NEW YORK JETS DAILY CLIPS

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1 NEW YORK JETS DAILY CLIPS November 26, 2013 Table of Contents ASSOCIATED PRESS... 2 Smith remains Jets' starting QB despite struggles (Dennis Waszak)... 2 NEWSDAY... 3 Rex Ryan says Geno Smith will start on Sunday (Kimberley Martin)... 3 Jets circle wagons around Geno Smith (Kimberley Martin)... 4 Rex Ryan should be ready to pull Geno Smith for Matt Simms (Bob Glauber)... 5 THE RECORD... 6 Jets report card (J.P. Pelzman)... 6 Sullivan: Time to see what Matt Simms can do for Jets (Tara Sullivan)... 7 Geno Smith remains Jets starting quarterback for Sunday (J.P. Pelzman)... 9 STAR-LEDGER... 9 Jets' Troy Davis spends night in Baltimore hospital after blindside hit (Michael Fensom)... 9 Rex Ryan sticks with Geno Smith as Jets' starter, tries to put rookie's struggles in context (Darryl Slater) Stephen Hill's snaps nearly cut in half against Ravens (Michael Fensom) NEW YORK POST Deflecting blame from QB, Rex says Smith still starter (Brian Costello) Ryan could be signing own death sentence (George Willis) Jets ignore calls for Geno to be benched (Brian Lewis) Rex: Wideouts have to help out Geno (Brian Costello) Jets winners & losers: Matt Simms gaining popularity (Brian Costello) How Jets stack up in AFC s 5-6 playoff jumble (Steve Serby) NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Nowhere to run: Jets not fooling anybody by overusing the ground game (Seth Walder) NY Jets need to surround Geno Smith with better weapons (Manish Mehta) Rex Ryan sticks with struggling Geno Smith, who will start at QB for Jets against Dolphins (Seth Walder) NEW YORK TIMES One-Trick Pony Offense Nags Jets (Ben Shpigel) ESPN NEW YORK Jets to stick with Geno Smith (Rich Cimini) Rex Ryan preaches unity during turmoil (Matt Ehalt) Nelson: Receivers pressed too much (Matt Ehalt) METRO NEW YORK P a g e

2 Geno Smith will start on Sunday despite ongoing struggles (Kristian Dyer) MONDAY S SPORTS TRANSACTIONS ASSOCIATED PRESS Smith remains Jets' starting QB despite struggles (Dennis Waszak) Associated Press FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) - Rex Ryan is sticking with Geno Smith. The struggling rookie will remain the New York Jets' starting quarterback for the team's game Sunday against the AFC East-rival Miami Dolphins. While the Jets are on the verge of a full-blown quarterback controversy as their playoff chances have taken a hit, Ryan isn't ready to make a change under center just yet. "Right now," the coach said Monday, "I would feel he gives us the best chance to win." Smith hadn't been told of any decision while speaking in the locker room about an hour before Ryan's news conference, but anticipated getting the start at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. "I fully intend to go about my week as I always do and have confidence in myself to be the starter and the leader of this offense," Smith said. "I will continue to study and work diligently as I've always done." Ryan was noncommittal to starting Smith after the Jets' 19-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, saying he wanted to watch the tape of the game before making any decisions. Smith was 9 of 22 for 127 yards and was intercepted twice and sacked three times. Over his last six games, Smith has thrown 10 interceptions and one touchdown pass. Against Baltimore, the Jets were 1 of 12 on third downs and finished with just 220 total yards. "The mistakes we made, they're not on one person," Ryan said. "Offensively, as it always does, it seems like we talk about Geno all the time and that stats are out there for the public awareness, I guess. Here are the facts: He was 9 for 22, but it doesn't paint the whole picture. "It's certainly not on one guy." But some fans and media have called for inexperienced backup Matt Simms to start for the Jets (5-6), who have lost two in a row and gone from controlling their playoff destiny to being way back in a pack of teams on the outside. "With Geno, sure, we have to get more production out of the quarterback position, I understand that," Ryan said. "Some of it, he's making the throws." Ryan explained the theory of a defense trying to force a quarterback into having to "throw out of a well," meaning that the pocket collapses so significantly that he has to just heave it straight up rather than being able to aim at targets consistently. That, Ryan said, has helped contribute to some of the poor play lately by Smith. "We have to protect better," right guard Willie Colon said. "He's forced to make some throws and a lot of things are coming at him. Up front, we've got to help him out, but we're not." Ryan also pointed to receivers not running the right routes or dropping passes, and the defense not making plays to help out the offense. 2 P a g e

