Palladino: There's No Tease Here —The Jets Are Losers, Period!
By Ernie Palladino
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Through all these nine mostly miserable losses, the Jets have shown one singular, admirable quality -- authenticity.
They're the real thing, if we can use that term to describe true losers. They don't tease. They put forth no pretense of excellence, only to rip their fans' hearts out with a late-game failure.
They stink, no two ways about it. And one can take comfort in that. With the Jets of 2014, you know what you're going to get with only minimal exception.
The Jets completely lived up to their billing Monday as they officially turned their season into a loser against Buffalo. From the very beginning -- as Michael Vick came away from not one, not two, but three early potential interceptions without a mark on his record -- it was obvious that the Jets had no chance in the relocated fiasco. They provided a scenario that so warmed the hearts of Buffalonians that, had it been played in Ralph Wilson Stadium, the collective heat would have melted every snow bank in a five-mile radius.
For their own fans, the Jets give what is expected in 2014. Having no hope of winning makes the watching a lot easier.
But Giants fans, they have it hard. The Giants tease. They hang close enough to the 49ers that Odell Beckham Jr.'s circus catch at the 4 sets them up for a win, and then they send everybody home teary-eyed with three failed fades and a pick. The very next week, Eli Manning and Adrien Robinson, of all people, actually take a late lead. Stop the Cowboys once and it's over. But the defense vaporizes, Tony Romo finds Dez Bryant an hour after the snap, and Giants fans cringe and slink home heartbroken again.
It's murder.
The Jets make it easy. There is no tease in 38-3 or in 2-9. Anomalies, sure, like the win over Pittsburgh or the back-and-forth, two-point affair they had against New England before Bill Belichick's boys found their real stride. And, OK, we'll count the Raiders because ... why not?
Rex Ryan's team is nothing if not genuine. Whether it's Vick or Geno Smith taking snaps, the offense is a disaster. Monday night marked the seventh time they have scored 20 points or fewer. Only Nick Folk's first-quarter field goal stood between them and a second shutout loss, and even that wouldn't have happened had Cory Graham latched onto Vick's careless end-zone throw.
One-hand catches by previously unknown receivers. A blocked punt recovered in the end zone. Wide open tight ends at the goal line. Other defensive blunders combined with terrible offense shifted focus on the coach's fate from year's end to the present.
It is now a legitimate question as to how long Woody Johnson will wait to fire him.
Ryan expects to have a job for the next five weeks, even if his tenure ends a week after.
"Unless it changes drastically, I will be the head coach here the next five weeks," Ryan told the New York Post after the game. "That's what I know, and I'm going to go about my job like I always do."
The real question is whether Johnson heeds the planes and billboards and makes it a clean sweep with general manager John Idzik.
Those are the only surprises left. Even as the Jets approach their final five games -- their non-coronation, so to speak -- their fans can expect exactly what Ryan's squad has given them the first 11 games.
Pitiful offense. Shaky defense. Questionable talent. Lousy football.
In other words, nothing.
Then again, at least there is no illusion of quality. They are the real thing; authentically, undeniably bad.
Monday's train wreck only made it official. At least knowing that makes it easier to take.
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