NEW YORK JETS DAILY CLIPS

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1 NEW YORK JETS DAILY CLIPS December 3, 2014 Table of Contents ASSOCIATED PRESS... 2 Jets' Folk (hip flexor), Salas (hamstring) injured (Dennis Waszak)... 2 Jets' Ryan says he's 'embarrassed' by 2-10 season (Dennis Waszak)... 3 NEWSDAY... 4 Rex Ryan 'embarrassed' by Jets' 2-10 record (Kimberley Martin)... 4 THE RECORD... 5 Jets: Matt Simms not in the game plan (J.P. Pelzman)... 5 Jets report card: vs. Dolphins (J.P. Pelzman)... 6 Jets vs. Vikings breakdown (J.P. Pelzman)... 7 NJ ADVANCE MEDIA... 8 Would Jets have won more this year if they leaned on running game like they did vs. Miami Dolphins? (Darryl Slater)... 8 What does Eric Decker think about his wife saying he is 'depressed' over Jets' dreadful season? (Darryl Slater)... 9 When is last time a team had a run/pass ratio as lopsided as the Jets vs. Miami Dolphins? (Darryl Slater)... 9 Should Jets retain Chris Johnson? 'It's not like I'm going in there and (expletive) stuff up,' he says (Darryl Slater) Did Jets run ball so much against Miami Dolphins because they lack faith in Geno Smith? (Dom Cosentino) Jets injury update for Minnesota Vikings week: Nick Folk, Muhammad Wilkerson, Jace Amaro, Greg Salas (Darryl Slater) Jon Gruden, who praises everyone, rips Jets general manager John Idzik (Dom Cosentino) Rex Ryan on Jets' 2-10 season: 'I'm embarrassed' (Dom Cosentino) NEW YORK POST Wife: Eric Decker depressed over awful Jets (Justin Terranova) Jets rewind: Run-heavy was right call, and that s the problem (Brian Costello) The one big blind spot that likely will cost Rex Ryan his job (Kevin Kernan) After 40 years, Jets still searching for the next Namath (Brian Costello) Hip flexor injury may sideline Jets kicker Nick Folk (Kevin Kernan) NEW YORK DAILY NEWS NY Jets find home in Smithsonian s Museum of American History thanks to Fred Savage s mom (Bernie Augustine) NY Jets coach Rex Ryan feels he let down Woody Johnson and fans (Seth Walder) NY Jets owner Woody Johnson must understand John Idzik is real person who's responsible (Manish Mehta) NEW YORK TIMES P a g e

2 Ground Game Took the Jets on a Road to Nowhere (Ben Shpigel) Mercy for a Partnership That Was Not Meant to Be (Harvey Araton) WALL STREET JOURNAL Geno Smith Can t Get off Runway as Jets Lose to Dolphins (Stu Woo) Geno Smith s Quiet Night in Miami Goes Down in NFL History (Michael Salfino) Ryan Not Running From Geno (Stu Woo) ESPN NEW YORK Joe Namath on the Jets: 'This is not working' (Rich Cimini) Geno Smith's latest curious decision: Skipping pre-game intros (Rich Cimini) PK Nick Folk battling hip-flexor injury (Rich Cimini) Rex Ryan 'embarrassed' by loss (Rich Cimini) METRO NEW YORK Jets veteran: We've packed it in, waived the white flag (Kristian Dyer) TUESDAY S SPORTS TRANSACTIONS ASSOCIATED PRESS Jets' Folk (hip flexor), Salas (hamstring) injured (Dennis Waszak) Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) Jets kicker Nick Folk has a hip flexor injury and his status for New York's game at Minnesota on Sunday is uncertain. The usually reliable Folk missed two field goals against Miami on Monday night, and had another kick barely clear the crossbar. Coach Rex Ryan was not sure when Folk was hurt in the Jets' loss or whether the injury contributed to his bad night. "After the game, he informed us that he was having some discomfort in his hip," Ryan said. "We'll have to monitor that throughout the week." Folk came in with two missed field goals all season, but was wide left on a 48-yard attempt in the second quarter. His 45-yarder in the third quarter barely made it, and Folk ended up on the ground after some contact. He was then wide left again on another 45-yarder, which would have given the Jets the lead with 5:42 left. Ryan also said wide receiver Greg Salas has a hamstring injury that "doesn't look good." Salas left the game right after scoring on a 20-yard end-around reverse for his first NFL touchdown that gave the Jets a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. "I think he's got a hamstring tear," Ryan said before backtracking. "I don't know if it's a tear, but he's got a hamstring. So, we'll see how it progresses, but that doesn't look good." Defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson missed the game with turf toe, but Ryan said he was out of a walking boot Monday. It's uncertain if he'll be ready to play against the Vikings. 2 P a g e