3 Still, there have been questionable decisions made by Smith throughout the season, befitting a rookie who is learning on the job. His 18 interceptions lead the NFL and his 62.1 quarterback rating is last among current starting quarterbacks. "I don't like to call them growing pains," said Smith, who acknowledged that this is his toughest stretch statistically at any level. "I don't make any excuses for anything. I fully expect myself, rookie or not, to go out there and perform. They're just mistakes that I've got to correct." But is he running out of time - and the team running out of patience? "I completely shut it out," Smith said of the calls for him to be benched. "One, you have to. And two, I always will because I know what it takes to win and what it takes to be a good quarterback, and it doesn't have anything to do with anything outside of this building. It takes preparation and hard work, so that's something I'll continue to do." Ryan insisted the Jets are closer than many people might think, but also implored his players to not listen to any of the negative comments being said or written about them outside the facility. "We've got to stay together," defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson said of Ryan's message to the team. "People are going to try to break the team apart, try to point their fingers, but we've got to try to stay the course here and win these five games." NOTES: LB Troy Davis stayed overnight at a hospital in Baltimore after suffering a chest injury on a hit by the Ravens' Courtney Upshaw. Ryan hinted that he was unhappy about it being a hit on a "defenseless player."... WR David Nelson on whether the game against Miami feels like a must win: "Without being too dramatic, I definitely think so," he said. NEWSDAY Rex Ryan says Geno Smith will start on Sunday (Kimberley Martin) Newsday FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Rex Ryan rambled on, providing little clarity about the befuddling state of the Jets' anemic offense. But he did provide one clear-cut nugget during his 20-minute news conference Monday. Geno Smith, his erratic rookie quarterback, will remain the starter Sunday against the Dolphins. Ryan delivered the news in matter-of-fact fashion, as if the struggling Smith's status was never in doubt. But after Sunday's 19-3 loss in Baltimore, even Smith admitted he's aware of growing sentiment that he should sit. But despite Smith's 22 turnovers and 18 interceptions, both of which are league highs, Ryan remains committed to him. At least for this week. "Right now, I would feel that he gives us the best chance to win," Ryan said a day after Smith finished with a 22.3 quarterback rating and 127 yards on 9-for-22 passing (a week after compiling a 10.1 quarterback rating and 103 yards on 8-for-23 passing). 3 P a g e

4 Ryan tap-danced around the topic of backup Matt Simms, refusing to give a definitive answer about whether he and the coaching staff discussed the possibility of having Simms replace Smith against Miami. Instead, he stressed that a quarterback's statistics "don't paint the whole picture." Rather than focus on Smith's 10 interceptions and one touchdown pass in the last six games, Ryan spread the blame to other areas of the offense: the pass protection and the receivers. "I recognize it's an important position," Ryan said. "But sometimes the protection's letting us down, sometimes the timing of the routes is letting us down, sometimes guys aren't catching the football, sometimes it's a poor throw and a poor decision on the quarterback's part. I don't know if you guys believe me or not, but that's what I see. So I don't see it necessarily about just the one man." When Smith addressed the media Monday, he still hadn't been given official word that he would start this week. But he told reporters he would go through his routine as if the job still were his. And he didn't sugarcoat his latest brutal performance, either. "I didn't do enough, didn't get the job done," he said. "We didn't score a touchdown, so that's never good... We've got to figure out ways to just get better and to put points on the board. It's pretty simple." Fixing their offensive problems isn't so simple, however. "We have to protect better," guard Willie Colon said of the offensive line. "A lot of things were in [Smith's] face, he's forced to make throws. A lot of things are coming at him. We're a veteran group up front, so that's why I got frustrated [after the game]. 'Cause I knew that it's on us right now. "I don't doubt the effort, I don't doubt the fight. It's just our level of play and execution has to crank up. 'Cause when you look around the league, that's what teams are doing. So if we want to have an honest shot and be realistic about the goals we want to accomplish, we have to step our game up." Receiver David Nelson said he didn't want to be "too dramatic" about the importance of Sunday's game against the Dolphins (5-6), but he acknowledged it could make or break their season. And if the Jets (5-6) expect to win, they'll need to accumulate more than the 118 passing yards they had against the Ravens. "Veteran guys were taking it upon themselves to make a big play, trying to make a 5-yard play into a 60- yard play," said Nelson, who did not have a reception despite being targeted five times. "We tried to put too much on ourselves as receivers to take over our game when we should have just let the game come to us." Jets circle wagons around Geno Smith (Kimberley Martin) Newsday FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Rex Ryan's message to his players was simple: Just stay together. The calls for a quarterback change have grown louder in the past few weeks, reaching a crescendo after the Jets' 19-3 loss in Baltimore on Sunday. But Ryan is determined to keep the white noise outside of his building. 4 P a g e

