NY Jets vs New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium: Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez gets up off the floor during the first half. (Anthony J. Causi)
For long-suffering Jets fans, this has become just another recurring Bad Dream Team.
What separates this Bad Dream Team from all the others is this one talks a better game than it plays.
This Bad Dream Team, bracing for what could be a crash landing Monday night at JetLife-or-Death Stadium against the horrendous Dolphins, is clearly not as good as it thinks it is.
And now, after watching the demise of the Road Warriors, breakdowns in mental and physical toughness on both sides of the ball and a loss of what the identity of a Rex Ryan team is supposed to be and whether it is built to survive in an NFL built more for quarterback, after listening to urgent calls for unity from within, the following question needs to be asked:
Are they good enough?
Are they good enough to be a championship team?
“Absolutely not, no,” former Jets nose tackle Kris Jenkins told The Post.
“Super Bowl? No way.
“I think they can make the playoffs, if they get it together. I don’t think that’s gonna be an easy task this year?
“I really think this is a rebuilding year.”
Why would he say that?
“They’re struggling at offensive and defensive line,” he said. “You can’t do anything unless you have the offensive and defensive line to get it done.”
Not to mention the offensive coordinator.
“That last drive [Mark] Sanchez had? He looked like he was Aaron Rodgers,” Jenkins said. “So I’m really starting to guess that it’s the scheme.”
Jenkins, now an SNY analyst, pointed out that Brian Schottenheimer has been the offensive coordinator under both Eric Mangini and Ryan. Once Dustin Keller was doubled and taken out of Sunday’s game, there should have been more opportunities for Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress, if not Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson — or Joe McKnight — out of the backfield.
“Nobody’s really looking at the scheme, and the thing that’s been consistent is Schotty,” he said. “It’s that inconsistency thing.
“I think Schotty’s on the hot seat right now.”
Does he deserve to be?
“It’s all about getting results,” Jenkins said. “With all the weapons he has over there, he should be getting results and he’s not. We’re too far into the season now for the timing to still be off.”
Then there is the coddling of Sanchez, on and off the field.
Off the field: “They might as well put one of the PR guys in a chair and put a Sanchez mask on him and let him talk,” Jenkins said. “He’s not showing any individuality. The only time you see any spark is when he’s doing commercials or something. . . . It’s not cool when they’re telling you every five seconds, ‘We need you to do this, we need you to say this.’ They have to trust in the person they invested in.”
On the field, Jenkins wants to see less of a robot and even more play-calling responsibility on the Sanchise’s shoulders.
“When they sign these contracts, they’re paid to do their job as men,” Jenkins said. “If they’re treated as children, how do you expect him to play like a driven man? They need to stop handling Sanchez. They need to let Sanchez make it happen and then see where it goes from there. Give him more freedom to make play calls. He sees what’s going on. Take the training wheels off him. Let the boy grow up and be a man.”
Then there is the deterioration of the defense.
“I think they’re missing Bryan Thomas,” Jenkins said, referring to the veteran linebacker who tore his left Achilles tendon against the Ravens and is done for the season. “[The Patriots] picked on Muhammad Wilkerson and they kinda ran at him some. They’re not running up the middle. They’re running on the edge.”
It leaves you to ask: Who are these guys?
Who hijacked the Rex Ryan Jets?
If Tony Romo doesn’t throw one to Darrelle Revis on 9/11 night, the Jets could very well be 1-4 and the AFC’s version of the Dream Team Eagles.
The schedule is conveniently forgiving. And Ryan, for whatever it’s worth, has yet to lose four in a row.
But if he doesn’t fix it, and fix it now, he will be ridiculed as the coach who cried wolf.
And if he does not fix it, and fix it now, he will become as relevant as a Tyranosaurus Rex.
Jenkins thinks the Jets can reload for next season. But this season, Jets fans?
No Supe for you.
steve.serby@nypost.com