3 Rookie tight end Jace Amaro, who also sat out with a concussion, is still going through the NFL's protocol for head injuries. He needs to be cleared by doctors before he can practice again. Jets' Ryan says he's 'embarrassed' by 2-10 season (Dennis Waszak) Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) Staring at the New York Jets' 2-10 record, no one is happy these days. Not the players, not the people who root for them, and certainly not coach Rex Ryan. "I'm embarrassed for myself, absolutely," Ryan said during a conference call Tuesday. "It's an embarrassment. It's definitely embarrassing to me. I feel like I've let my owner down. I've let our fan base down." Ryan could be facing his final four games with the franchise he led to consecutive AFC title games in his first two years. New York will miss the postseason for the fourth straight time, and owner Woody Johnson will have some huge decisions to make. Ryan and general manager John Idzik have been widely criticized for leading a team with the second-worst record in the NFL tied with the likes of Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and Tennessee. One group of fed-up fans started a website calling for Idzik to be fired and raised money to put up billboards near MetLife Stadium. The latest insists Johnson should sell the team if he doesn't fire Idzik after this season. After controlling the clock and the ground game for most of the night, the Jets made too many mistakes in the end to hold on in a loss to the Miami Dolphins on Monday in front of a nearly half-empty stadium. It's a far cry from just a few years ago, when Ryan was a larger-than-life figure in New York-area sports, appearing on late-night television programs, getting a cameo in an Adam Sandler movie and being a bestselling author with a book tour. Now, in his sixth season, Ryan gets questions that once seemed so unimaginable: Does he think he'll be back with the Jets next season? "It's easy for me to pick, to say, 'Yeah, absolutely,'" Ryan said. "But I get it. The year hasn't gone anywhere close to what we were thinking. I'm going to focus on beating Minnesota. I'm not worried about anything else but that." These last four games might be sort of an audition for Ryan, who could be a prime candidate to land another job as a head coach or defensive coordinator in the NFL. Or maybe even a high-paying TV gig. "I don't think that way," Ryan insisted. "My job is not to worry about myself. My job is to get this team prepared to the best of my ability, and that's what I plan on doing." So, next up for Ryan and the Jets are the Vikings in Minnesota. Geno Smith, who threw just 13 passes Monday, will get the start again. Smith was benched for three games in favor of Michael Vick before Monday. Leading up to the game, Ryan said the switch back to Smith was the right move for the team, presumably so the Jets could further evaluate the second-year quarterback. 3 P a g e

4 Then, Smith was just 7 of 13 for 65 yards as New York ran the ball 49 times for 277 yards to try to offset Miami's tough pass rush. So, did Ryan learn anything about Smith's performance? "No, he only threw 13 passes," Ryan joked. "I'm just kidding. I know you guys don't see the humor in it, but to me I do, because you guys seem to think that the game plan was for us to just throw 13 passes. That wasn't the game plan. The game plan was to try to establish the run, and when you have that kind of success running, that helps the football team, and that's why we stayed the course." Ryan insisted the run-heavy approach wasn't an indication that the Jets have no faith in Smith's ability to make plays with his arm. But Smith had only eight attempts the entire game until the Jets' final drive which ended with an interception, Smith's 11th of the season. "Again, we weren't trying to just put Geno Smith back there 13 times," Ryan said. "If that's the case, if we can run for 300 yards again this week, I would love to sign up for it. We're just trying to find a way to give us a chance to win the football game, and I thought we did that. It's just unfortunate we came up short." NEWSDAY Rex Ryan 'embarrassed' by Jets' 2-10 record (Kimberley Martin) Newsday Rex Ryan wishes things could be different, but the reality is the Jets are And that's hard for him to stomach. "I'm embarrassed for myself, absolutely,'' Ryan said Tuesday. "I feel like I let my owner [Woody Johnson] down, I've let our fan base down. Yeah, of course. There's no doubt.'' In the aftermath of Monday night's loss to the Dolphins, Ryan called the Jets' record "a joke'' and expressed disbelief over their situation. But there was nothing funny about how the Jets blew a winnable game. Despite a advantage in rushing yards and a edge in total yards, the Jets were doomed by their special-teams play. They missed two field-goal attempts and let a punt be partially blocked. But surprisingly, they ensured the football would be taken out of Geno Smith's hands for much of the night. Smith was 3-for-6 for 22 yards in the first half and finished with an NFL season-low 13 passes. When asked Tuesday if the Jets learned anything from Smith's performance, Ryan said: "No, because he only threw it 13 times. I'm just kidding.'' Although visibly frustrated by postgame questions about the coaching staff not trusting Smith, Ryan stressed Tuesday that the Jets "never went into the game thinking we were going to throw 13 times.'' Ryan understood the questions about the lack of play-action passes, and some of his players, including wide receiver Eric Decker, wondered about that, too. Ryan insisted other factors prevented them from incorporating those play calls. Smith's last-minute interception ended the Jets' hopes. Does Ryan trust him to make the proper decisions under duress? 4 P a g e