5 "I think it's easy to blame him. It's easy to attack him," right guard Willie Colon said when asked about the criticisms of Geno Smith. "It's a brotherhood right now. So I take it personally when they attack him... I was frustrated [after the game] because it's easy to call out one guy. I think that's unfair." Despite Smith's struggles (18 interceptions, 22 turnovers), Ryan seems sensitive to the criticism of his rookie quarterback. And he refuses to have doubters create a wedge among his players. "My team is close," he said. "I know the way outside influences can try to chip away at your team and the foundation of your team. And we certainly don't need that." Muhammad Wilkerson reiterated Ryan's message, saying the team is determined to "stick together" despite outsiders trying to "break us apart." Said Colon: "We're going through a lot right now. All our expectations, trying to get into [the playoffs] and we're coming off two losses. So it's easy for outside people to criticize and cause doubt. But we've got to stay together and keep it like a family." Jet streams Smith has 22 turnovers after the NFL credited the Jets' botched-snap fumble in the second quarter to center Nick Mangold instead of the quarterback... David Nelson said the receiving corps officially was charged with three drops by receivers coach Sanjay Lal... Linebacker Troy Davis spent the night in a Baltimore hospital after suffering a chest injury on a blindside hit by the Ravens' Courtney Upshaw... According to ESPNNewYork.com, defensive line coach Karl Dunbar was responsible for the 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty when he obstructed an official on the sideline during a Ravens punt return. Rex Ryan should be ready to pull Geno Smith for Matt Simms (Bob Glauber) Newsday With his season threatening to unravel after two straight lopsided losses and more problems at quarterback, Rex Ryan is ignoring a groundswell of support for a change. He's sticking by rookie Geno Smith despite a dismal series of performances underscored by these eye-opening statistics: one touchdown pass and 10 interceptions in his last six games. Ryan declined to make a quarterback decision immediately after Sunday's 19-3 loss to the Ravens. But after a night of reflection and a review of the game video on Monday, he is staying with Smith. It's the right thing to do, but here's the catch: The turnovers simply cannot go on indefinitely without consequences for the first-year starter. With the Jets still in contention for the AFC's second wild-card spot, and with a playoff-caliber defense, it's just not fair to the rest of his team to keep trotting Smith out there unless he shows improvement. And that starts Sunday against the Dolphins, also 5-6 and fighting for a wild-card spot. If Smith continues to turn over the ball at such an alarming rate, Ryan needs to be ready and willing to make the switch to Matt Simms, even if it's just a short-term move. Give Simms some first-team practice reps this week and have him ready to go. And if Smith throws a couple of interceptions early in Sunday's game and puts the Jets behind at halftime, Ryan is not being fair to his team if he doesn't put Simms in to see if he can light a spark. 5 P a g e

6 Sometimes things get so overwhelming for a young quarterback that there's nothing wrong with seeing things from the sideline. It's one thing to let a guy play his way through a difficult period and another thing completely to keep putting him out there when he's not up to the task. If there's a viable alternative -- and the Jets need to find out if Simms can be that guy -- a coach has to consider it. After all, as much as this season is about finding out about Smith, the Jets' second-round pick, it's also about seeing if Simms might be a part of the future, too. Backups have taken on increasing significance this season in places such as Tampa, where rookie thirdround pick Mike Glennon has emerged after Josh Freeman's ouster, and Tennessee, where Ryan Fitzpatrick has the Titans in playoff contention. It's reasonable to find out if Simms' talent can offer the Jets another option. Looking at this another way, do you think Ryan would be sticking with Smith right now if Mark Sanchez were healthy? The answer is no. Ryan would have had little choice but to put Sanchez in for a struggling Smith. But Sanchez is done for the year and will not throw another pass for the Jets after they release him from his contract in the offseason. So they need to get an accurate assessment of Smith to see if they need to draft another quarterback (they should, especially if a blue-chip passer is available early in the draft). But they also can't ignore the reality that they're in a playoff chase and every victory is precious. That means Ryan, who's fighting for his own future and might be gone if the Jets melt down the rest of the way, can't be stubborn enough to play Smith regardless of how much he struggles. Ryan hasn't been shy about benching cornerback Dee Milliner, a first-round pick, so he shouldn't coddle Smith if his poor play warrants a change. Ryan is correct in giving Smith the chance to right himself at MetLife Stadium, where he has done much better than on the road. Best-case scenario: Smith responds against the Dolphins and buys his team another valuable chunk of playoff equity with a win. But if the turnovers persist and threaten to cost the Jets again, it will be time for Ryan to make a change. THE RECORD Jets report card (J.P. Pelzman) The Record November 26, Running game: C The Jets averaged only 3.1 yards per carry in the first half, and their inability to run more effectively despite numerous snaps from the Wildcat formation consistently put struggling QB Geno Smith in unmanageable third-down situations. Smith had only three carries for 6 yards. He has been escaping the pocket to run less frequently in recent weeks. Passing game: F 6 P a g e

7 Smith threw for only 127 yards, and 92 of those came in the fourth quarter when the outcome already had been decided. The Jets coaching staff recorded three drops committed by Jets receivers, but that wasn t nearly as bad as coach Rex Ryan made it out to be in his postgame news conference. Smith, who was sacked three times and pressured on numerous other occasions, badly underthrew his intended receiver on each of his two interceptions. The Jets were only 1-for-12 on third-down conversions. Run defense: A-plus As usual this season, the Jets were rock-solid in this department. Former Rutgers star Ray Rice was limited to 30 yards on 16 carries, and the Ravens were held to 2.2 yards per attempt. OLB Quinton Coples made a terrific play in the third quarter, dumping backup QB Tyrod Taylor for a 7-yard loss on an attempted end-around. Pass defense: D The Jets harassed Baltimore QB Joe Flacco often, sacking him four times. Star DE Muhammad Wilkerson had two of those, and has a team-high 10 in But the Jets again were victimized by the deep ball, with both CB Dee Milliner and former Baltimore S Ed Reed victimized on a 66-yard scoring pass to Jacoby Jones. And Torrey Smith beat CB Antonio Cromartie for a 60-yard gain to set up a first down. Special teams: C P Ryan Quigley (37.9 yards net) put three punts inside the Baltimore 20. K Nick Folk made his only fieldgoal attempt, connecting from 27 yards. Ineffective blocking by the Jets wedge again was a problem as the explosive Josh Cribbs averaged only 23 yards on four kickoff returns. The punt coverage unit allowed a 37-yard return by Jones. Coaching: D Ryan and defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman had a decent game plan and were able to put some heat on Flacco, but a leaky secondary once again undermined them. Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg did his best to hide Smith s deficiencies by using eight Wildcat plays and even having Cribbs throw a pass to him, but no amount of trickery could make up for the continued abysmal play at quarterback. Ryan has squeezed as much as he can out of this overachieving group, but the tank may be near empty. Sullivan: Time to see what Matt Simms can do for Jets (Tara Sullivan) The Record ml?page=all Rex Ryan needed only one word Monday to close the argument on the Jets starting quarterback for Sunday s upcoming game against Miami. Asked if Geno Smith was still his man a declaration Ryan wasn t ready to make in the immediate aftermath of yet another dismal performance over the weekend in Baltimore Ryan issued a declarative Yes. But don t be fooled into thinking the Jets quarterback situation is that simple. When Ryan went into full filibuster mode to a question about whether he d considered handing the ball to backup Matt Simms when the coach danced, sidestepped and waffled his way around giving an actual answer he did more to reveal the team s growing uncertainty about their starter than any tepid endorsement is supposed to convince us otherwise. 7 P a g e

