Jets have defensive breakdown
Rex Ryan believes the Jets didn’t communicate well enough on defense Sunday night against Miami.
No wonder, considering it sometimes seemed as if Jets’ defenders weren’t even within shouting distance of Dolphins’ receivers.
Miami quarterback Chad Henne threw for 363 yards in the Jets’ 31-23 victory. And while Miami was trailing for most of the game, it wasn’t as if the Jets ever had a comfortable lead in the second half, so these weren’t garbage yards accomplished against a team trading yards for clock.
"Yeah, I’ll admit, it doesn’t feel like a victory,"
coach Rex Ryan said with a laugh Monday. "No, it does, it really does, because it was a great team effort. But, yeah, my pride’s hurt a little bit, no question about that."
That’s not surprising, considering Ryan earned his NFL reputation as a defensive coordinator and still calls the Jets’ defensive signals. Miami exploited the Jets’ secondary, which was without standout cornerback Darrelle Revis (hamstring).
Ryan believes the communication isn’t where it should be because the secondary has a lot of newcomers. Cornerbacks Kyle Wilson, a rookie, Antonio Cromartie and safety Brodney Pool all are in their first seasons with the team.
"When you look at Brodney Pool, you look at Kyle [and] Cromartie, and their communication is not where I want it to be right now,"
Ryan said. "And the fact you’re playing against a good football team with some good players, it just kind of snowballed on us. ... I know it’s a communication problem. I never recognized some of those coverages out there. That’s one thing that would tell you it’s a communication problem."
Still, the absence of Revis definitely was a factor, as Cromartie repeatedly was beaten by Brandon Marshall and Wilson had some more welcome-to-the-NFL moments, as he failed several times to turn around and look for the ball until it was too late. And judging by Ryan’s response when asked about Revis on Monday, there’s a good chance he again may be inactive when the Jets (2-1) visit Buffalo (0-3) on Sunday.
"I haven’t really seen him [Monday],"
Ryan said. "I know he’s done everything we’ve asked. I think he’s moving around better. He feels better. You almost have to be 100 percent or right at 100 percent to play corner or you’re going to be having to face this the whole season."
"Hopefully, we can have him this week. If not, we’ve got to find a way to get it done."
The Jets did make two plays on the final Miami drive to preserve the win, as Pool knocked Marshall out of bounds at the Jets’ 11 after a 30-yard gain in the final minute, and Drew Coleman intercepted a tipped pass in the end zone intended for Anthony Fasano to finally seal the win.
"We felt pretty good about it,"
safety Eric Smith said of the last play, "but overall we feel like we played pretty lousy. We just didn’t execute the way we wanted to. We saw a lot of the same looks we were practicing against. ... We weren’t on the same page defensively."
The Bills did play much better on offense in their 38-30 loss to New England on Sunday, as Ryan Fitzpatrick started at quarterback, replacing the benched Trent Edwards, who was released Monday.
BRIEFS: Ryan also was non-committal about the availability of linebacker Calvin Pace (foot) for the Buffalo game. ... Ryan helped dump a bucket of Gatorade after the game on linebacker Jason Taylor, who played against the Dolphins for the first time after spending 12 NFL seasons with them. Taylor contributed a first-quarter sack. "I just wanted to do it because I think that was just a tribute to him,"
the coach said. Of his return, Taylor said after the game, "It was a little different but once the game started it was football as usual. ... I’m a New York Jet whether people like it or not."
