I wrote a piece recently outlining why the New England Patriots are going to brush of any talk of their imminent demise and coast to another AFC East title.
I revisit this, not to gloat in the wake of the Pats’ dominant 43-17 win over the previously high-flying Bengals, but to discuss in more detail one of the reasons why New England is a playoff lock again in 2014.
It’s the weaknesses and deficiencies of their division rivals, particularly the New York Jets.
While the Patriots were preparing to dismantle the Bengals, the Jets were being shutout 31-0 against the Chargers in sunny San Diego. It was the first shutout of the NFL season and the first time the Jets had been held scoreless since 2012.
The score line was an embarrassment, but the manner in which they lost is the real story.
Geno Smith was 4-12 for 27 yards and an interception before he was hooked at halftime for Michael Vick (8-19, 47 yards) who also struggled against an underrated Chargers defense.
Smith’s quarterback rating was 7.6, the lowest of his career.
This from a second-year quarterback many had predicted would develop into a solid starter in 2014. But ever since the Jets’ unconvincing 19-14 win over the lowly Raiders in week 1, Smith has regressed, taking one step forward with a big gain and two back with an ill-advised pass or impatient play.
In his rookie year in New York, Smith finished with 247-443, 3,046 yards, 12 touchdowns and 21 intercepts.
Through five games this season he is on target to finish with about the same number of yards, touchdowns and interceptions and a similar completion rate. Not statistics that add weight to forthcoming improvement.
There have been whispers of a quarterback controversy in New York since Vick was signed from Philadelphia. But there is no real controversy here, neither quarterback can lead this team out of the division. They simply don’t have the talent around them and are not talented enough on their own.
Smith appeared to have used up the last of Rex Ryan’s patience during six fruitless first half drives on Sunday.
During his time under centre the Jets had only three first downs and didn’t once make it past the halfway line into Chargers territory. Smith has few weapons and possibly the weakest receiving core in the NFL, but he repeatedly struggled to find anyone open on Sunday.
But this is not all on Geno. The Jets – who entered the game as the No. 1 rushing defense in the NFL – allowed 162 yards on the ground. The Chargers’ fourth-string running back Branden Oliver had 182 total yards from scrimmage.
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers was sacked three times, but otherwise had complete control and finished with a 125.3 passer rating. The Chargers outgained the Jets 439-150 and had three clock-eating drives of 90 yards or more. The Chargers converted 12-of-18 (67 per cent) on third down, while the Jets converted only 1 of 11.
The Jets have now lost four straight games for the first time under Ryan, and face the Broncos at home and the rejuvenated Patriots at Foxborough in the next two weeks. By the time they return to New York the will be 1-6 and their season will be over.
If that happens, Ryan will take the fall.
The defensive-minded coach, who has somehow managed to survive the most tumultuous tenure in modern football, will be the scapegoat and wind up coaching defense at another team in the NFL next year.
To his credit, Ryan took the blame in post game interviews.
“First off, I apologise to our fans, those that are left,” Ryan said. “This is on one person and that’s it. It’s certainly not on the quarterback, on one individual that way or anybody else. It’s on me. I clearly got out-coached. I thought we had a good plan going in and obviously, that wasn’t the case.
“It was a complete ass-whipping and it was me that was getting my ass kicked.”
Ryan later refused to concede the Jets were lacking the talent to match it with the better teams and said he wouldn’t use it as an excuse.
Maybe Ryan is only talking about certain members of the defense. He can’t be talking about the offense, right? That group of receivers, backs and tight-ends? If he is he may be delusional.
That Jets receivers can’t get open, can’t run routes and can’t get separation. Even the Cleveland Browns little-known receiving core (minus Josh Gordon) can surprise you at times, but the Jets wide-outs provide nothing.
The offense needs to be completely rebuilt and if the Jets continue the inescapable slide, it will happen without Ryan at the helm.
Mark my words, it’s the beginning of the end for the big fella in the Big Apple.
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