8 From the play-calling to the tap dancing to the insistence on blame-sharing filling the Jets hallways, it has become very clear that confidence in Smith is wavering. And who would argue? The rookie is floundering (one touchdown and 10 interceptions in the last six games make that clear), and he s taking the offense, as well as the team, down with him. Yes, there are many, many reasons for Smith s struggles, a healthy portion of which have nothing to do with his extensive skill set or his admirable maturity. He has no great weapons around him. He has no great protection in front of him. He has no reservoir of experience inside him, no doorway through the rookie wall near him. Despite his best efforts to practice, study and prepare, he is at times overwhelmed and overmatched. Which is why he is ready for a timeout. At least he should be. Under a franchise mantra that insists competition is ongoing at all times at every position, Smith continues to escaped the consequence that struck teammates like Dee Milliner or Vlad Ducasse, both of whom lost their starting jobs at some point this season. The Jets are obviously hamstrung by their own roster makeup, leaving themselves with a backup QB even less experienced than the starter, and a thirdstringer (David Garrard) who has nothing left in the tank and is here to mentor Smith rather than threaten his job. But this is what they have. So the suggestion from here? Give Simms a shot. I can understand either way. It s a very tough decision, Matt s brother Chris Simms said by phone Monday. Eight years Matt s senior, Chris spent seven years playing quarterback in the NFL with the Bucs, Titans and Broncos. Growing up in Franklin Lakes in the shadow of the Giants Stadium field their father Phil played on, the Simms boys understand the rigors of the job. They were taught from birth to understand that a quarterback gets more credit than he usually deserves, and more blame, too. That s why Chris can see the complexity of the Jets dilemma. Listen, they drafted Geno in the second round, they re 5-6 and in the thick of the playoff hunt with Geno, Chris said. First and foremost, I think not only me, but my dad and my brother have the utmost respect for Geno Smith, and not only as a quarterback, but as a guy. He s been great to my brother. I know my brother really likes him. They have a great relationship. Geno has done a good job and done some really good things. People forget there s not a whole lot of talent on that offense. No matter who s in there, they re going to have struggles. There are compelling arguments to be made both ways. If the Jets are truly trying to figure out whether Smith is the answer for their future, then keeping him on the field is important. But what they ve done with their offense the past few games has turned Smith into a place-holder of sorts, a game manager barely in position to manage the game. On Sunday, they put him out wide to catch a Wildcat pass from Josh Cribbs and absorb the requisite tackle. And when he s under center, teams are well aware he isn t going to pass the Jets out of any tough situations. They are stacking the box on us. We ve kind of become a one-trick pony so to speak right now, guard Willie Colon said. Perhaps Simms, with his rocket arm, would throw a new scare into defenses. Though he is indisputably inexperienced, the common and logical thinking among fans has to be: How much worse can he be? 8 P a g e

9 His arm is big time, there s no disputing that, Chris said. Matt is a guy that was a little unfortunate in his college career in that he never got a chance to play a whole lot. He s inexperienced not only in the NFL, but he didn t even get a lot of college experience. He does have the talent to be a really good NFL quarterback, though. More than anything, he s ecstatic about this whole year, to be on this team with top-notch coaches. From the first day of training camp, Matt s focus was solely on making the team rather than looking forward to a first NFL start. For him, step one was getting a foot in the door, Chris said. But now he s in the room, and with the Jets offense having left the building, why not give him a chance? It s like I m living vicariously through him, said Chris, who planned to head to New Jersey this afternoon with his wife and two children, ready for a Simms family Thanksgiving. I couldn t be happier for him. He s worked so hard, had a lot of tough breaks in a short football career, but has always had a really good way about him. Geno Smith remains Jets starting quarterback for Sunday (J.P. Pelzman) The Record FLORHAM PARK - Jets coach Rex Ryan said Monday that Geno Smith will be the starting quarterback when they host the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Smith has struggled mightily in his six last games, throwing only one touchdown pass while committing 11 turnovers during that span. He had a 22.3 passer rating in the Jets 19-3 loss at Baltimore on Sunday. Right now, I would feel he gives us the best chance to win, Ryan said of Smith. The coach avoided the question when asked if he had given serious consideration to starting former Don Bosco standout Matt Simms. Ryan, as he did immediately after the loss to Ravens, pointed out that the offense s problems are not about the individual, meaning the Jets also need better play from their receivers and offensive line. When asked why he still remains confident in Smith, Ryan said, I see it on the practice field. I know the team has confidence in him and I have confidence in him. STAR-LEDGER Jets' Troy Davis spends night in Baltimore hospital after blindside hit (Michael Fensom) Star-Ledger blindside_hit.html After absorbing a vicious blindside hit during the third quarter of the Jets' loss to the Ravens, Jets rookie linebacker Troy Davis spent the night in a Baltimore hospital as a precaution due to a chest contusion. Davis was released today and has returned to New Jersey, according to an ESPN report, which stated he passed exams on his heart. 9 P a g e

