Here are some of the reactions from around the Inter-Google to the humiliating 45-3 loss suffered by the New York Jets Monday night at the hands of the New England Patriots.
Ian O’Connor of ESPN New York says that when the Jets start assessing blame for the debacle they can start with their coach.
Ryan has been everything to everybody as coach of the New York Jets. He’s been a standup comic for the press, a tough-talking advocate of a long, lost franchise and, more than anything, the first Jet with the nerve to promise a Super Bowl title since Joe Willie Namath answered a banquet heckler with the most glorious guarantee in sports.
But in the bitter cold and blustery winds Monday night, Ryan resembled none of the characters he’s played to rave reviews. In fact, Ryan came across as clueless, overmatched, and entirely unprepared to deal with this beating Bill Belichick’s Patriots had planned for him.
Rich Cimini of ESPN New York said the Jets were exposed.
On the biggest stage, with a chance to set themselves up for the AFC East title and perhaps the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, the Jets gave a fraudulent performance so utterly inept that it was — brace yourself — Kotite-like.
The big-talking Jets wanted to make history, but not this kind of history. They looked bad on so many levels, from coaching to playing to explaining it afterward.
Rex Ryan and his coaching staff had 10 full days to prepare, as did the Patriots, but they acted as if they didn’t have a clue. The Jets’ weaknesses were exploited by a team that does its talking on the field, not in news conferences.
“Obviously, we got outcoached, got outplayed,” said Ryan, delivering the concession speech he never could’ve imagined in his wildest nightmare. “We got our butts kicked. I don’t know what else to say.”
Don Banks of SI.com writes what a lot of people are thinking this morning — that the Jets have been overrated all along.
Monday night’s meltdown by New York made you think we over-rated these Jets all along this season, and it certainly gives us reason to reevaluate all those late, dramatic comeback victories Ryan’s team recorded in October and November. When a team finds a way to win despite struggling against the likes of Denver, Houston, Detroit and Cleveland, we sometimes call them resilient and commend them on finding a way to get the job done.
But then the Patriots completely peeled back the green (and white) curtain on Monday night and showed us a glimpse of a team that really might not be what we thought they were. Maybe struggling to beat bad teams, even if you get away with it for a good long while, is merely an indication that you’re not that good yourself. After all, entering the Patriots game, the combined record of the teams the Jets had beaten were just 39-68, with only one of those teams being above .500 (the 1-0 Patriots in Week 2).
Gary Myers of the Daily News said the Jets talked big and played small.
It was so one-sided and so embarrassing that the possibility of facing the Patriots a third time this season, which would come in the playoffs, is not so appealing. “The way we played, I don’t think we want to see them again,” linebacker Calvin Pace admitted. “45-3? That’s a (butt) kicking. I’m not trying to be funny.”
The Jets came in talking big – what else – and playing small. Their postgame locker room was so quiet. Now their resiliency will be tested. Will they be able to bounce back in a short week and beat the Dolphins at home on Sunday?