Silverman: Jets' Horror Show Means That The End Is At Hand
By Steve Silverman
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This is a full-fledged NFL disaster.
And there is no turning back right now.
The Jets have no quarterback, their receivers are awful and their coaching staff lacks common sense. There is no saving this team.
Under the best of circumstances, the Jets were trying to swim against the tide by going with a power running game and a hard-nosed defense to win games in the AFC East and challenge the New England Patriots.
It seemed to work fairly well during the first two years of the Rex Ryan regime, as the Jets made it to the AFC Championship game two years in a row despite their flaws.
But that's merely history right now. The Jets tried to swim upstream each of the past two years and fell apart.
In the modern NFL, you have to throw the football to win. Quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Drew Brees throw the ball all over the field and their teams compete.
Perhaps that trio was just a bit too dependent on passing the ball last year, as they all had great seasons but none of them won the Super Bowl.
The Patriots have made an adjustment this season and use a running game to take pressure off of Brad Rex Ryany. Stevan Ridley has done that quite effectively, and New England's offense is as strong as it has ever been.
But make no mistake about it: The best teams all throw the ball with accuracy and efficiency.
The Jets are a horror show when it comes to throwing the football. Mark Sanchez is a turnover machine and he is simply not good enough. There are no reasons that justify keeping him in the lineup from this point forward. He needs to be an ex-Jet as soon as the season comes to an end.
Tim Tebow was never the answer. It's difficult to understand why general manager Mike Tannenbaum brought him on board in the first place. Perhaps he thought the Jets needed a distraction.
Greg McElroy helped the Jets get an ugly win over the Arizona Cardinals, but don't make the mistake of thinking he is the answer.
The idea that the Jets could compete long-term without a decent passing game should have been shelved from the start. It's one thing to have a solid running game, but you have to successfully move the ball through the air.
The Jets never had the quarterback or the receivers to do that.
Ryan has to take his share of the blame and so does so-called offensive coordinator Tony Sparano, also known as Coach Meatball.
Ryan gets high marks for loyalty, but nothing else. He's shown that he can stand by a player and make excuses for him week after week, but all that's done is make him the butt of too many jokes.
All the Jets had to do was play .500 football for the first 10 weeks of the season. If they could have done that, then they could have cruised home with the softest end-of-season schedule ever imaginable.
Despite all of their difficulties, they still had a mathematical chance of making the playoffs heading into the game against Tennessee. However, Sanchez had a fourth quarter for the ages. He had two interceptions and a fumble in his last three possessions, and it prevented the team from getting a win against another awful squad in the Tennessee Titans.
Cue the wrecking ball, stage right.
Woody Johnson has a mess on his hands, and the people on hand have no clue as to how to turn it around.
He's got to put in a call to the suspended Sean Payton as soon as he can.
If he can't get Payton, perhaps Jon Gruden will do.
Anything would be better than what the Jets have now.
You could easily argue that major changes should be made in the offseason, but will anything significant happen? Will we be watching the same thing in 2013? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below...
