Eric Mangini gives his players Mondays off after a victory, so during the team’s five-game win streak the day had become a pretty quiet one.
Yesterday, there was an unusually noisy one at the team’s New Jersey practice facility.
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The Jets showed up to go over Sunday’s 34-17 loss to the Broncos and try to figure out how a team that looked so good in recent weeks could look so bad.
“It’s not like our season is over because of one game, but I think it gets us to realize we can be smacked on the butt ourselves,” wide receiver Laveranues Coles said. “At this point, we need to wake up, get back to the drawing board and figure out what we did wrong and try to correct it this week coming up.”
Mangini was visibly upset after the game and yesterday he said he did not feel any better after watching it on film. He placed the blame on nearly everyone, including himself.
“Obviously, I need to do a better job of coaching, and each individual needs to do a better job getting ready for the games and being able to go out and execute,” Mangini said.
Denver dominated the Jets (8-4) in handing them their second home loss of the season. Now they are facing a final four-game stretch with a one-game lead in the AFC East over the Patriots and the Dolphins.
A week after riding high against previously unbeaten Tennessee, the Jets are left wondering how to fix all the problems that have surfaced before this Sunday’s game in San Francisco.
“We didn’t come out ready to play, and that’s what happens in this league,” said tight end Chris Baker. “We’ve just got to refocus and get back to what we’ve been doing.”
The Jets played sloppily in nearly every facet of the game. The rush defense, which had been the team’s strength, allowed its first 100-yard rusher of the season – Peyton Hillis. Jay Cutler gashed the secondary for 357 yards. Offensively, Brett Favre never found a rhythm, and the running game had two big touchdown plays but not much more.
The loss was a big step backward for a team that was viewed as one of the best in the AFC after back-to-back road wins over the Patriots and Titans.
After an overtime loss to Oakland in October, the Jets played much crisper football, but the mistakes reappeared this week.
“I thought [the mistakes were] behind us,” linebacker David Bowens said. “We went out there from the opening drive, it seemed like we weren’t clicking. Defensively, they put us in some formations we’ve had trouble with. We didn’t adjust fast enough. Those things hurt us.”
The Jets remain in first place but have to be kicking themselves over a wasted chance at gaining a two-game edge over New England and Miami.
“To have a two-game lead at this point in the season would have been big,” Baker said, “but at the same time we have to just worry about what we can control and we’ve got four games coming up and we’re in control of that. If we take care of business there, we’ll be fine.”