situation is worse for Ryan, because I've been of the belief that if the Jets continue to play hard for him and he doesn't lose the locker room, he can withstand another non-playoff season. In fact, I have stated repeatedly that I believe Ryan, Idzik and Johnson have that very understanding about this season, something Woody seemed to confirm during his press conference last week.
But we saw some alarming things happen this past weekend in San Diego that would suggest Rex's iron dome might be cracking. First, Smith missed a team meeting on Saturday. And while it could have been just an honest mistake, it once again shows a lack of discipline the Jets have demonstrated this season under Ryan. Add this seemingly minor transgression to the team's rash of penalties through five weeks and the "timeout" fiasco back in Week 2 in Green Bay, and it's getting more clear by the day that Rex's relaxed approach to discipline and accountability is hurting the product on the field.
Perhaps more disconcerting has been the play of Rex's bread and butter, the defense. Last week I explained why this overly-hyped unit deserved as much blame as the young quarterback for the Jets' slow start. A week later, it's even more apparent that Ryan's defense is not even feast or famine, as I described. It's from hunger.
The Chargers had three scoring drives of at least 90 yards on Sunday, and the NFL's top-ranked rushing defense coming into the game was gashed for 114 yards on just 19 carries by rookie Brandon Oliver. And just in case you are wondering, Oliver is San Diego's third-string tailback and had just 34 yards on the ground over the seasons' first four weeks.
Elite defense? Average defense? Completely overrated defense? No matter what you choose to call it, it's not playing well and the Jets now officially have nothing going for them.
This team is in a lot of trouble, and any idea of the Jets offsetting their terrible record by making a run in what had appeared to be an awful AFC East is now out the window. Barring a turnaround of epic proportions, the Jets are going to lose a lot of games this season.
And the men who agreed to this "plan" deserve every last bit of scathing criticism they receive.
Read more columns by Jeff Capellini and follow him on Twitter at @GreenLanternJet
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