10 The Jets did not offer an update on Davis' condition today. Rex Ryan said only that the injury was a "real unfortunate thing." Davis' head was pointed at the Ravens' returner while trying to cover a punt when Courtney Upshaw, a Ravens linebacker, sent Davis sprawling. Upon returning to the Jets sideline, Davis was on a knee, seemingly gasping for breath or vomiting as the Jets training staff gathering around him. He was taken to the Jets locker room moments later and did not return to the game. "I know the NFL is really trying to clean up those kind of hits, the defenseless players and all that," Ryan said. "It wasn't a penalty at the time, but it's certainly something where he got injured." Upshaw was not flagged for the hit by officials, but the play clearly irritated the Jets sideline. A Jets coach edged closer to the field, pointing at Davis lying on the turf. That coach was flagged 15 yards for interfering with the path of an official running up the sideline. "At the time I thought it was" a penalty, Ryan explained," "but I don't have a great view of things. Apparently one of my coaches wanted to get a better view." A video of the play can be seen here near the 1:15 mark. Rex Ryan sticks with Geno Smith as Jets' starter, tries to put rookie's struggles in context (Darryl Slater) Star-Ledger November 26, put_rookies_struggles_in_context.html The Jets defense met Monday and did a walk-through of the plays on which it made glaring mistakes in Sunday s 19-3 loss at Baltimore. The walk-through was three plays, said defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson. Defense did our job. The Ravens gained 312 yards 126 of which came on a 60-yard completion and a 66-yard touchdown pass. The Jets defense reviewed those two plays Monday, along with a mistake on a read option, Wilkerson said. The defense has done it part for most of the year, though deep balls continue to be a problem. The Jets rank first in the NFL with 72.6 rushing yards allowed per game. The next-closest team, Arizona, has surrendered There are going to be sometimes when the defense has to carry the load until the offense gets righted, and vice versa, said Jets coach Rex Ryan. But in the NFL, teams can rarely mask poor quarterback play. And the Jets rookie quarterback, Geno Smith, has done little to inspire since Oct. 7, when he led the Jets to a Monday night victory at Atlanta a game that seems like it happened a long time ago. It is a long time ago, Smith said. In the six games since, Smith has thrown one touchdown, run for two and committed 11 turnovers, including 10 interceptions. He has completed 50 percent of his passes, including 39 percent in the past three games 8 of 19, 8 of 23 and 9 of 22. In the past four games, as the Jets went 1-3, they scored four touchdowns a Smith run, two Chris Ivory runs and a pass by unproven backup quarterback Matt Simms. 10 P a g e

11 With the 5-6 Jets desperate for a win to stay alive in the race for the AFC s final wildcard spot, Ryan said Monday he is sticking with Smith as his starter for Sunday s game against Miami (5-6), despite Smith committing six turnovers (five picks) in the past two games. (The NFL changed the scoring Monday on Smith s botched-snap fumble against the Ravens, and charged center Nick Mangold with the fumble.) Ryan said Smith s starting status is not guaranteed, because if a guy is struggling, anybody can get benched. The coach did not mince words while saying we ve got to get more production out of the quarterback position. But he also said Smith s recently meager stat line doesn t paint the whole picture. Ryan said drops and imprecise route-running did not help Smith s cause Sunday. Wide receiver David Nelson said his position coach, Sanjay Lal, determined after watching film that the Jets receivers dropped three passes against the Ravens. We were trying to make big plays as a receiving group, instead of just taking what was given to us, Nelson said. We just became way too impatient. Maybe that means you re not completely looking the ball all the way in. Maybe that means you re not running your routes to the full depth because you re trying to get to a spot, to kind of speed things up. Ryan said ineffective pass protection has also plagued Smith lately. Two weeks ago, Buffalo sacked him four times. Baltimore had three sacks. Buffalo hurried Smith 11 times, Baltimore 14 times, according to Pro Football Focus. We have to protect better, right guard Willie Colon said. He's forced to make some throws, and a lot of things are coming at him. Up front, we've got to help him out. But we're not. That's the disappointing part. We're not giving him the time he needs. Football is a nuanced game, so there will always be mitigating factors. While Ryan emphasized offensive shortcomings besides Smith s play, perhaps to deflect criticism from a struggling rookie, he also bemoaned how Smith failed to take advantage of a blown coverage on his second pick Sunday a 35- yard deep ball to the end zone. Smith tried to feather the pass to Greg Salas instead of driving the ball in there, Ryan said. Sometimes, it s like: Pull the trigger, Ryan said. He s got to learn from that. If a guy blows a coverage, you ve got to fire it in there. Ryan went out of his way Monday to say film review showed Smith s pocket awareness was better at Baltimore than at Buffalo. He remained in the pocket and stepped up to escape pressure at the proper times. He took off running when the moment required it. He also threw the ball away when coverage was too tight, Ryan said. This season has been a constant balance for Smith learning, while trying to win, all with no safety net (or threat) of a legitimate understudy. For whatever growth he has made, the facts remain. Smith has 22 turnovers and 18 picks this year. In the three games the Jets lost to 5-6 teams also chasing the second AFC wildcard Pittsburgh, Tennessee and Baltimore Smith threw one touchdown and had eight turnovers (six picks). More of that Sunday against Miami, and the Jets could be cooked in this playoff chase. With the Jets at a tiebreaker disadvantage to the Steelers, Titans and Ravens, and December nearing, their season seems to be on the line Sunday. Without being too dramatic, Nelson said, I definitely think so." 11 P a g e