5 "Yeah,'' Ryan said. "But I'll say this, it's a difficult thing to do for any quarterback when you're [facing] a team that can rush the passer the way they can.'' Regardless of who starts at quarterback, it's clear Ryan is running out of head-coaching lives after losing 10 of the last 11 games. He was spared two years ago when general manager Mike Tannenbaum was fired following a 6-10 finish, and again after last season, when the Jets were 8-8. Asked about his job security, Ryan joked: "It is easy for me to pick, to say, 'Yeah, absolutely.' But I get it, the year hasn't gone anywhere close to what we were thinking. I'm going to focus on beating Minnesota. I'm not worried about anything else but that. There is where it is.'' Folk hurt. Nick Folk didn't offer any excuses after missing two field goals Monday, but Tuesday Ryan said the kicker has a hip flexor injury. Ryan said he was unaware of the "discomfort'' Folk felt in his hip until after the game. The usually reliable Folk nailed field goals of 40 and 45 yards but missed from 45 and 48. The 45-yard miss came with the score tied at 13 and 5:42 to play. Ryan also said WR Greg Salas "doesn't look good'' after suffering a hamstring injury on his 20-yard endaround touchdown in the first quarter. "I think he's got a hamstring tear,'' Ryan said, before quickly backtracking. "I don't know if it's a tear, but he's got a hamstring. So we'll see how it progresses.''... DE Muhammad Wilkerson (turf toe) is walking without a boot, but it's unclear if he'll be able to play Sunday... Rookie TE Jace Amaro is still going through the concussion protocol. THE RECORD Jets: Matt Simms not in the game plan (J.P. Pelzman) The Record Every time the Jets have made a choice at quarterback this season, coach Rex Ryan has characterized it as a "Jet decision," indicating that it wasn t made by one person, but by a consensus of opinions among the coaching staff and front office. The problem is these "Jet decisions" aren t helping the team as it attempts to move forward from a lost season and begin evaluating personnel for the 2015 campaign. The latest example came Monday night, when the team reinstated Geno Smith as starting quarterback, only to relegate him to being even less than a game manager. He was a handoff machine as the Jets had a whopping 49 rushing plays. Ryan had said last week he was "excited" to see how Smith would bounce back after having been benched for three weeks, but the game plan gave the second-year signal-caller very little chance to do that. Yes, one can argue that the run-oriented plan gave the Jets the best chance to win, given Smith s poor play this season. And he certainly didn t distinguish himself on the rare occasions when he dropped back, missing a wide-open Percy Harvin in the first half and throwing the game-sealing interception on the final drive of the game. So why start Smith in the first place? Ryan again sidestepped a question on a conference call Tuesday about whether he believes Smith gives them a better chance to win a game than veteran Michael Vick, who had started three consecutive games while Smith was on the sideline. 5 P a g e

6 At this point, with the Jets having disintegrated to 2-10, why not give former Don Bosco star Matt Simms a chance? It s unclear if Simms would be any better, given his inconsistent play during his brief stints in regular-season games. But could that option be any worse than putting Smith out there, then asking him to be the football version of a mannequin? Ryan said last week he intended to give more playing time to some of the youngsters on the team, and the Jets did so against Miami. But it sounds as if Simms won t be included in that youth movement. Ryan gave faint praise to Simms on Tuesday when asked about possibly playing the Franklin Lakes native. "As I ve always said, I believe Matt can be a good quarterback in this league," Ryan said, "but right now I feel real comfortable with Geno Smith and Michael Vick. They re the ones that give us the best shot to win." Thus, the Jets benched one of those two and rarely allowed the other to actually throw the ball. "I think Matt has a shot to be a good quarterback" eventually, Ryan added. Of course, that would be long after Ryan isn t the coach anymore. But it might help the Jets as an organization to find out a little more quickly whether Simms at least could be an option as a competent backup going forward, even if they discover he isn t starting material. BRIEFS: Ryan said K Nick Folk suffered an injury to his hip flexor during the loss Monday, when he was hit by Miami s Brent Grimes on a follow-through. His status for Sunday s game at Minnesota is uncertain. The Jets worked out Andrew Furney on Tuesday. Furney was with the team during training camp. Ryan said DE Muhammad Wilkerson (toe), who missed the Miami game, is out of his walking boot. Still, it s unclear if he ll be able to play against the Vikings. Jets report card: vs. Dolphins (J.P. Pelzman) The Record Rushing offense: A-plus The Jets pounded the Dolphins all night with end arounds, jet sweeps and straight-ahead running plays that garnered 277 yards and 5.7 yards per carry. Chris Johnson (17 carries, 105 yards) recaptured the form from his days as a Tennessee Titan. Passing offense: F It s hard to win in 2014 without any contributions in this area, and, thus, the Jets didn t. Geno Smith was 7-for-13 for 65 yards with a game-clinching interception, but the run-heavy game plan certainly didn t allow him to get into a rhythm. Still, he missed the throws he had to make. Rushing defense: B-plus Miami got only 74 yards on the ground, but Lamar Miller s 4-yarder in the fourth quarter tied the score. Still, the Jets front seven held up fairly well despite star DE Muhammad Wilkerson sitting out with a toe injury. Passing defense: B 6 P a g e

