New York Jets Report Week 5.5: Has Gang Green Hit Rock Bottom Yet?

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Is anyone else having recurring nightmares of a fourth string running back named

Darren Sproles

Brandon Oliver torching Rex Ryan’s vaunted defense for 182 total yards and his first two career touchdowns? No? It must only be me.

Fresh off his first four-game losing streak as a head coach, Ryan took the entirety of the blame for his team’s performance—or lack thereof in the 31-0 beating in San Diego last Sunday. This New York Jets team is currently one in disarray without the discipline, leadership or talent at the skill positions to win games against quality opponents.

The Jets have their backs pushed up against the wall, plagued by seemingly endless turmoil and the inability to play sixty minutes of football. The theme this week for the Jets is stopping the bleeding and forging a belief in their own locker room that they can turn this around. The other theme is, well, the upcoming schedule and the fact that thing’s don’t become any easier for a team spiraling out of control at 1-4.

One would hope that a team without a victory in a month surrounded by scrutiny could only go up from there. The problem for the Jets is…this may not be rock bottom. It may only get worse form here and likely will—just check the schedule.

Now the Denver Broncos come to town; a team better and more dangerous than any other gang green has faced so far this season. How will the Jets respond? We think we know how—by losing by a wide margin to the best offense (and perhaps team) in the NFL. While the idea of the Jets finding a way to win this game is imperceptible to most, there’s still four quarters of football awaiting them on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

The way gang green is playing, it’s truly near impossible to have faith in them moving forward anyway. Throw in the Broncos (3-1) and Patriots (3-2) as the next two opponents within five days of each other. The Jets haven’t been good enough to beat anyone except Oakland and this is the toughest two-game set on their schedule this season. They’re on the fast track to 1-6 without a miracle—and it could only get worse from there.

Most people (including me) forgot about the games beyond week 7—Buffalo, at Kansas City and Pittsburgh. We were preoccupied with the gauntlet the Jets are currently running but the fact is that looking at New York’s schedule, things don’t lighten up. The team itself is so horrid currently there isn’t one game before the Bye you can look at and say the Jets should win.

You know it’s a bad sign when any victories would be coming by surprise. And how could one believe anything different? Things have unraveled progressively from Weeks 2 through 5 and it’s truly difficult to gain the sense this team has enough to overcome its deficiencies on both sides of the ball.

Where do the Jets go from here? How do they begin to pick themselves off the mat in order to make the most improbable of resurgences?

In this writer’s opinion, the Jets should only have one mindset heading into the ring with Manning & Co. on Sunday: us against the world.

Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

You thought people doubted you Week 5 in San Diego? How about this week against the defending AFC champions and everybody’s Week 6 survivor pool pick? That’s the bulletin board material we can bet is being thrown around the New York locker room this week.

The Jets are so clearly overmatched—that goes without saying. New York doesn’t have the personnel on defense to match up with Manning, Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. On offense the Jets have failed to hold onto the football, let alone put up points. Their best hope physically is to let their running game pound the ball with the hope of it loosening up John Fox’s defense.

Other than a genius game plan gang green needs an awful lot of luck and winning nonphysical characteristics like heart, pride and the relentless pursuit of saving their slipping season (all things the Jets lacked vs. the Chargers). It seems silly but any chance the Jets have to win this game is going to come with intangibles because the logic points so heavily against it.

With the odds stacked against them so mightily this truly feels like a Davis versus Goliath type of game. For the sake of their season and head coach’s job, let’s hope the Jets find their rock and slingshot to take down Manning & Co.

STATS OF THE WEEK
– The Chargers outgained the Jets 491-151 in total yards. Enough said.
– San Diego was 12-18 on third down against the Jets in Week 5. Those ugly defensive numbers will result in losses every week in the NFL.
– Peyton Manning, he of the 503 career touchdown passes, can tie Brett Favre’s all-time mark with five TDs at MetLife on Sunday and can break the record with six. I wouldn’t rule it out.

THIRD AND LONG
– In order to win this game, the Jets need to win a battle in an area they aren’t expected to. I am looking at the turnover battle; if the Jets put pressure on Peyton Manning and make him get rid of the ball too soon they could contain him for a while. Then he’ll just audible at the line of scrimmage to quick-strike platys and likely shred the awful Jet secondary to pieces. But that’s just the pessimistic Jet fan’s perspective for you.