NFL

Jets in tank after a crushing defeat

We’re going to empty the tank.

Those were Rex Ryan’s words last week describing the Jets’ charge for yesterday’s home game against the Dolphins.

Little did Ryan know how empty the tank would be for his team, which slinked out of MetLife Stadium and into its bye week with a humiliating 30-9 loss to the Dolphins to think about for two weeks before they tee it up again.

Ryan’s “empty the tank’’ words led you to believe his team was bracing to race out of the stadium tunnel, assault the Dolphins before they could take a clean breath and never look back.

Instead, here’s how the Jets emptied their tank: Before the first quarter was over, they were duped on an onsides kick, they had a punt blocked for a touchdown, committed two penalties and got Mark Sanchez sacked twice, on one of which he fumbled the ball away.

The Jets looked ill-prepared from the start and outclassed to the end by a mediocre team playing with its backup quarterback on the road.

The loss represented a crushing blow to the Jets not only in the AFC East standings, where they are now in last place at 3-5, but because they had actually played some pretty good football in recent weeks and seemed to have found their footing.

Now, no one knows what this team is. Even in the mediocrity-laced AFC, nothing short of 9-7 will get you a sniff of a playoff berth and that means the Jets must go 6-2 in the second half of the season just to get there.

Even the most optimistic Jets fan would be hard-pressed to look at the spotty body of work from this first half of the season and believe these Jets have 6-2 in them.

This is why yesterday represented such a crucial swing moment in their season.

“To say I never saw this coming, that’s an understatement,’’ Ryan said in hushed tones after the game, his usual swagger a million miles away. “I’m blown away by it. I’m just shocked at some things that happened.’’

Here’s what happened en route to the Jets emptying of the tank:

* On the fourth play from scrimmage, cornerback Antonio Cromartie lost his composure and head-butted Dolphins running back Reggie Bush, adding a free 15 yards to the 19-yard run Bush had just gashed the defense with.

“I didn’t lose my composure,’’ Cromartie argued afterward. “I just called him a punk, and that’s exactly what he is. I didn’t head-butt him. I pushed him before I head-butted him.’’

Oh, OK then.

Five plays later the Dolphins took a 3-0 lead.

* On the ensuing kickoff, the Dolphins recovered the onsides kick.

* The Jets second offensive possession ended with Robert Malone’s punt being blocked by Jimmy Wilson and recovered by Olivier Vernon in the end zone for a 10-0 Miami lead.

* The Jets next offensive possession ended when Sanchez was sacked and losing the ball. That led to a second Miami touchdown for a 17-0 lead just 52 seconds into the second quarter.

“We knew we wanted to jump on them early,’’ Bush said. “Once we got on them early, they kind of laid down a little bit.’’

Words don’t come more insulting or damning than those.

Want to blame the quarterback? Go ahead. Sure, Sanchez was awful. He had happy feet in the pocket. He overthrew receivers, threw passes behind them and he never threw the ball to Tim Tebow, who was wide open every time he was on the field as an H-back or in the slot.

But this thing is bigger than Sanchez. It’s widespread.

Someone named Clyde Gates, who has been a Jet for less than two months, was best player on the field for them yesterday, catching seven passes for 82 yards after entering the game with four catches for 56 yards _ in his career.

The Jets knocked Dolphins rookie starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill out of the game five minutes into the first quarter. No matter. Earl Morrall could have come out retirement at age 78 and quarterbacked the Dolphins yesterday and it would not have mattered.

“We have to figure out who we want to be as a team and how do we want to finish this?’’ Jets safety LaRon Landry said.

They can start by truly emptying the tank next time they’re on the field, Nov. 11 in Seattle.