Jets Takeoff

Kerry Rhodes

Storylines Heading into Sunday’s Game Against the Carolina Panthers (1:00 p.m., Giants Stadium)

Demotion of Kerry Rhodes: In the middle of a five year, 33 million dollar contract, the Jets’ safety hasn’t been the same since he signed that extension following the 2007 season. This year, Rhodes has zero interceptions, zero sacks, zero forced fumbles, and zero fumble recoveries. Now, he’ll only play in nickel and dime packages. Eric Smith will replace him.

How Will Mark Sanchez Respond: Sanchez threw four interceptions and fumbled once in last week’s loss at New England. This week, Rex Ryan announced that he’ll take a more active role in coaching Sanchez. Though results, if any, aren’t going to be seen right away, word out of Jets’ camp is that Sanchez had a good week of practice and his coaches seem optimistic that the rookie play better this week.

The Carolina Panthers: Let’s be honest and say it: At 4-6, the Panthers aren’t that good. Carolina was thought to be a playoff team coming into the season, but that was nearly three months ago. They still have Jake Delhomme, DeAngelo Williams, and Steve Smith on offense, but the offense has not shown the same explosiveness it did in years past. Carolina ranks 23rd in the NFL in points (19.3 pg), though with 159.1 rushing yards per game, you could see Williams and Jonathan Stewart giving the Jets trouble. Defensively, they allow an average of 130.7 rushing yards per game, so Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene could have big games for New York.

Prediction: Despite their struggles, the Jets still rank second in the league in rushing yards (163.5 pg). Expect a big day from Jones, and assuming Sanchez doesn’t throw this one away, the Jets will win for the first time in a month. Jets 26, Panthers 22

It’s hard to criticize the decision announced by Rex Ryan this week that he would become more involved with Mark Sanchez, his rookie quarterback. The only question Jets’ fans and the organization should ask is why didn’t this happen from Day One?

As for Sanchez, he has a lot to prove. It’s time to examine the strikes against No. 6:

1) Posing for GQ Magazine. Big mistake. “Mr. Southern Cal” should have been smarter. Before he ever took a snap, he told the NFL that he considered himself to be a superstar.

2) Eating a hot dog on the sideline during the fourth quarter of the Jets’ win at Oakland. Mark made himself look like a hot dog.  And not an intelligent one.

3) Delivering a prepared statement following the Jets’ loss to Jacksonville. Again, would Eli Manning ever do that?

4) His play on the field. And this is his fourth strike? Enough said.

Anyway, go get ‘em Rex. It’s about time.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Following Sunday’s 31-14 loss at New England, Rex Ryan had some interesting things to say to the media during his press conference on Monday. Among the highlights: He’ll spend more time with Mark Sanchez and be more involved with the offense. And he wasn’t happy with Bill Belichick’s decision to throw the ball with 30 seconds left in the game and the Patriots ahead by 17 points. From Randy Lange’s write-up on newyorkjets.com:

On Ryan’s involvement with Sanchez, the head coach said this:

“I’m going to be there. If that’s all I bring to him is how to protect the football and making sure he understands the situation in a game, then that’s what I’m going to make sure I do.

“We’ve got to look at that critically and find if there’s something we can do. I’m going to take that responsibility on my shoulders and we’ll see how it goes and how it plays out from here.”

“I’m going to be standing shoulder to shoulder with Brian (Schottenheimer, his offensive coordinator). Brian’s got to run the offense, that’s not going to change. We’ve got great coaches. But if there’s something I can do, what is it? I’m here to help this football team. To me it’s giving Mark the understanding of the game: ‘Hey, right now, this is an opportunity where we can take chances’ or ‘We can’t take chances here. If you can make this completion, make it. If not, get rid of it or run with it.’

“I’m here to support Brian, Mark, everybody else. But I have to be demanding of that because right now that’s not getting done to my satisfaction or this football team’s satisfaction.”

“I’m making sure everybody understands it’s a supportive thing, that this is by no means a slap in somebody’s face. I’m here to support what’s already being done. Brian and [special teams coordinator] Mike Westhoff are clearly a hell of a lot more experienced in their fields than I would be. We don’t want me calling plays. But if I can support Mike or Brian, then that’s what I need to do. My stance needs to be more of a game manager, a team manager. I thought I was doing that but maybe I need to spend a little more time in those regards.”

As for Brady’s attempted pass to Moss in the game’s final minute, Ryan offered this:

“I looked at that as an opportunity for us. Throw it deep, our guy’s going to come down with it more than your guy.”

Was the call disrespectful?

“Yes. That’s why I called the timeout at the end of the game [there were five seconds left], to give our team another chance.

“Things happen. [Bill] Belichick, I don’t even know how much he had to do with it. It could’ve been more something that Brady or Moss wanted to do. … No biggie, but I was surprised by it and I did feel a little disrespected.”