12 Stephen Hill's snaps nearly cut in half against Ravens (Michael Fensom) Star-Ledger ml With their passing game struggling, the Jets redistributed snaps among their wide receivers Sunday in Baltimore against the Ravens. The shuffle indicates the Jets have been displeased with the unit's production in recent games -- since Week 4, the Jets have topped the 200-yard passing mark just once. The moves, however, did not yield results. The unit netted just three catches Sunday. As had been teased last week, Stephen Hill's snaps were cut this week, perhaps more drastically than the second-year receiver anticipated. Marty Mornhinweg said Hill would only lose snaps in practice. Rex Ryan, though, said the Jets would consider demoting Hill from the starting lineup. Ultimately, the Jets docked Hill's play nearly in half in Baltimore. Hill participated in 88 percent of the Jets' snaps in Buffalo in Week the most among Jets receivers -- but only 46 percent Sunday. David Nelson's participation also slid, from 83 percent to 70 percent of the snaps against the Ravens, though the number was the second highest on the Jets. Neither Hill nor Nelson, who had a team-high five targets, recorded a catch Sunday. Hill has not caught a pass in the Jets' last three games. Greg Salas received the biggest jump in playing time. He participated in 39 plays Sunday, or 68 percent of the Jets' output -- nearly double the amount of time he spent on the field in Buffalo a week earlier. Salas led the Jets Sunday with 48 receiving yards, including a 30-yard gain on one of his two receptions. Santonio Holmes topped with the Jets with 43 snaps, or 75 percent of the 57 plays the Jets ran against the Ravens. As intimated by Ryan, Kellen Winslow had a slightly bigger role in the Jets offense Sunday in his second game since a return from a four-game suspension. Winslow participated in a third of the Jets' plays Sunday, up from 19 percent the week before. Winslow led Jets tight ends with four targets, as well as two catches from 34 yards -- the second-most for Jets receivers. Bilal Powell participated in 74 percent of snaps, though Chris Ivory picked up a left ankle sprain on his first carry Sunday. On defense, Ed Reed was on the field for 62 of 64 plays against his former teammates. Reed's play count jumped from 88 percent participation in Buffalo to 98 percent in Baltimore. NEW YORK POST Deflecting blame from QB, Rex says Smith still starter (Brian Costello) New York Post Geno Smith can be thankful Thursday he s still the starting quarterback for the Jets. Coach Rex Ryan announced Monday Smith will start Sunday against the Dolphins despite Smith s poor play in back-to-back losses the past two weeks and the drop-off in his performance over the past six games. 12 P a g e

13 Right now I would feel that he gives us the best chance to win, Ryan said. According to a source, the Jets had no serious discussions about benching Smith in favor of Matt Simms. Ryan danced around most of the questions thrown his way during his Monday news conference. When asked if general manager John Idzik would have to sign off on any decision he made about the quarterback, Ryan said he would consult with a number of people, not mentioning Idzik. If it would be a big decision on those things, whether it s at corner or quarterback, it s not just I m going to say this guy is going to play or whatever that s it because I m the head coach, Ryan said. Smith s teammates supported the rookie Monday, saying all the right things despite knowing they can t win if he plays as he did in Sunday s 19-3 loss to the Ravens. Smith completed 9-of-22 for 127 yards and threw two interceptions. His 22.3 passer rating was actually an upgrade from last week s 10.1 against the Bills. I didn t do enough, didn t get the job done, Smith said. We didn t score a touchdown, so that s never good. Just didn t do enough. We ve got to figure out ways to just get better and to put points on the board. It s pretty simple. It hasn t looked simple for Smith, though. He has not thrown a touchdown pass since the first quarter of the Oct. 20 game against the Patriots. Since his best performance of the season against the Falcons on Oct. 7, he has thrown one touchdown and 10 interceptions. His 18 interceptions are the most in the NFL. Ryan insists it s not all Smith s fault. He blames the offensive line and the wide receivers. It s surprising Ryan doesn t blame the team s equipment manager for Smith s helmet being too tight. He seems to blame everyone but Smith. The stats are out there for the public awareness, but it doesn t paint the whole picture, Ryan said. It s certainly not on one guy. When you look at the numbers [it may look like] boy, that guy really struggled. But there s a reason. Some of it is protection. Some of it is dropping footballs. Some of it is a poor throw. Some of it is running not a precise route. There s a lot of factors involved in it. Ryan, sounding just as he did when he supported a struggling Mark Sanchez, said he still believes in Smith. I see it on the practice field, he said. At times, Geno s done a nice job here. I think the team has confidence in him and I have confidence in him. Smith was sacked three times by the Ravens. The Jets have surrendered 38 sacks this season and are the worst in the league in sacks per pass play. Geno is more than capable, guard Willie Colon said. I have a lot of faith in him, but up front we ve got to help him out and we re not. That s the disappointing part right now. It s no secret how teams are now attacking the Jets. They are loading up to stop the run and then blitzing Smith. Until the Jets can prove they can throw it deep and throw it effectively, teams will continue to concentrate on stopping the run. Teams are stacking the box against us, Colon said. We ve kind of become a one-trick pony right now. It is what it is. Ryan went out of his way to protect Smith, repeatedly saying it s not all his fault. I don t see it about the one man, Ryan said. It s not about the one individual. 13 P a g e

