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Rex Ryan sold you a lemon.
Like a used car salesman promising you that “pre-owned” Pacer would drive like a BMW, Ryan told everyone this was the Jets’ year. His opening line on Aug. 1, when training camp began, was about how much better this year’s roster was than the previous two he coached.
Instead, the Jets sputtered out of the lot.
“I think this is the best roster that we’ve had since we’ve been here and everything that I’ve said in the past is still in play,” he said, referring to his Super Bowl guarantees.
Ryan was either lying or badly misjudged the talent Mike Tannenbaum assembled. The 2011 Jets are not as good as their predecessors under Ryan the past two years.
That is why this year’s team is not about to go on a run to the AFC Championship Game like those two did. The Jets have suffered an identity problem all season, never establishing just who exactly they are and exerting their will.
The Jets still might make the playoffs by default. The AFC has three good teams, three bad teams and 10 teams hovering around mediocrity. The Jets don’t have any games against an elite team left on their schedule. A 10-6 finish is probable and an 11-5 finish is possible.
But even if the Jets do make the tournament, there is no reason, other than their recent history, to think they will win a game. If you think the last two years matter, then you probably think the Butler basketball team is going to the Final Four again.
These Jets simply are not as good as those teams the past two years. The only reason people thought they would be was Ryan’s sales job. He is convincing when he stands before the cameras and tells everyone the Jets belong among the NFL’s elite. His team has not backed up his words, though.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has a mantra of “under-promise and over-deliver.” The Jets have taken the opposite approach. Ryan has pumped his team up as a Super Bowl contender since last season ended. The product on the field though has shown a team that is like most teams in the NFL — average.
People are concentrating on the five remaining opponents for the Jets and how poor their records are. That’s a good thing because the Jets have shown no ability to beat a good team this year.
Take a look at the Jets’ six wins this year. Which one is the signature victory the Jets can point to with pride? The Cowboys are the only team the Jets beat that currently has a winning record. The Jaguars and Dolphins have struggled to get wins. The Bills, whom the Jets beat twice, and the Chargers looked like contenders when the Jets played them but have shown since they were frauds.
It is hard to figure out where Ryan came up with the idea this year’s team had better personnel than last year. The Jets lost key players like Braylon Edwards, Jerricho Cotchery, Damien Woody, Tony Richardson, Kris Jenkins and Shaun Ellis. The only veteran addition they made was Plaxico Burress.
Ryan’s biggest misjudgment was the development of two third-year players he gave big roles to this year — Mark Sanchez and Shonn Greene. Ryan named Sanchez a captain and Greene his “bell-cow” back. Neither has delivered. Sanchez has shown no consistency and Greene has been stuck in neutral most of the year.
“The strides that I see Mark taking are huge,” Ryan said of Sanchez in August.
Ryan’s premonition never came true. Sanchez has plateaued in his third year. The truth is this team was flawed from the start. People failed to see it because of Ryan’s sales job.
Is it too late to get your money back?
Leonhard: Back off Sanchez
The love affair between the Jets and their fans is on shaky ground these days. Safety Jim Leonhard was the latest Jet to be critical of the MetLife Stadium crowd yesterday.
In an interview with WFAN, Leonhard took issue with the fans booing quarterback Mark Sanchez during pregame introductions Sunday.
“I think we have a great crowd,” Leonhard said. “I think probably for one of the first times, I was kind of disappointed. Our starting quarterback gets booed in introductions. It’s kind of one of those things, that’s frustrating when … as players, you kind of turn to each other and say, ‘You know what? I guess we’re in this one today by ourselves. We can’t rely on the crowd to give us that energy because it’s already started out on a bad note.’ So I will say that this past weekend was really the first time that I’ve been kind of frustrated going into a game, which is bad.”
Last week, Bart Scott told the Post’s George Willis the home fans were “discouraging” with some of the things they yell at the players. Sanchez always says he understands the boos but has made a few references indicating that the boos bother him more than he lets on.
The Jets have two remaining home games. They face the Chiefs on Dec. 11 and the Giants on Christmas Eve. If they lose either game, things could get even uglier in East Rutherford.
* At least one person around the Jets acknowledged Sanchez played poorly Sunday — Sanchez himself.
The Jets quarterback was critical of himself during his weekly paid interview with 1050 ESPN yesterday. Sanchez threw four touchdowns, including a last-minute game-winner in the 28-24 win over the Bills, but had a rough outing overall.
“That’s not a winning formula,” Sanchez said. “It wasn’t a great performance. We made plays when we needed to. When you look at the stat line — under 50 percent there’s no excuse for that … No, I don’t think I played very well.”
It’s good to hear Sanchez being honest. On Monday, Jets coach Rex Ryan said Sanchez is playing well and is one of the team’s strengths. It’s hard to back that argument up.
Sanchez was asked if the Jets will make the playoffs with another performance like Sunday’s.
“Not a chance,” he said. “Not even close. We play like that again … I think our chances of winning the game were probably somewhere in the 20, 30 percent chance. You can’t win a game like that.”