Click here for Lange’s full report.

Here’s what they’re saying:

In The Star Ledger, Dave Hutchinson offers his keys to the game.

The Boston Herald’s Ian Rapoport identifies the five determining factors for today’s game.

At The New York Times “Fifth Down” blog, Greg Bishop tells us what to watch.

Daily News Jets’ beat reporter Rich Cimini analyzes the importance of the game for Rex Ryan.

And from the New York Post, George Willis thinks this game can redefine the season for Rex.

It’s amazing how quickly things change in the NFL. Following their Week 2 win over New England, the Jets were 2-0 and you already heard people talking about the playoffs, and how far New York could go once January rolled around. After Week 3, when the Jets beat the Titans, if you listened to Jets’ fans, you would have thought that they were a lock for the Super Bowl.

Now, as the Jets get ready to take on the Patriots Sunday in Foxborough, they’ve lost five of six, and at 4-5, though mathematically they’re still alive, they have no shot at the playoffs. No Kris Jenkins. No Leon Washington. A rookie quarterback who has a lot to prove, and a first-year head coach who’s experiencing his first crisis. And now the Patriots. New England is 6-3 and coming off one of its worst losses in recent memory last Sunday at Indianapolis.

With the injuries to Jenkins and Washington, the Jets’ slide, the addition of Wes Welker, who did not play when the teams met earlier this year, and a hungry Patriots’ team looking to seek revenge, and angry over last week’s loss, this one could get ugly.

Since I can’t wait until Sunday, I’ll make my prediction now: Patriots 38, Jets 16

Eli Manning

What’s more embarrassing:

1) The Jets losing to the Jaguars, 24-22, effectively ending all chances they had of making a playoff run. At home, with a fourth-quarter lead, New York loses for the fifth time in six games, to a team that’s not one of the better ones in the league.

2) Mark Sanchez reading from a prepared statement during the post-game press conference. Hey Sanchez, read Ralph Vacchiano’s “Eli Manning: The Making of a Quarterback.” You could learn something from the Giants QB.

3) Rex Ryan saying that the Jets are better off having lost, given the fact that New England lost, than they would have been if they won, and the Patriots would have won. Come on Rex, we’re a little smarter than that.

Take your pick.

The Jets need a win today. There’s really not much else that needs to be said. As I showed earlier this week, I don’t think the Jets are making the playoffs. But mathematically, they still have a shot. That is, as long as they beat the Jaguars later on today. If they lose, not only would they not even deserve to even be in consideration for a playoff spot, but the season could get ugly pretty quickly. Just look ahead to next week when the Jets go into Foxborough.

Some thoughts on today’s game:

New York is coming of a bye week. They had plenty of time to rest, and now must sense the urgency of this game. Though they’ve lost four of their last five games, it’s easy to forget that, at 3-0, we were talking about this being a playoff team. For all the talking they’ve done, it’s fair to say that the players and coaches still believe they’re a playoff team. They have to show that today.

The Jets will not give up two touchdowns on special teams like they did two weeks ago to Ted Ginn Jr. and the Miami Dolphins. Mike Westhoff is one of the best in the business. You can be sure that he’s not letting that happen again today. Plus, the Jaguars don’t have return men like Ginn,

Maurice Jones-Drew is the one guy on the Jags who scares you. He’s run for 407 yards and six touchdowns in his past three games. He has 737 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns this season. Expect Jacksonville to get him going again today. After all, are you more confident in Jones-Drew or David Garrard?

Jacksonville is not very good. Their wins have come against Houston, Tennessee, St. Louis, and Kansas City. The combined records of those teams: 9-24.

Prediction: Jets 23, Jaguars 19

Here are my predictions for how the Jets will fare in their remaining games. Of course, this is subject to change week by week, taking into account how the Jets, and their opponents, progress.

Nov. 15 vs Jacksonville (4-4): Win (5-4) – Name one impact player on the Jaguars.

Nov. 22 at New England (6-2): Loss (5-5) – Both teams have changed dramatically since Week 2.

Nov. 29 vs Carolina (3-5): Win (6-5) – The Panthers have been disappointing this year.

Dec. 3 at Buffalo (3-5): Loss (6-6) – The Jets couldn’t beat the Bills at home, now they head to Canada.

Dec. 13 at Tampa Bay (1-7): Win (7-6) – The Buccaneers stink.

Dec. 20 vs Atlanta (5-3): Loss (7-7) – First home loss of the second half.

Dec. 27 at Indianapolis (8-0): Loss (7-8) – Come on, please.

Jan. 3 vs Cincinnati (6-2): Win (8-8) – The Jets win when it doesn’t count.

Final Result: 8-8, and no playoffs for the third straight year.

Opponents’ current record in parenthesis.