7 Miami QB Ryan Tannehill threw for 235 yards, but was kept in check for most of the game. CB Darrin Walls intercepted a pass that was bobbled by Miller. But Tannehill completed passes of 18 and 17 yards to backup TE Dion Sims on the decisive drive. Special teams: F K Nick Folk went 2-for-4 on field-goal attempts, missing wide left from 48 and 45 yards. P Ryan Quigley averaged 27.3 yards net, including a 6-yarder that was partially blocked. Saalim Hakim s 10-yard holding penalty on a punt protection led to a 39-yard Miami TD drive. Coaching: C The Jets ultra-conservative game plan almost worked, although it certainly pointed out how little coach Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg trust the erratic Smith. Still, Mornhinweg needed to try some play-action passes to exploit the Dolphins, who were stacking the box in the second half. Jets vs. Vikings breakdown (J.P. Pelzman) The Record Jets (2-10) at Vikings (5-7) At TCF Bank Stadium Sunday, 1 p.m. TV: CBS Radio: ESPN-FM 98.7 Early line: Vikings by 6 The Jets may be catching the Vikings at the worst possible time. Yes, Minnesota has lost two of its last three games, but the Vikings blocked two punts for touchdowns in their win over Carolina on Sunday. The Jets suddenly have sprung a leak in their punt-protection unit. Ryan Quigley had a punt blocked for a TD in the loss to Buffalo last week and had another boot partially blocked against Miami on Monday night. The kick traveled only 6 yards. Ex-Jets G Vlad Ducasse is playing in a reserve role for Minnesota. In the spotlight Jets quarterback Geno Smith. The Jets didn t allow him to throw very much Monday night against a banged-up Miami secondary, so it will be interesting to see if he is more involved in Sunday s offensive game plan. The Vikings limited Carolina s Cam Newton to 194 yards passing and a 65.7 rating Sunday, and also sacked him four times. Newton rushed for 49 yards, so Smith will have to be prepared to make plays with his legs. Game plan The Jets likely will stick to their unimaginative offensive ways against the Vikings, given the fact that Carolina ran for 178 yards and 5.4 yards per carry. The Jets defense must get pressure on rookie QB Teddy Bridgewater, who was effective as a game manager against the Panthers, throwing for 138 yards and two TDs. Jets K Nick Folk must get back on track. The normally automatic Folk missed two of four field-goal attempts against the Dolphins. 7 P a g e

8 NJ ADVANCE MEDIA Would Jets have won more this year if they leaned on running game like they did vs. Miami Dolphins? (Darryl Slater) NJ Advance Media ned_on_run_game_like_they_did_vs_miami_dolphin.html EAST RUTHERFORD -- Let's start with the obvious: The Jets' offense, on a whole, is dreadful... again. The Jets entered Monday's game against Miami 29th in the NFL in yards per game and 30th in points per game. They were 25th and 29th in those categories last year, and 30th and 28th the year before. This is a large reason why the Jets are 2-10 this season, and why coach Rex Ryan is almost certainly about to be out of a job. But they actually have a reasonably effective running game... again. This year, the Jets entered Monday's loss to Miami ranked third and fourth in the NFL in rushing yards per game and yards per carry, respectively. Last year, they were sixth and 10th. On Monday night, the Jets ran 49 times for 277 yards per carry. They took the ball out of quarterback Geno Smith's hands, as he threw just 13 times. It makes you wonder what might have happened if they were more committed to the run this year. "I believe we could've done that all year," right guard Willie Colon said of the Jets' running success Monday. "I know we have the ability. When you give us the keys to the Cadillac, those are the results I know we can make." Instead, these Jets are a clunker, sputtering to the finish. They entered Monday with 321 rushing attempts this year, compared to 374 pass attempts. That is a much more pass-heavy ratio than last year, when they ran 493 times and passed 480 times in coordinator Marty Mornhinweg's first season. Ryan, who has long favored a ground-and-pound approach, said last week that the Jets should have run the ball more this season. What he didn't say is that their pass protection has struggled mightily at times, and that they don't have a franchise quarterback capable of passing the Jets to a win every week, or even close to it. Now, as the season continues to spiral, the question transitions from: "Why didn't the Jets lean more on the run in 2014?" to "What will their offensive philosophy be in 2015, under a new head coach and offensive coordinator?" By the way, the Jets scored exactly three points Monday after the 12:01 mark of the second quarter. They gained 326 total yards. So while they set a season high in rushing yards, they gained just 16 total yards more than they averaged coming into the game. And they scored three fewer points than they averaged entering Monday. This was not a blisteringly effective offensive performance. It was simply a strong rushing effort from a team that has run the ball well over the past two seasons, but still fields a mostly incomplete and impotent offense, mainly because it has no quarterback. 8 P a g e

9 What would've happened if the Jets relied more on their running game this season? Maybe they would be better than 2-10, but probably not by a whole lot. What does Eric Decker think about his wife saying he is 'depressed' over Jets' dreadful season? (Darryl Slater) NJ Advance Media s_depressed_over_jets_dreadful_season.html The Jets lost again Monday night, to the Dolphins, and they are now Leading into the game, wide receiver Eric Decker's wife, the country pop singer Jessie James Decker, said in a radio interview that he was "depressed" about this season. You have to wonder how he feels now, at 2-10, with his role in the Jets' offense dwindling. After Monday's game, Decker addressed his wife's comments, during which she also said he's been in a sour mood when he comes home this season. "That's obviously dramatized," Decker said of the "depressed" description. "But it's hard. I will say that going home is a little tougher. I've got to do a better job of balancing those things. I'm a competitor and I want to win and I came here to win. Losing sucks, period. No one wants to lose. "And if you're OK with losing, if you go home and you're fine with losing, then there's something wrong inside of you. This game, you only get so many years to play. I would enjoy getting another shot at making a run, and having that success. I'm not saying we're far off at all." They're not? The Jets don't have a quarterback they can trust to throw the ball, which is sort of a must in today's NFL, especially if you want to take advantage of signing a receiver like Decker in free agency. He thrived with Peyton Manning the past two seasons in Denver, and played in the Super Bowl last year. Decker was the top free agent receiver available this past offseason, but he hasn't looked like it in the Jets' offense. Regardless of how Decker's wife characterizes his mood, of course he is going to be disappointed and frustrated with this season, and of course he is not going to be happy when he comes home after yet another loss. That is only natural, and makes him no different than almost every other player in the NFL. More pertinent to his actual job with the Jets, Decker also said Monday that he would ideally like to get more opportunities in their offense, but acknowledged he needs to do a better job of taking advantage of them. He dropped a ball on Monday's opening drive. The Jets are well on their way to having a new (competent?) quarterback and completely overhauled coaching staff (and offense) next season. Perhaps the organization will be able to get a better read on whether the Decker signing was a wise one, once those changes are made. Until then, you can't blame Decker for being in a bad mood. When is last time a team had a run/pass ratio as lopsided as the Jets vs. Miami Dolphins? (Darryl Slater) NJ Advance Media 9 P a g e

