Clyde Gates made his way through the Jets locker room Monday almost as quickly as he runs down the field. He zipped past reporters and said he did not have time to talk. He grabbed his belongings from his locker and exited.
Surprisingly, he didn’t drop anything on the way out.
With three drops against the Patriots, Gates is the latest Jets wide receiver to become the poster child for this team’s biggest problem. Forget Geno Smith, forget the struggles in the running game or Dee Milliner’s mistakes, the No. 1 issue the Jets have is at wide receiver.
What else is new?
This is a problem the Jets have had for years. Want to take a guess when the last time a Jets receiver was named All-Pro? Here’s a hint: You were watching VHS tapes and listening to Starship. No Jets receiver since Al Toon in 1986 has earned the honor. Keyshawn Johnson in 1999 is the last one to even make the Pro Bowl.
The Jets have had some decent receivers in the past decade — Wayne Chrebet, Jerricho Cotchery, Braylon Edwards, Laveranues Coles and Santonio Holmes all qualify. But they have not had a game-changer, and it is killing them. It hurt Mark Sanchez severely, and it will do the same to Smith, Teddy Bridgewater, Johnny Manziel or whoever the Jets quarterback of the future is.
Everyone talks about the NFL now being a passing league, but it helps to have someone on the receiving end. Take a look at Peyton Manning and Tom Brady right now. Both are among the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game. Manning is thriving with Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker and Wes Welker running routes for him. Brady? He’s throwing sideline tantrums about the way his inexperienced receivers are playing.
The 2013 Jets have shown more promise in their first two games than anyone not named Rex predicted. Their defense looks like one of the league’s best, and Smith has shown flashes that he could lead the team.
But the receivers are dragging the team down. Every one except Jeremy Kerley is playing a slot above where they should be. Holmes at 29 and coming off foot surgery is no longer a No. 1 receiver. Stephen Hill remains raw and should be a No. 3. Gates is a No. 5 at best.
It would be easy to blast general manager John Idzik and say he should have addressed this issue in the offseason, but there was no easy solution then, and there remains no easy solution now. Idzik inherited a team with salary cap issues and lots of positions that needed help. The Jets could not afford a top receiver in free agency like Mike Wallace (five years, $60 million from the Dolphins) or Greg Jennings (five years, $47.5 million from the Vikings).
The Jets could have gone the cheaper route and signed Darrius Heyward-Bey (one year, $2.5 million from the Colts) or Donnie Avery (three years, $8.55 million from the Chiefs), but it is questionable just how much that kind of signing would have helped.
Idzik could not just give up on Hill entering his second season after the Jets used a second-round pick on him in 2012. That left him married to an injured Holmes and a developing Hill.
The best solution for Idzik came on draft day. The Jets had their fingers crossed that Tavon Austin would fall to them at No. 9, but the Rams snatched him one pick ahead of the Jets. When that happened, the Jets should have traded one of their two first-round picks to move down in the draft and take either DeAndre Hopkins or Cordarrelle Patterson, who both went late in the first round, but finding a trading partner on draft day is not always as simple as picking up the phone.
Now the Jets are stuck with a half-speed Holmes, a still developing Hill, an ineffective Gates and Kerley, who is the best of the bunch but suffered a concussion in Week 1. It would be hard for Smith, Mark Sanchez or Joe Montana to thrive with this group.
In 2009, Mike Tannenbaum swung a deal for Edwards after Eric Mangini grew tired of him in Cleveland. Idzik can only hope there is a diva receiver somewhere in the NFL wearing out his welcome who could hit the trade market.
Otherwise, he better get used to watching games like last Thursday, when his wide receivers did not give the Jets a chance to win.
Milliner started too soon
Competition has been the catch word of the John Idzik regime with the Jets. But the team’s decision makers look like total hypocrites when it comes to rookie cornerback Dee Milliner.
Milliner did nothing to earn his starting job other than being drafted No. 9 overall. He spent the entire spring on the sideline, recovering from shoulder surgery, then showed up to training camp a week late after a contract holdout.
Nevertheless, coach Rex Ryan handed Milliner the starting job, with the general manager’s blessing, presumably.
Now Milliner is struggling, and Ryan benched him against the Patriots. Well, Milliner probably should not be starting in the first place. Ryan said Kyle Wilson had the best offseason of his career and Darrin Walls emerged in the spring as a useful corner. Yet, both were pushed aside when Milliner showed up in Cortland.
Ryan should have put Milliner at the bottom of the depth chart and let him earn his role. That’s what competition is about, isn’t it?