NY Jets' Geno Smith benched for Michael Vick, makes no difference as Philip ...
SAN DIEGO - The Jets were so bad Sunday, looked so lost, so unprepared, so outclassed, that Rex Ryan, after the game, apologized to Jets fans, and then he added - 'those that are left.'
It may have seemed like a joke, but no one was laughing following a 31-0 disaster that exposed every weakness the Jets have from offensive line to defensive secondary to the quarterbacks.
Geno Smith was so bad, he was pulled at halftime for Michael Vick, who did a great job filling Smith's shoes because he was just as awful.
'Even if we had Joe Namath, it wouldn't have made a difference,' said Ryan.
Still, the quarterback position is just one of many worries for the 1-4 Jets, who welcome Peyton Manning - he of the 500 career TDs and a 450-yard day - to Metlife Stadium.
The Jets' secondary was torched. The offense didn't make it into Chargers territory until the fourth quarter. They committed 12 penalties. Were run over by a fourth-string running back. Everything that could go wrong for the Jets did. It wasn't just 'Same old Jets,' it was worse. The game was an astronomical meltdown, indicative of a season that's been almost as poor as Sunday's loss. And it's only Week 5.
Vick, the man that fans back in New Jersey have been clamoring for, could do nothing to save the hapless Jets. Not that he or Smith had any weapons to throw to with Eric Decker out. The team's supposed home run threat, Chris Johnson, fumbled immediately after the team's first interception of the year.
'I've never been in a spot like that,' said Ryan who did say Smith would be back at quarteback next week. 'We're scratching, we're clawing, anything we can do, but it seems like - at this stage - like too great a challenge, but I know it's not.'
Right away, the Jets allowed the Chargers to do what they feared most: throw deep. Philip Rivers hit Malcom Floyd on a 49-yard gain over Darrin Walls on the team's first drive. Rivers then followed that up with an easy eight-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Gates with Antonio Allen in coverage, completing a 90-yard drive to put the Chargers up 7-0 halfway through the first quarter.
Ryan mixed up the secondary by playing Allen back at his old position of safety and then, with the Chargers seemingly moving the ball at will, then had to switch it up more when he put in Phillip Adams to replace Walls, who was knocked out with a knee injury. The move paid off as Adams came up with an interception -- the team's first of the season -- in the end zone 2:55 into the second quarter.
Not that the Jets would let anything good happen to them for long. In classic Jets fashion, Chris Johnson fumbled the Jets' first play after the pick, giving the ball right back to San Diego.
And the Chargers made the Jets pay as Rivers dialed up the same combination that worked for him last time - throwing to Gates with Allen in coverage -- for a 12-yard TD to put San Diego up 14-0 with 10:15 left in the second quarter.
With the Chargers trying to tack on more points before the half, Rivers and Co. converted a third and 17 by hitting a dump off to fourth-string running back Branden Oliver who ran for 50 yards after both Pryor and Dee Milliner missed tackles.
Oliver finished off the job, running in for a 15-yard drive with 42 seconds left in the half to put San Diego on top 21-0.
'We looked like every opponent they faced this year .... onlyl a little worse,' said Ryan.
With time running out at the end of the half, Smith threw a prayer to Greg Salas that was picked off by Brandon Flowers. The Chargers out gained the Jets 306-60 in the first half and Smith threw for just 27 yards.
When the Jets exited the locker room to start the second half, Vick was their quarterback. Not that it did much good early on to fix the problem. The Jets went three-and-out on their first possession with Vick at the helm and then the Chargers countered with another 90-yard drive that culminated in Rivers' third touchdown. The nine-yard score went to Oliver, his second TD of the day, putting the Chargers up 28-0 midway through the third quarter. A field goal in fourth quarter the fourth gave the Chargers their 31-0 final score.
Post a Comment for "NY Jets' Geno Smith benched for Michael Vick, makes no difference as Philip ..."