GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Jets suffered a heartbreaking 31-24 loss to the Packers on Sunday to drop to 1-1. Here are a few thoughts on the game:
1. The Jets have a discipline problem. It showed up last week when they had 11 penalties in the win over the Raiders. It showed itself Sunday in the way the team unraveled in the second half, starting with Muhammad Wilkerson getting thrown out of the game and continuing through Sheldon Richardson calling a timeout — for the offense.
Rex Ryan runs his team loosely. Unlike most controlling NFL coaches, he gives his players a lot of freedom. It is one of the reasons his players love him and want to play for him. The downside of it is some players clearly lack discipline.
Wilkerson is the best player on the team and the leader of the defense. There is no way he can lose his cool like he did in the third quarter, when he started taking swings at Packers in the end zone. Give Wilkerson credit for standing up after the game and apologizing, but by then the Jets had lost.
Richardson committed one of the all-time gaffes in Jets history (think about that) when he called the timeout in the fourth quarter to nullify the game-tying touchdown. Marty Mornhinweg was thinking of calling the timeout but then changed his mind. Richardson thought Mornhinweg wanted it and yelled in the official’s ear to get it. Richardson was not the only player on the Jets sideline yelling for the timeout, either. He just happened to be closest to the side judge.
Why are players even permitted to do this? Only the head coach is supposed to call timeouts. You could understand Ryan allowing Mornhinweg to call a timeout if he wants one, but no one else on that sideline should be speaking to the referees.
This is not high school football, where a few laps are going to help this team find discipline. In the NFL, it is either instilled in the team throughout the culture or it’s not. The Jets don’t have enough discipline, and I’m not sure if they’ll ever have enough this season. Some weeks, like on Sunday, it will cost them.
2. It is only two games, so it is still too soon to make sweeping conclusions, but so far Chris Ivory looks way more effective than Chris Johnson. It is not about rushing totals (Ivory’s is inflated by his 71-yard score last week) but just how they look running the ball.
Johnson has not shown his trademark speed and burst. He was caught from behind on Sunday and looked slow getting to the hole. He has 29 rushes for 89 yards at 3.6 per carry.
Johnson and Ivory had an identical number of snaps — 27 — as the Jets stay committed to the backfield-by-committee approach. It’s early, but I’m beginning to wonder whether Ivory has earned the larger role in next week’s game against the Bears.
3. Did the Jets forget about the tight ends? Jeff Cumberland and Jace Amaro each had one catch in the game. Amaro only played 22 snaps.
When Geno Smith has been at his best, he has used the tight end as a safety valve. I’m not sure if it was by design or it just happened Sunday, but the tight ends were largely ignored. Smith threw in Cumberland’s direction twice, in Amaro’s once and in Zach Sudfeld’s once (the interception).
4. So, we were waiting to see this secondary get tested, and Aaron Rodgers did just that Sunday. It was not a good day for Dee Milliner, Darrin Walls and Antonio Allen as they took turns getting torched by Rodgers to the tune of 346 yards. Only Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Chad Henne have ever thrown for more yards against a Jets team coached by Rex Ryan. Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson had 209 yards receiving, the most the Jets have allowed under Ryan.
We saw how this is going to work. Early on the Jets were able to get to Rodgers, sacking him twice on the Packers’ second possession and making him uncomfortable. When they did that, Rodgers was rushed and the defensive back deficiency was camouflaged. Later, the rush was not as effective, and Rodgers began to surgically pick apart the secondary.
Rodgers just might be the best quarterback in the NFL, so that has to be considered here. But the Jets face a run of good-to-great quarterbacks in the next five weeks. You can bet Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford, Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady will be salivating at what they can do to the Jets DBs.
REVEALING NUMBER: On the Jets’ first three drives, Geno Smith went 8-for-10 in the air for 89 yards with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. After that, he went 8-for-22 for 87 yards with an interception. The game turned when Smith’s play went south.
GAME BALL: Inside linebackers Demario Davis and David Harris had another good game. Davis sacked Rodgers twice and was all over the field, making six tackles. Harris led the team with seven tackles and nearly swung the momentum back to the Jets with an interception late in the third quarter that was wiped out by a penalty for 12 men on the field. Both have their moments when they struggle in coverage, but the Jets are lucky to have these two in the middle.
MOST SURPRISING SNAP COUNT: Milliner played 40 snaps after missing the last four weeks with a high ankle sprain. I was surprised the Jets did not ease him in more, but you can tell Rex Ryan is just searching for answers at cornerback, putting guys out there and hoping something works. Milliner admitted the ankle bothered him in the second half, and he left the game. The Jets might have been better off giving Milliner another week to make sure the ankle is fully healed. This could be a lingering injury all season.