14 Ryan could be signing own death sentence (George Willis) New York Post Rex Ryan is sticking with Geno Smith for now, but at this rate it won t be long before the head coach might be risking his own job to protect Smith s. Amid the carnage of the Jets 19-3 loss to the Ravens on Sunday in Baltimore, Ryan said he saw enough good things in Smith s performance to keep him as the starting quarterback for Sunday s game against the Dolphins at MetLife Stadium. He talked about Smith s pocket awareness and stepping up at the appropriate time and bailing out at the appropriate time. The coach also emphasized the Jets recent struggles in losing three of their last four games can t solely be blamed on Smith, who hasn t thrown a touchdown pass since Oct. 20, and has had quarterback ratings of 10.1 and 22.3 in back-to-back losses. The areas of concern are not at one position, Ryan said. The coach even pointed to inconsistent pass protection, dropped passes and bad routes as contributing factors for Smith s league-high 18 interceptions. Our team understands this is about us, Ryan said in spreading the blame. A good coach never singles out a player. But if Smith s play doesn t improve and the Jets continue this tailspin, it hurts Ryan s chances of coming back as the head coach next season. It was only a few weeks ago, Ryan appeared to be a lock to come back. The Jets had just beaten the Saints and were 5-4 after defeating the Patriots two weeks earlier. But the shine is gone after consecutive losses to the Bills and the Ravens, games in which Smith threw a total of five interceptions. Another dreadful performance against the Dolphins could not only eliminate any hopes of making the playoffs, but also rekindle discussion of whether Ryan is the right coach for this franchise. It seems almost unfair to tie Ryan s future to Smith s performances. He has built the league s best run defense, though the secondary remains a work in progress, and he has generally had the Jets performing better than anyone expected. Marty Mornhinweg is entrusted with the offense and finding a way to guide Smith through games. But the quarterback s performance has been so woeful of late, it reflects poorly on Ryan, who might also have to keep his locker room from becoming divided between a defense grumbling about the offense and the offense grumbling about the quarterback. Defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson mentioned his unit made only three bad plays in the loss, while Smith seemed to be talking about dropped passes when he said: When it s there the great ones make the play and we ve got to make those plays. Ryan insists there will be no division in the locker room. This team is close, he said. There s always going to be ups and downs with each unit. But there are five more games to go and Smith seems to be regressing instead of getting better even though he insists he is. I ve grown and I ve learned from every single mistake, he said. 14 P a g e

15 Ryan said any switch at quarterback would be made with input from the coaching staff. For now, he is sticking with Smith and ignoring the critics who are calling for backup Matt Simms to get a shot. Smith is ignoring them, too. I completely shut it out, the quarterback said. One, you have to. Two, I always will because I know what it takes to win and what it takes to be a good quarterback and it doesn t have anything to do with anything outside of this building. It takes preparation and hard work and that s what I ll continue to do. The preparation and hard work better start paying off soon or Smith and Ryan could each be out of a job. Jets ignore calls for Geno to be benched (Brian Lewis) New York Post With the Jets offense struggling and their rookie quarterback slumping, Gang Green has more to worry about than just their opponents on Sundays. They have to block out calls for Geno Smith s job outside of the locker room, and beware of finger-pointing inside it, if they have any hopes of righting their season. We ve got to stay together. People are going to try to break the team apart, try to point the finger, Muhammad Wilkerson said. We ve got to stay the course and win these five games. The Jets find themselves 5-6 with their playoff hopes on life support coming into Sunday s game against Miami. Their stout defense has been undermined often by a subpar offense, but the defense has been careful to try to avoid the inter-unit infighting that cropped up last year and the previous season. Rex Ryan said having outside voices chipping away at morale or the defense growing frustrated with the offense has to be guarded against at all cost. As far as the outside forces influencing our team, absolutely, said Ryan. My team is close; this team is close. And there s always going to be ups and downs with each unit, whether its special teams, offense, defense or whatever. There s going to be some times when the defense has to carry the load until the offense gets righted, and vice versa. And I know the way the game is played, I know sometimes there s outside influences [that] can try to chip away at your team, at the foundation of your team, and I certainly don t need that. The message from in the locker room after Smith s two-interception game in Sunday s 19-3 loss at Baltimore was so similar from player to player, it seemed more rehearsed than a basic play in training camp. We ve all got to do our part. It s not just one guy out there. We all have to do our part. We ve all got to be on the same page, we all have to be doing the right thing, said center Nick Mangold, who has shepherded young quarterbacks before and says a huge key is keeping Smith from listening to the clamor for his job. You try to keep his head where it needs to be, Mangold said. You can t listen to the outside forces, and so far I think he s done a good job of that. But continue to impress upon him that we have to do our part, all 11 guys. It s not just him. Smith who leads the NFL in turnovers and interceptions said he s done just that. 15 P a g e

