George Willis

George Willis

NFL

This time, plethora of penalties costly to Jets

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It was Friday afternoon and Rex Ryan was asked if he were confident his Jets had learned their lesson after being flagged for 20 penalties in their win over Buffalo the previous Sunday.

“That’s not who we are,” Ryan insisted. “I know that’s not who we are, and so I don’t think you’re going to see a whole lot of penalties from our group.”

Turns out the Jets just might be a penalty-prone team plagued by making too many mistakes at the wrong time. They were fortunate to get away with their barrage of yellow flags against the Bills. But penalties proved catastrophic in the Jets’ 38-13 loss to the Titans Sunday.

The Jets reduced their number of penalties from 20 against the Bills to 10 for 66 yards against the Titans. But that was nothing to brag about; seven came in the first half and contributed to Tennessee building a 24-6 lead at the break that was never threatened.

“Obviously, we have got to do a heck of a lot better job than that,” Ryan said after the Jets dropped to 2-2 on the season.

The optimist might say at least the Jets are going in the right direction. A pessimist would suggest the continuing problem with penalties is systematic of a team still searching for chemistry and confidence.

“A lot of the penalties were self-inflicted,” said guard Willie Colon. “That’s the worst part about it. That’s something we have to dig down inside and try to correct.”

Sure, much of the Jets’ loss can be attributed to rookie quarterback Geno Smith, who had a horrific day supplying the Titans with enough interceptions and fumbles to turn LP Field into a feeding frenzy. But it was early penalties by the Jets that forced Smith to do more than he is capable.

A false start by left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson on the Jets’ second series turned a manageable third-and-3 into third-and-8. When the Jets failed to get the first down, the penalty proved to be a precursor of things to come. Later, a defensive holding penalty on cornerback Darrin Walls on a third-and-8 gave the Titans a first down and led to a field goal that put the home team ahead 10-0.

In the second quarter, when the Jets appeared headed for a touchdown, an illegal-hands-to-the-face call on Colon nullified a completion to tight end Kellen Winslow that would have given the Jets a first down inside the Titans 15. Instead they settled for a 47-yard field goal.

There were other senseless penalties that hurt the Jets: an unnecessary roughness call on Ben O’Bomanu during a kickoff return and the same call on linebacker Garrett McIntyre when he applied a late hit on Titans quarterback Jake Locker. Add another false start by guard Vladimir Ducasse, and the Jets were their own worst enemies.

“We’ve just got to be more focused,” cornerback Antonio Cromartie said. “You have to focus in on what you’ve got to do and what your job is and you’ve got to eliminate the penalties. Just do your job and not try to do it too fast.”

The Jets added push-ups last week for those guilty of committing penalties against the Bills. Perhaps harsher tactics will be imposed this week. Something must be done. The Jets know they have to live with the mistakes a rookie quarterback will make. But they can’t live with an excessive number of crippling penalties.

“We have to get those corrected,” linebacker Demario Davis said. “We’re trying different things as far as accountability for each other. I’m sure we’re going to get it corrected. We just have to figure out how.”

Let’s face it — the Jets season isn’t only going to be judged only by wins and losses. It will also be judged by the progress the team makes in other areas, such as playing sound, disciplined football. The Jets are far from sound or disciplined right now. For the second straight game, they committed the kind of penalties that get teams beat.

Maybe that’s exactly who they are.