10 _lopsided_as_the_jets_was_vs_miami_dolphins.html The Jets on Monday night lost to the Dolphins, while running for 277 yards and throwing for just 49. They ran the ball 49 times. Quarterback Geno Smith threw it 13 times, and was sacked on two other passing attempts. Smith totaled 65 passing yards, but when you take into account the Jets' 16 lost yards via the sacks, their team passing yards amounted to just 49. You almost never see 277/49 running/passing yardage ratios in today's NFL. Nor do you see a team try to win a game while essentially playing without a quarterback. According to Pro Football Talk, the last time an NFL team ran for 250-plus yards and passed for 50 or fewer (as the Jets did Monday night) was in 2002, exactly 12 years ago to the day of Dolphins-Jets on Monday night. In that 2002 game, held in a Buffalo blizzard, the Dolphins ran 34 times for 270 yards and passed 20 times for 30 yards. Miami lost the game The Dolphins' quarterbacks that day were Ray Lucas and Jay Fiedler. Lucas, a former Jet, was in his final season. Would the Jets have won more this season if they committed to the run like they did Monday? Maybe a little. But you have to competently throw the ball in this league, and the Jets still spectacularly fail to do that. In the second half Monday night, the Jets ran 20 times for 67 yards (3.4 per carry), and continued to run even as the Dolphins stacked the box. The Jets did most of their damage on the ground in the first half, when they ran 29 times for 210 yards (7.3 per carry). The Jets are now 32nd in the NFL in passing yards per game this season -- dead last. From , they were 21st, 30th and 31st. That's a big reason why the Jets are over that span, and are out of the playoffs for the fourth straight year. Since the three-game losing streak to end the 2011 season, a skid that eliminated them from playoff contention, the Jets are now During that 47-game span, they have averaged passing yards per game. This season, the Jets are throwing the ball for yards per game. No other NFL team is worse than the Chiefs' In 2013, the Jets averaged passing yards per game, compared to in Should Jets retain Chris Johnson? 'It's not like I'm going in there and (expletive) stuff up,' he says (Darryl Slater) NJ Advance Media The Jets have arrived at the final quarter of their rotted-away season. They are 2-10 after Monday night's loss to Miami. As their coaching staff braces for an impending firing, the Jets remain in contention to become just the second team in franchise history to win fewer than three games, along with Rich Kotite's 1995 squad, which went So what, exactly, is worth following about this team in the final four games (at Minnesota, at Tennessee, vs. New England, and at Miami)? 10 P a g e

11 Well, the future of prominent players on the current roster, for one. Running back Chris Johnson is among the more interesting roster decisions the Jets will make this offseason. The Jets (and other teams) will get four final chances to evaluate him down the stretch. Last week, before his 17-carry, 105-yard performance against the Dolphins, Johnson declined to say if he wants to remain with the Jets. Perhaps, then, he would rather move on to another team, here in the latter stages of his career? "I ain't saying that," he said. "I'm saying I'm taking advantage of every opportunity. I've been enjoying the team. So I'm sure at the end of the year, we'll have a sit-down and talk, me and my agent, the team and all that, and just see how it goes." Johnson this season previously expressed frustration about how infrequently he was being used by Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. Johnson has two games with three carries, one with six and three with seven. Again last week, before his big game Monday, Johnson said he wasn't pleased with his lack of a workload. "I think I've shown that when I've gotten the opportunity, that I can make plays," he said. "On top of losing, when you're still not getting the opportunities, it's even more frustrating. What do you think? Do you think I was underused? Throughout the year, I probably averaged six to seven carries a game [actually, 8.4 before Monday]. I didn't think that was going to happen. I'm not excited for that. I don't think that went the way that I expected it would go. "I'm not going to be a guy that's sitting around here complaining and starting drama in the locker room. I think I handled it well, and just trying to take advantage of every opportunity I get. That's the only thing I can do. There's really nothing else that I could have done about the situation. "From me being in there, and when I get opportunities, I'm doing a good job. It's not like I'm going in there and (expletive) stuff up and all that. I don't care who you are in this league, whoever you are, you go to the all-time greats, a guy averaging six, seven carries a game can't do nothing with that." Johnson is on the first season of a two-year contract. He turns 30 next September. He has 1,851 career carries on his body. He has a $2.75 million salary cap figure this year, and is due to count $5.25 million against the cap next year. But the Jets would actually save $3.5 million in cap space by cutting him after this season, since his 2015 dead money figure is just $1.75 million. So will they cut him loose? Ivory, who carried 16 times for 62 yards Monday, is a cheaper option for the Jets in 2015, the final year of Ivory's three-year contract with the team. While Johnson is due to count $5.25 million against the cap, Ivory will count just $2.75 million, though his dead money figure is meager, at $750,000. He will turn 27 in March, so he has both an age and financial advantage over Johnson. (Bilal Powell, the Jets' third running back, will see his rookie contract expire after this season. The Jets seem unlikely to re-sign him, considering he has just 24 carries this year, compared to 176 last year. The Jets signing Johnson in free agency this past offseason signaled the beginning of the end for Powell with this franchise.) Johnson, a seventh-year pro, has had an underwhelming 2014 season, for several reasons, including the Jets not giving him the ball all that often. Entering Monday, Chris Ivory had 130 carries this year, compared to 92 for Johnson. Monday's game was the first 100-yard output of Johnson's season. "I think this is the most fun I've done had all year," he said after the game. "But at the end of the day, it put a big damper on it because we didn't get the victory." 11 P a g e