16 Yeah, I completely shut it out, said Smith. One, you have to. And two, I always will because I know what it takes to win and what it takes to be a good quarterback, and it doesn t have anything to do with anything outside of this building. It takes preparation and hard work so that s something I ll continue to do. [I m] just sticking to what I know, which is to always believe in myself, my teammates and my coaches. We re surrounded by a bunch of great coaches here which remain to keep our confidence high even in tough times. We re a team and we stick together. Rex: Wideouts have to help out Geno (Brian Costello) New York Post Jets quarterback Geno Smith has taken most of the blame for Sunday s loss to the Ravens, but the men he s throwing the ball to say you can point the finger at them, too. We have to do a better job of catching the ball when the ball is thrown our way and continue to manage the game, wide receiver David Nelson said. I think yesterday we were trying to press a little too much. We were trying to make plays as a receiving group instead of just taking what was given to us. We got way too impatient and were trying to press too much. Nelson had no catches in the 19-3 loss despite being targeted five times. Stephen Hill also had no catches, and Santonio Holmes had just one for 12 yards. Greg Salas was the top wide receiver with two catches for 48 yards. After the game, coach Rex Ryan said the receivers have to do a better job of catching the ball. Nelson said they had three drops. We ve got some veteran guys in here, but we also have some younger guys who are trying to take it upon themselves to make a big play, trying to make a 5-yard play into a 60-yard play, Nelson said. Maybe that means you re not completely looking a ball all the way in. Maybe that means you re not running your routes to full depth because you re trying to get to a spot to speed things up because maybe the pressure s been getting to him too much. Ryan said one of the problems last week was that due to injuries with Holmes and tight end Kellen Winslow and Nelson s illness there was no rhythm to be found in practice because they could not keep the same players out there. I think we have weapons, Ryan said. I think we need more consistency. RG Willie Colon has seen the other teams the Jets are competing with for a playoff spot and he believes the Jets need to improve their effort. We see other teams that are fighting for the same spot. They re playing harder, Colon said. They re playing faster. They re executing better. Right now, we re stagnant. We just have to do better. I think we re coming out with a lot of intensity, heart and fire but we re not playing good football for four quarters and that s hurting us right now. LB Troy Davis suffered a chest injury on a hit from Ravens LB Courtney Upshaw on a Jets punt Sunday. Davis had to stay overnight in Baltimore in the hospital, but returned to New Jersey on Monday. The Jets clearly think it should have been a penalty. 16 P a g e

17 I m not going to get into me judging officials, Ryan said. At the time I thought it was [a penalty] but I don t have a great view of things. The Jets actually got flagged on the play for unsportsmanlike conduct. when one of their coaches collided with an official tracking the play. Ryan offered no injury updates on Davis or any of the other injured players, including CB Antonio Cromartie (hip) and RB Chris Ivory (ankle). The team is required to provide an injury report Wednesday. Jets winners & losers: Matt Simms gaining popularity (Brian Costello) New York Post The Jets lost 19-3 to the Ravens on Sunday, losing in consecutive weeks for the first time this season. Here is a look at the winners and losers from the game: Winners THE D LINE: Every week the only consistent group on the Jets is this one. Muhammad Wilkerson added two more sacks to bring his season total to 10 and Sheldon Richardson had three tackles for a loss. The Jets bottled up the Ravens run game, holding them to 2.2 yards per carry, and sacked Joe Flacco four times. RYAN QUIGLEY: You know it was a rough game when I have to go to the punter for one of the winners. Quigley had three punts inside the 20 and hit a career-long 67-yard punt. He averaged 51.4 yards per punt. MATT SIMMS: No one in sports is more popular than the backup quarterback and Simms is mighty popular right now with Jets fans. As Geno Smith continues to sink, Simms stock continues to rise. It still seems unlikely the Jets will bench Smith for Simms, but it has to be on the table after the way Smith has played the past two weeks. Losers GENO SMITH: The rookie s play has regressed to the point that if he played like this in the preseason, the Jets would have been crushed for drafting him. His quarterback rating of 22.3 in the game was a joke you can t win with a quarterback playing that way. His total of 127 yards is even deceiving because he picked up 85 of those on the final two drives when the game was over. Two more interceptions brought the total to a league-high 18. He better find some answers soon. WIDE RECEIVERS: Smith is not the only one to blame for the Jets struggles. Their wide receivers are terrible right now. Greg Salas had two catches and Santonio Holmes had one. That is the total production the Jets got out of the group. David Nelson and Stephen Hill each had no catches. The receivers never seem to make a play to help the struggling Smith out. You d like to see them win a battle for a ball with a defensive back or make a diving catch, but they never seem to make a big play. MARTY MORNHINWEG: Seven pass attempts in the first half? More Wildcat than the 2008 Dolphins would like? The play-calling was suspect Sunday as Mornhinweg tries to keep the offense simple enough for Smith and also complex enough to actually work. Whatever they re doing right now, it s not working. Mornhinweg must figure something out quickly. You do feel for the guy. He is like an accomplished painter who only has crayons to work with right now. 17 P a g e