NFL

Despite losing stars, Jets vow expectations remain the same

No Darrelle Revis. No Santonio Holmes. No problem?

Well, the Jets were not quite that optimistic. But they also are not ready to start making vacation plans for January. Even with the news that Holmes, the team’s top receiver, was placed on season-ending injured reserve yesterday, the Jets vowed to forge ahead.

“We’re not going to cancel the season,” guard Brandon Moore said.

Jets coach Rex Ryan confirmed Holmes had indeed suffered a Lisfranc injury to his left foot that requires surgery, meaning Holmes will not play again until 2013. It was the second devastating injury the Jets suffered in two weeks after losing Revis for the season last week.

A Lisfranc injury occurs in the midfoot area and can vary in degrees of severity. It involves damage to the ligaments that hold bones together in the foot and sometimes also includes broken bones. The Jets did not reveal the exact details.

Losing Holmes and Revis along with the 34-0 loss at home to the 49ers has led to plenty of doom and gloom among Jets fans. But Ryan said the Jets coaches and players still believe this is a good team.

“Our expectations are where they always are,” Ryan said. “Right now, when you look at it, it doesn’t feel like it, but we’re still on top of our division with two other teams. … The fact we lost two excellent football players does not change our expectations.”

The Jets are indeed tied for first place in the AFC East at 2-2 with the Patriots and Bills. Of course, they’re also only a game ahead of the last-place Dolphins.

“Standings don’t mean crap right now,” Moore said. “I don’t care what place we’re in right now.”

Moore said the emphasis in the locker room is improving on their play and preparing for Monday’s game with the Texans, who might be the best team in football.

It is up to general manager Mike Tannenbaum to figure out if the solution to fill the void left by Holmes’ absence can come from within the building. The Jets signed Jason Hill yesterday, but Tannenbaum said he believes this is a chance for Stephen Hill, Chaz Schilens and Jeremy Kerley to prove themselves.

“I think if we’ve done our job well we’ve brought in a lot of people that are competitive and relentless and losing Santonio, obviously, is a very disappointing thing,” Tannenbaum said. “We’ll see how this thing plays out over the next few weeks. We’re optimistic that these guys can step up and take advantage of these opportunities and help us win games.”

Hamstring injuries to rookie Stephen Hill and tight end Dustin Keller also have hampered the offense. Keller has not played since Week 1. The Jets view his return as being similar to a trade in the boost it could provide the offense. Neither Hill nor Keller practiced yesterday, so it is unclear if either will play Monday.

There has been some suggestion the Jets should sign a veteran wide receiver such as Plaxico Burress, Chad Johnson or Terrell Owens to fill Holmes’ role. That won’t happen. Johnson and Owens have not been impact players in several years. Burress did some good things for the Jets last season when he scored eight touchdowns, but they felt they needed to get younger and faster, so they signed Hill.

“Plaxico, I have a great deal of respect for and obviously, he had eight touchdown catches last year,” Ryan said. “There are some things he did really well for us. We’re trying to look for guys maybe a little younger and [with] a little more speed. When you look at Hill, the guy we just signed, he has those attributes. That’s what I think jumped out at us. We want to get faster as a football team. We think he’s a guy who has some tools.”

Tannenbaum has seen his vision for this year’s team blow up in the last two weeks with injuries to two of the team’s top players. He knows there will be heat on him if the team fails.

“If you can’t embrace those challenges and look at these as opportunities for players, I’ve got the wrong job,” he said. “It’s very disappointing that players of that caliber got hurt, but we’ve got 12 games and when you look at the standings, we’ve got 12 meaningful games. We’ve got to make the most of that opportunity.”

brian.costello@nypost.com