12 He entered the game averaging 36.4 yards and 8.4 carries per contest, along with 4.3 yards per carry. Johnson is now at 4.6 yards per carry this year, which is actually his best since 2009, when he ran for 2,006 yards (5.6 per carry). He ran for 4.5 yards per carry in Johnson had just two 100-yard rushing games last year, after accumulating four, 12, eight, three and five 100-yard performances in his first five seasons, Last year, while playing with torn meniscus in his knee, Johnson averaged a career-low 3.9 yards per carry. He had dipped to 4.0 in He needed to show this season that he could rebound from But through the first 11 games of 2014, he hadn't been a whole lot more productive. Then came his big game Monday against Miami. With four games remaining in this miserable season, will the Jets continue to give Johnson opportunities to show how much he has left in the tank? This is a four-week audition for Johnson, either to stay with the Jets in 2015, or to show other teams he can still contribute, should the Jets decide to release him. As with most other things about the Jets, their approach to the running back position depends on their offensive philosophy under their likely new coach, and whether general manager John Idzik, who traded for Ivory and signed Johnson, is retained or fired. Did Jets run ball so much against Miami Dolphins because they lack faith in Geno Smith? (Dom Cosentino) NJ Advance Media use_they_have_no_faith_in_geno_smith.html EAST RUTHERFORD Why did the Jets only have quarterback Geno Smith throw the ball 13 times in Monday night's loss to the Dolphins? This is not a riddle. Last week, head coach Rex Ryan couldn't quite bring himself to say Smith as opposed to Michael Vick gives the Jets the best chance to win. But then Ryan made the decision to start Smith without any influence from general manager John Idzik. Now? "It had zero to do with us having faith in our quarterback," Jets head coach Rex Ryan said. "It had everything to do with us trying to win the game." It's true the Dolphins (7-5) have an outstanding pass rush. It's also true that with the ground and pound game plan, the Jets had rolled to 210 rushing yards by halftime. But they only led 10-3 at that point, and they managed just 67 rushing yards in the second half. And when Smith, who had thrown just eight passes until the final two minutes or one more than the team record of seven, set when Joe Namath was out with a shoulder injury in 1973 had to make a play, he couldn't do it. Smith, back as the starter after giving way to Vick for three games, finished 7 of 13 for 65 yards and an interception. His quarterback rating was The Jets ran the ball 49 times, a ratio of nearly four rushes for every pass. As one might expect, Smith didn't think the lack of attempts showed the coaches didn't think he was capable of winning. "We ran the ball very well and I think we did the right thing by sticking to that," Smith said. 12 P a g e

13 Wide receiver Percy Harvin, targeted just three times in addition to his six carries for 27 yards, said, "We knew we were going to try to run the ball and establish the run game. We didn't know how much. We just went with the game plan and tried to make plays when our number was called." Harvin didn't want to question the game plan, even though the Dolphins did more to stack the box in the second half and used a defensive end to better seal the edge to keep him and Chris Johnson from getting outside. The Dolphins were also forced to rotate R.J. Stanford and safety Jimmy Wilson at corner because of injuries. "We knew going in that the corner they had out there didn't have very much experience outside," Harvin said. "We were hearing they were trying to flip-flop guys in and out, so I went in the game licking my chops a little bit, trying to get some action. But like I said we got off running the ball, so whatever. We kind of altered our game a little bit." Pressed further if this were a sign of a lack of faith in Smith, who has now turned the ball over at least once in 20 of his 25 NFL starts, Ryan doubled down. "We ran for [210] yards I think that's pretty good or whatever it was at halftime," Ryan said, slightly overstating that first-half total. "I'll take that any day of the week. Any coach would, not just me. Tom Brady would take that. Bill Belichick would. If we throw six and we're rushing for 210 yards, we'll sign up for that every week, even if we have Joe Namath at quarterback." The Jets don't have Joe Namath at quarterback. They do have just two wins in 12 games this season. Jets injury update for Minnesota Vikings week: Nick Folk, Muhammad Wilkerson, Jace Amaro, Greg Salas (Darryl Slater) NJ Advance Media _muhammad_wilkerson_jace_amaro_greg_salas.html The 2-10 Jets are heading to Minnesota this week, for a winnable game against the 5-7 Vikings. And they might have to play outdoors in Minneapolis without their usually reliable kicker, Nick Folk. Coach Rex Ryan said Tuesday that Folk complained of hip flexor pain after Monday's loss to Miami. Ryan was not sure which hip is bothering Folk, or when he sustained the injury. "I wasn't aware of it until today," Ryan said. "That was when it was borught to my attention. I really haven't talked to Nick about when this thing happened." Ryan said he also is not sure whether the injury impacted Folk's missed field goals Monday, in a loss. Folk connected from 40 and 45 yards, but missed from 45 and 48. The 45-yard miss came with 5:42 remaining in a game that was tied at 13. The Dolphins responded by marching down the field and getting the game-winning, 26-yard field goal. Folk, in his fourth season with the Jets, is normally very steady. Or at least he has been lately. Last season, he made 33 of 36 field goals, including 15 of 17 from 40 yards and out. This year, he is now 20 of 24, including 10 of 14 from 40 yards and out. Folk, who entered the NFL in 2007, has missed just two career games, both in 2009 with Dallas. 13 P a g e

