Keidel: It Finally Happened -- The Jets Quit On Their Beloved Leader, Rex Ryan
By Jason Keidel
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"The Jets are so bad, Odell Beckham couldn't catch them..."
That is just some of the sardonic commentary hurled at the Jets following their frightening performance on Monday night in Detroit.
Levity is important, especially for fans of Gang Green. The Jets had almost every advantage imaginable Monday night and still lost by a galling spread to a pedestrian Bills team that had a biblically bad week.
The Jets traveled by car, limo, and team bus. The Bills were shuttled by snowmobile.
The Jets slept in their beds all week. The Bills couldn't even be sure their roofs wouldn't collapse on their beds, under the epic weight of snow.
The a Jets practiced at home all week. The Bills had to leave late in the week for Michigan just to gameplan. Running back Fred Jackson said his teammates were stuck inside their houses for several days, and were way behind by the time they took their first practice snap.
The Jets went from an abject road game in the frigid Buffalo skies to a temperature-neutral, domed stadium in Detroit. The Bills went from enjoying their friendly, frosty homefield advantage to essentially a road game.
Yet the Bills were the ones who rose from their white wasteland and wasted the Jets, who also had an extra day to prepare for a team dizzy and displaced from the science fiction snowstorm that crippled their region.
If that weren't enough, the Jets provide either extra incentive or added padding for opponents, particularly for Buffalo, which is 2-0 with a 27.5 average margin of victory over Gang Green this season. The Bills are 4-5 against the rest of the NFL with a minus-2.7 scoring differential.
If you have difficulty with decimal points, just know the Jets have been outscored by Buffalo 81-26 this season.
Which ends the lone qualifier for keeping Rex Ryan as HC of the NYJ. Though the Jets have descended down the rungs of relevance, their lone, endearing quality was their monolithic love and effort for Ryan. But on Monday night the Jets just quit. Not even Fan Guy can defend them.
During the postgame presser, Ryan said he was sure he was going to coach the team over the final five games. He's probably right. And while nothing meaty can be gained by canning the coach now, would anyone blame Woody Johnson if he did?
Bill Parcells, the local patriarch of pro football, told ESPN that when he drafted players he tried to find film of them when their team was way behind. Their effort in those dark seconds spoke of them as men, said Parcells.
If that is indeed one of the main metrics of character, then it's obvious the Jets have stopped playing for their loquacious coach, who looks more pale, plagued, and resigned with each loss.
Notice you don't see Ryan's native hubris anymore? No more bombast, bold assertions, or fluffy monologues. Ryan has officially lost the school spirit. He is just as defeated as his players.
There's nothing funny or fuzzy about a man about to lose his job, even in the NFL world of swollen salaries. Ryan has been fun to watch, mimic, and cover. But the bedrock verity that you can't win without a quarterback has either been lost on Ryan or Ryan is lost when picking one. In fact, the entire offense has regressed since Ryan donned the headset. It seems to be the family curse. If you recall, his father had similar issues -- both eyes on one side of the ball while the other costs him his vocational head.
And it's a lot easier to change coaches than replace a roster. Especially Rex Ryan, who isn't putting up much of a fight anymore. Nor is his team. Gang Green has gangrene. And it will take a new coach, if not the next coach, to find the cure.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel
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