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Ladies and gentlemen, if some kids ring your doorbell tonight wearing Jets outfits, please be generous in order for them to drown their sorrows in candy. This game proved to be no treat for the fans or head coach Rex Ryan either, as they watched the New York Jets (5-2) get shutout by the Green Bay Packers (5-3) at New Meadowlands Stadium.
Even with the bye week giving them extra rest for this game, the Jets’ offense came in looking like they needed more time off. Although quarterback Mark Sanchez’s numbers were not terrible (16-38 for 256 yards), he did throw two interceptions. Ryan has to be alarmed that Sanchez has thrown four of these in his last two games.
Many people have been talking about Sanchez’s new maturity, but there is a definite sense that he loses it when things don’t go the right way. It didn’t help matters that his receivers couldn’t keep their hands on the ball and out of the hands of their opponents.
More problematic than Sanchez’s inability to lead today was that the rest of the offense seemed to come up lame, and a strange fake punt attempt didn’t succeed. Both of Ryan’s replay challenges failed, so the Jets went into halftime down 3-0. Ryan, who can talk with the best of them, obviously could not get Gang Green’s offense motivated in the locker room, because it was more of the same the rest of the way.
One good sign was that the Jets’ defense was definitely going well today, limiting the Packers to three field goals, but Ryan can take little solace in this because the offense that looked so strong during that five game winning streak seemed not to show up today. In its place were Halloween zombies who couldn’t get it together to score any points.
People here in New York have been talking about an almost pre-destined Super Bowl match between the Jets and Giants, but all this talk is obviously premature at best after this debacle. Even with a healthy Darrelle Revis and a tight defense, the team cannot win if it doesn’t score any points.
All of us fans can keep dreaming about Gang Green going against Big Blue in the ultimate football showdown, but if the Jets keep playing this way, they will be lucky to even contend for a wild card.
Things looked pretty dismal today and, even with the home field advantage, the Jets went down and looked like they were out for the count early on. Hey, Rex Ryan, in case you are wondering, that booing you heard wasn’t Halloween ghosts drifting through the stadium; it was your Jets fans who knew a stinker when they saw one.
Well, hopefully next week things will get better, but one never knows in the soap opera known As Gang Green Turns.