14 Ryan also updated three other injuries Tuesday: Defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson: The Jets' best player missed the Dolphins game (his first career missed game) with a turf toe injury sustained the previous week against the Bills in Detroit. "Mo is looking better," Ryan said. "I know he's out of his (walking) boot now, so I would assume that's a good sign. Now, is it a good enough sign where he'll play (in Minnesota)? I'm not sure about that." Tight end Jace Amaro: The rookie sustained a concussion against the Bills and didn't play against Miami. He remains in the NFL's post-concussion assessment protocol, Ryan said. That isn't a good sign for his chances of playing against the Vikings. "I'm not sure how that's going," Ryan said of Amaro's concussion. "Clearly, that's in somebody else's hands." Wide receiver Greg Salas: He left the Dolphins game after running for a 20-yard touchdown on a jet sweep in the first quarter. This was a big moment for a player who rarely gets action on offense. But it looks like he won't get a chance to repeat it this week. (Salas is also a frequently used special teams contributor.) "Greg Salas doesn't look good," Ryan said. "I think he's got a hamstring tear. I don't know if it's a tear, but he's got a hamstring. So we'll see how it progresses, but that doesn't look good." Jon Gruden, who praises everyone, rips Jets general manager John Idzik (Dom Cosentino) NJ Advance Media ager_john_idzik.html Jon Gruden, the Monday Night Football color commentator and ex-nfl head coach who has a habit of reminding you he thinks THIS GUY is just terrific, did something unusual during ESPN's Monday night broadcast of Dolphins-Jets: He criticized someone in the NFL. Specifically, Gruden took a swipe at Jets general manager John Idzik, though Gruden never did mention Idzik by name. The topic was Jets head coach Rex Ryan's defense, and how the Jets or, more specifically, Idzik failed to land a quality cornerback in free agency this offseason after having traded Darrelle Revis and released Antonio Cromartie in the last two years. Take it away, Gruden... "In this Rex Ryan defense, I don't know how you don't address that position. No disrespect to Darrin Walls or Marcus Williams [the Jets' starting corners Monday night], but these are undrafted football players. Cromartie and Revis were dominant first-round players and... if you're going to hire Rex Ryan, you know what you're getting: You're getting a pressure coach that loves to play blitz coverage. You need corners that can cover." Zing! Gruden and Idzik worked together for the Bucs from , when Gruden was the head coach and Idzik was the assistant general manager. They even won a Super Bowl together. But the Fire Idzik gang probably couldn't have worded its critique of Idzik any better. Rex Ryan on Jets' 2-10 season: 'I'm embarrassed' (Dom Cosentino) NJ Advance Media 14 P a g e

15 As he stood at the podium and got hit with another week's worth of questions about another Jets loss Monday night, Rex Ryan was nearly in tears. "Man, I can't believe we're 2-10," Ryan said at one point. "Joke." Some 18 hours later, on Tuesday afternoon, after he had a chance to calm down and maybe get some sleep, Ryan was asked whether, from a pride standpoint, he feels a sense of embarrassment about how disappointing this season has been. The normally brash and optimistic Ryan didn't dodge the question, and he made no effort to grade himself or the Jets on any sort of curve. "Yeah, no question," Ryan said. "Yep. Absolutely. One hundred percent. I'm embarrassed for myself, absolutely. It is definitely embarrassing to me. I feel like I let my owner [Woody Johnson] down, I've let our fan base down. Yeah, of course. There's no doubt." NEW YORK POST Wife: Eric Decker depressed over awful Jets (Justin Terranova) New York Post Eric Decker isn t in Denver anymore. The Jets biggest free-agent acquisition has had a painful season due to a hamstring injury and the team s pathetic quarterback situation. And his wife country crooner Jessie James Decker said it s taking a toll on the receiver. It s been a really hard season, James Decker said in an interview on WPLJ, first obtained by TMZ. He s been, I don t want to say depressed, but he s been depressed. He has been. It s been really hard and my heart breaks for him. He loves football more than anything. He s obsessed with football. This is his life and he loves it so much and it s hard for him. He s so talented and so good at what he does and he s not really able to show his ability right now and he has a lot of doubters and that hurts him. James Decker s comments were taped before the Jets latest loss, to the Dolphins on Monday night, when quarterback Geno Smith attempted just 13 passes. Decker caught two of those for 18 yards, putting his season total at with four touchdowns. James Decker said Decker is in a foul mood when he gets home from the 2-10 Jets defeats. He comes home, he wants his alone time: Don t talk to me. It s rough, she said. Decker was told of his wife s comments after the loss. That s obviously dramatized, but yeah, it s hard, Decker said. I will say that going home is a little tougher and I ve got to do a better job balancing those things, but I m a competitor I want to win. I came here to win. James Decker has already had a run-in with Jets fans in the couple s first season in New York. She called them haters on Twitter after Eric tried a giveaway on Twitter that backfired. Jets fans attacked James Decker on Twitter, forcing her to briefly delete her account. 15 P a g e

