JETS 3
The New York Jets are officially finished for 2013. With it, their confidence in their starting quarterback, and with it, the decaying credibility of their head coach.
Sunday was more than just another loss for the Jets, it was a referendum about where this franchise is, and how far they have to go to ever becoming relevant again. Right now the Jets are indeed a fringe NFL football team that better resembles a college team or high school team, and that is an insult to all colleges and high school athletic programs out there.
For 60 minutes the Miami Dolphins toyed with the Jets. They did whatever they wanted to on both sides of the ball, and New York never had an answer. The Jets held the football for only 5:22 in the first half alone, gaining a total of 39 yards with Geno Smith, once again stinking it up.
The Dolphins could have easily blown the Jets out in the first half, but got greedy on a few drives and came away with only two field goals. Luckily for the Jets it could have been 16-0 at halftime instead of 6-0. It didn't matter anyway as Miami won going away 23-3.
Smith was 4-of-10 for 18 yards, an interception and a quarterback rating of 8.3. He was not just missing his receivers, he was missing them badly. Sure the Jets lack depth at the receiver position, but when the quarterback can't even find the right zip code, then it doesn't matter if he's throwing to Jerry Rice, let alone Stephen Hill, the results will be the same.
In his last three starts Smith's QB rating has been 10.1, 22.3, and 8.3. He has been awful for well over a month with only 1 touchdown and 11 interceptions since the start of November. The kid doesn't get it, and deserved to be pulled from this football game.
It was not like Matt Simms, the man all the Jets fans wanted to see was any better. He was limited in his throws, and when he did throw it they didn't result in much. Simms was 9-of-18 for 79 yards and a pick. It's little consolation that he was able to drive the Jets for their lone field goal in the third quarter.
The Jets quarterback mess is one of the many issues that pertain to this team. Rex Ryan doesn't have the signal caller to get the job done; hell, he has never had a good quarterback during his five years as the Head Coach of the NYJ.
Smith is not the answer, neither is Simms, and anyone thinking that this disaster would be any better with Mark Sanchez -- get a life. Sanchez turned the ball over 26 times in each of the last two years. Smith has turned it over 23 times this year. Both stink, period.
The Jets have no choice but to go out and get a true franchise quarterback whether it be in the draft or free agency. They can't compete at this level without one, and they have been exposed as frauds on the offensive side of the ball for five years now.
Smith's performances makes one wonder why the Jets even drafted the kid in the first place? For the past month he has shown everyone why he dropped like a stone in the first round into the second round of the draft.
In addition the Jets have got to get help at the skills positions. Wide receiver, running back and tight end have been lacking for this team all year. They don't have a single pro bowler on this squad right now. Not to mention, the Jets secondary -- which was once a pride and joy of Rex Ryan is in taters. Dee Milliner has become a bust in year one, was benched for the third time this year. Antonio Cromartie has been limited by injuries, and the safeties are not that good.
The Jets are a smorgasbord of missing pieces.
However, the development of Smith ultimately falls on Ryan's head. He let Marty Mornenwheg run the offense -- and as a result the quarterback regressed to Sanchez-like proportions. The kid looks lost, and who knows if he will ever come out of it.
This brings to question whether Ryan is fit for command this team going forward.
From the buffoonery off the field, to a team that is both poorly coached and undisciplined, Ryan has done nothing to give Woody Johnson any confidence he can turn this into a true contender in 2014.
While he might be a good defensive coordinator, as a head coach, Ryan is struggling. How would any head coach allow the likes of Brian Schottenheimer, Tony Sparano and Mornenweg run his offense without any input? What head coach would intrust mediocre to terrible quarterbacks with his football team on a week in/week out basis without any discipline for poor play?
Not many. But Ryan has.
The fact that Ryan opened up his press conference saying that he felt bad for the fans is laughable. Ryan should take note that the fan base has been drying thin for some time. From the empty guarantees that led to Ryan's Jets getting slapped in the face by the Giants two Christmas' ago, to the Buttfumble, Jets fans have had enough.
It is easy to say that there were no expectations for the 2013 season, but this team got off to a 5-4 start; and in this NFL where teams go from worst to first in a blink of an eye the Jets had a shot to be the surprise team in the NFL. They blew it, they blew it in a big way.
Now the long process to fix this must begin immediately.
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