Jets Coach Ryan Buried in his Bloviation *

Just a year ago the Jets were one of those franchises, like the Lions or Saints that no one really disliked. They were looked at by most as lovable losers, who last won a Super Bowl in the Neolithic age with Jurassic Joe Namath. Even the Giants, who “shared” the same stadium, but really didn’t – it was Giants stadium at the Meadowlands, remember - only played the G-Men once every four years or so, and the yearly exhibition game was media hype. The Giant’s real rivals inhabited the NFC East. The only real hatred existed between Divisional foes, including Dolphins to some extent, but especially the Patriots; and as the general public respected but despised Bill Belichick, the Jets came out as the people’s favorite.

Not anymore. In some circles, the Jets have become America’s most hated team. Tony Dungy rails against Ryan’s use of expletives (to be honest, Dungy, a gentleman and a born-again Christian, is probably the only coach not to drop the F-bomb since Tom Landry.) Terry Bradshaw and a host of others blast Ryan for his braggadocio, for telling the press and everyone that will listen that the Jets will be in the Super Bowl, come hell or high water. Along with setting himself up as the media chump, Ryan has managed to supplant the more popular Giants on the back page of the New York Post (the headline page) and the front page of the Daily News. Sly as a fox, is Ryan.

So what occurred Monday night? The Jets lost a game, 10-9 to the Baltimore Ravens. The key particulars were covered nicely by my colleague Greg Miletic on ProFootball-Fans.com. The Ravens won the time of possession, even though the Jets basically shut down their running game; the Ravens had more total yardage, and were much more disciplined on defense, having only 38 total penalty yards vs. 125 for the Jets.

What does all of this mean?

One headline in today’s New York Post reads: “Jets’ Panic Room open for business” The Daily News stated that “Rex’s Jets are a Super Bust.”

Give me a break!

Hey folks, the Jets lost to a team that has gone deep into the playoffs the last two years. A team that has a defense that is perennially one of the best in the league, and last year ranked #3 in the NFL. A team that many observers, including myself, believe is a legitimate Super Bowl contender in its own right. A team, despite their sloppy, undisciplined play, they only lost to by one stinkin’ point.

> Buy NY Jets jerseys & fan apparel online through Pro Football Fans, find NFL Fathead wall stickers or check the updated NFL scores!

The Ravens have one of the most lethal three-headed hydras at the running back position in the game today. This group is lead by Ray Rice, who is rapidly reaching All-Pro Status, and supplemented by Willie McGahee and L’Ron McLain. The Jets stuffed them for 49 yards, on an average of less than 1.5 per carry. They forced Flacco into throwing three interceptions in the first half. They allowed the Ravens 111 total yards in offense in the first half. Defensive Lineman Shaun Ellis and the rest of the defensive line were impenetrable against the run as well and often hounded Flacco in the pocket. Darrelle Revis did his typical shut-down impression of Deion Sanders. The running game averaged over 5 runs per carry.

The most puzzling aspect of the evening was why the Jets chose to cover All-Pro receiver Anquan Boldin in single coverage, utilizing rookie cornerback Kyle Wilson. Who am I to question Rex Ryan, who is undoubtedly the defensive genius of our generation, but all of last season the Jets defense utilized Darrelle Revis in man coverage of the opponents top wide-out, allowing the Jets to utilize multiple blitz packages, oftentimes seeming to have 12 men instead of 11 on the field. Boldin continually burned Wilson on the Ravens single touchdown drive. The tragic development of this encounter was not the loss of the game, but the loss of Defensive Lineman Kris Jenkins for the season. He injured the same knee that required ACL surgery last season, and his career may be in serious jeopardy.

The Jets passing game was admittedly inept. Despite all of the brilliant additions that Gang Green made in the off-season, the one possible serious mistake was releasing guard Alan Faneca. His replacement was clearly inadequate. Clearly, Sanchez and the wide-outs bear some of the responsibility for the inept passing attack, especially in converting third down situations (1-11), but the Jets were able to dominate teams with their offensive line last season, which was the best in the league. Four of their Five Offensive Lineman are excellent, two are All-Pro caliber, but in the NFL, that is not good enough. The team must find a way of protecting Sanchez a bit better, and coordinating the rushing attack as they did last season. At any rate, next week the Jets get to play the New England. A good showing against the Cheatriots, and the Bipolar Press will once again be on the Super Bowl Bandwagon.

*Please note that this article will be published prior to the Jets pre-season prognostication. Although that article is almost complete, I felt that it was more important to publish commentary on the first game of the season while it is fresh news. If you have been following my pre-season prognostications, you have found that it is quite long; more comprehensive then I expected when I first initiated the venture. It is 8 articles all together, and I had to rush in order to get all of the pieces published close to opening day. I was not quite successful, but close to the mark.

By: Paul J. Nebenfuhr
ProFootball-fans.com New York Jets Correspondent