16 Decker, who signed a five-year, $36.25 million deal in the offseason, is only worried about turning around the Jets abysmal season. For me, I ve got to get better at what I do, he said. That s all I can control. I m going to try to be the best teammate that I can be and the best receiver I can be. And if you re OK with losing and you go home and you re fine with losing, there s something wrong inside of you. This game you only get so many years to play and I would enjoy getting another shot of making a run and having that success. I m not saying we re not far off at all; we ve just got to execute better. Jets rewind: Run-heavy was right call, and that s the problem (Brian Costello) New York Post The Jets suffered another embarrassing loss on Monday night. This time the score was not the embarrassing part, losing just 16-13, but the way they looked scared to have their quarterback throw the ball. Here s a few thoughts on the Jets latest loss: 1. I don t hate the game plan as much as most people did. The Jets need to play to their strength on offense and that is running the ball. Part of the problem this season has been abandoning the run too soon. However, could the Jets have mixed in a few play-action passes? I mean, the Dolphins were loading the box in the second half to slow down the rushing attack and were inviting the Jets to take a few shots downfield. It s hard for me to remember them taking any in the second half. Jets coach Rex Ryan said the plan had nothing to do with not having any faith in Geno Smith. Come on, Rex. Running the ball was a sound strategy because it kept Smith from turning the ball over. You can t function like this in Next week, maybe the Jets will bring back leather helmets. If they are going to play like it s 1940, may as well go all in. 2. Man, would I love to inject Eric Decker and Percy Harvin with some truth serum. Think about this for a minute: 10 months ago, these two were playing at MetLife Stadium in the Super Bowl with Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson as their respective quarterbacks. One is perhaps the greatest quarterback to ever live. The other is a rising star who knows how to win games. Now, the two of them are reduced to decoys in an offense that would frustrate any wide receiver. Decker had two catches for 18 yards on four targets in the game. His wife said he was depressed before Monday s loss. I wonder how he feels this morning. Sure, he s getting $36 million and that will make anyone feel better, but he has to be wondering if it is worth all this. Harvin had one catch for six yards, the second straight week where he had one catch. He also had six rushes for 27 yards. Both guys are saying the right things with the microphones in their faces. I just wish I could have been a fly on the wall when they saw this game plan. 3. This got completely overlooked because of the offensive game plan and the result, but the Jets defense fared pretty well without its leader, Muhammad Wilkerson. The Dolphins had just 74 rushing yards and Ryan Tannehill was ineffective for three quarters. The defense could not pull off the miracle and win a game without a quarterback, but they tried. 16 P a g e

17 David Harris played a phenomenal game with 11 tackles, a sack and a quarterback hit. Quinton Coples, playing in Wilkerson s spot, and Sheldon Richardson both put pressure on Tannehill. Ryan designed another strong game plan on defense, showing a lot of zone coverage and dialing up blitzes at good times. 4. As well as the defense played, it was one of the same old problems that has killed Ryan s defenses that got him in the end the tight end. The Dolphins did not have starting tight end Charles Clay, but it didn t matter. Backup Dion Sims had four catches for 58 yards, including passes of 18 and 17 yards on the Dolphins game-winning drive. Revealing number: Ryan used to talk about one of his favorite stats all the time runs-plus-completions. Ryan s theory was that if you had more runs-plus-completions than your opponent, you usually would win. He was proven right early in his tenure, but the stat is not holding up anymore. The latest example was Monday. The Jets had a total of 56 to Miami s 43. This has happened a bunch this year because the Jets simply don t score many points. They have not broken 30 this year. Game ball: The beneficiary of the Jets lack of faith in Smith was Chris Johnson, who had his best game as a Jet. He rushed 17 times for 105 yards and showed some flashes of his old self. While they probably won t go to the run/pass extreme split of Monday, Johnson deserves to get more carries down the stretch. Surprising snap count: Remember during the summer when Ryan spoke about Antonio Allen like he was a cross between Ronnie Lott and Deion Sanders? Well, Allen had zero defensive snaps on Monday night. Allen has gone from starting cornerback to starting safety to part-time safety to not playing at all. No one has had a stranger season. The one big blind spot that likely will cost Rex Ryan his job (Kevin Kernan) New York Post Rex Ryan is embarrassed once again. His Jets are 2-10, and 27 other teams have a better record. Sure, Ryan has been hamstrung by having John Idzik as his general manager, but there remains a fatal flaw here for Ryan, and let s not overlook it. Rex comes from a family of defense, his father Buddy and his brother Rob. He loves defense so much that he has never really understood the nuances of an NFL offense and what makes it tick. Once again, that lack of understanding helped cost the Jets a game. He has made a career of stopping offenses sometimes even his own. To think he could win a game without really using a quarterback in this day and age is as clueless as can be, especially when the Jets were supposedly going to use the rest of this lost season to evaluate Geno Smith. By not letting his quarterback get into any kind of rhythm, by not letting Smith use play-action passes when the Jets were steamrolling on the ground, is senseless. Show a little faith, Rex. Ryan said over and over it was all about winning the game, but by not trusting his quarterback, even if it is a quarterback who probably will struggle, Rex s Jets lost Monday night to the Dolphins at MetLife Stadium. 17 P a g e