Many Positives For the New York Jets To Take Out Of Sixth Consecutive Loss
By Joe Pietaro
There are no moral victories in the National Football League and a loss is still a loss, no matter how you try to sugar coat it. But a team can still take some positives out of every game, regardless of the final outcome. And such is the case with the New York Jets 27-25 to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
With their losing streak now at six, the Jets (1-6) can lament all they want about how they nearly stole this game versus a much better opponent on Thursday Night Football. The negatives aside, Gang Green did do some impressive things and they all played hard for head coach Rex Ryan.
The bigger picture is more important than winning this game because, realistically, the Jets are not going to make the playoffs either way. That may spell doom for Ryan and his staff but some questions need to be answered before this season commences.
Against the Patriots, these are the things that will help talk the Jets fan off the ledge:
1 – GETTING UP OFF THE MAT
There was no quit in this team and that is a direct reflection on Ryan, who has been contrite with reporters about his future if the wins do not begin mounting. But getting players – young and veterans alike – to all step up and keep coming back speaks volumes about what they think of Ryan.
Go back to the fourth play of the game to see the first example of this when Patriots quarterback Tom Brady recognized an obvious blown coverage in the Jets shaky secondary and hit Shane Vereen for a 49-yard touchdown pass.
Ryan’s ears were surely ringing with the collective “same old Jets” being said in thousands of households at that exact moment and perhaps even in some players’ own heads. But the Jets scored the next nine points on three Nick Folk field goals.
A back-and-forth affair ensued and looked gloomy when Brady hit Danny Amendola for a 19-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-goal to make it 27-19 Pats halfway through the final stanza. But the Jets scored another touchdown, missed a two-point conversion attempt, made a defensive stop and were in position to still win the game at the end.
Ryan touched on the team’s gumption in the post game press conference.
"We’re going to keep fighting and the people that don’t understand it have never put on those pads before. We’re going to fight our butts off and it doesn’t matter who’s in front of us. We know we’re good enough to win."
2 – GENO SMITH
No one on the Jets roster has taken more hits – and deservedly so – in the media and from the fans than Geno Smith. But the second-year quarterback played exceptionally well and had the confidence and patience to keep his team right in a game no one gave them a chance to win.
He finished the night by going 20-for 34 for 226 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and one fumble that he recovered himself. Yes, he was sacked three times but did a good job getting out of the pocket when necessary and even had seven rushes for 37 yards.
This is the Smith that the Jets were hoping to see all year long after starting 16 games as a rookie. Is he still the quarterback of the present and future? That’s the biggest question that needs to be answered between now and Week 17.
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3 – JETS RUNNING GAME
After a no-show against the Denver Broncos, the Jets running backs made a big statement last night and showed that they can run a smashmouth ball control offense. Chris Ivory was a force and finished with 107 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown. Chris Johnson also chipped with 13 carries for 61 yards.
If the Jets are to go with a quarterback like Smith, they will need an effective running game. There are only a handful of quarterbacks in the league that can win a game by themselves and Smith is not in that short list.
Besides, the team is not strong at wide receiver and that is exposed when they are trailing by a large margin and have to throw the ball more.
4 – NICK FOLK
We will never know if the Jets steady placekicker would have made the 58-yard attempt at the gun had it not been blocked by Chris Jones, the same Patriots player who committed the penalty to give Folk a second chance last season and hit the game winner.
But Folk has been nothing but outstanding as a Jet and hit four field goals in the first half. He is as automatic as they come in a position known for its revolving door policy.