1. Rex Ryan
The longtime Jets head coach has started off 1-4 to begin the 2014 season, and for the third time in his tenure in New York there is more controversy at the quarterback position. 2013 second-round pick Geno Smith has been largely ineffective in his sophomore season, and the fans who called for Michael Vick last week finally got a glimpse of the veteran quarterback, watching him perform as equally poor as Smith. Combined, the Jets have averaged 5.9 yards per pass attempt.
Sure, neither Vick nor Smith are going to suddenly surface as top-five quarterbacks in the NFL, and that’s because of the lack of help surrounding them. The Jets’ best receiver is Eric Decker, and aside from Jeremy Kerley and Chris Ivory, the offense is a disaster zone. Chris Johnson was a whiff of a free-agent signing, and this offense has been overwhelmingly overmatched through the first five weeks of the season.
Defense is supposed to be the forte of the Jets, but injuries have ravished the secondary, and as a result the 34-year-old Antonio Gates made them look silly in the shutout against San Diego. The Jets’ lone win came as they scraped past Oakland in the opener, then dropped four in a row since. At 2-3 the Jets would at least be on par with the rest of the AFC East, but at 1-4 and in a free fall, general manager John Idzik has to start placing the blame on Ryan.
