George Willis

George Willis

NFL

‘It’s ugly’ — and Rex Ryan is in trouble

Jets offensive guard Willie Colon stood in front of his locker following the Jets’ third straight defeat and summed up the state of the season in two words: “It’s ugly.”

Actually, that might be understating things a bit.

A 24-17 loss to the Lions Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium dropped the Jets to 1-3 and put Rex Ryan’s status as head coach on the clock. If this game was a referendum on his ability to coach, motivate and lead his team to a much-needed victory then he failed as much as his players.

Instead of evening their record at .500, the Jets find themselves in a haze of uncertainty heading into a brutal stretch of their schedule with games against the Chargers, Broncos and Patriots. What should have been a confidence builder has left the Jets on the verge of collapse. The problems; where do we start?

A quarterback controversy is now raging after Geno Smith committed two more turnovers, prompting the home fans to chant: “We want Vick.” Ryan insisted he gave no thought to replacing Smith with Michael Vick during the game — “I thought we were going to get it done with Geno,” he said — but calls for Vick should intensify. “Whenever the time comes, if it comes, I just have to be ready,” Vick said.

Meanwhile, Smith’s teammates came to his defense by ripping their fans for booing. Fans can be fickle, but the Jets aren’t helping themselves by snapping back.

“You’ve got fans screaming negative things towards us. That’s not going to build us up. That’s only going to break us down,” defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson said. “We’ve got to keep that out of our minds and stick together. But if they want to be all in, then they’ve got to be all in with us as well when it’s bad and when it’s good.”

Perhaps more troubling is a defense that continues to fold in the clutch. The Jets had all the momentum after Eric Decker caught an 11-yard touchdown to cut Detroit’s lead to 17-10 in the third quarter. But the Lions regained control with a marathon 14-play, 90-yard drive through the gut of Ryan’s defense by converting three third-down situations. It was similar to the long drives the Jets yielded in losses to the Packers and Bears.

“We didn’t make any plays,” linebacker Calvin Pace said . “Somebody’s got to make a play and nobody did.”

Truth is, there wasn’t a moment in the game where it felt like the Jets were the better team. Their opening drive covered 71 yards on 14 plays but netted only a field goal. The next five possessions ended in three-and-out, setting a tone of inconsistency that ultimately cost them the game.

“Guys are making a lot of good plays,” Ryan said. “Unfortunately, they’re not making the big plays.”

All of this reflects poorly on Ryan, who talked all week about how well his team practiced. But the Jets didn’t respond like winners. They lost their second straight game at home; the quarterback cussed at the fans; the defense didn’t hold up and they now face Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in succession. If the Jets haven’t already dug a deep enough hole for themselves, it could be a crater by the time Halloween approaches.

“The way it’s going to change, it’s going to take everyone in that room,” Ryan said. “We know it’s a united group. We’re going to fight to stick together and fight our way out. We know it’s not easy, but that’s the only way we know how to do it and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Ryan was a lame-duck coach when the season began needing a winning season and perhaps a playoff berth to keep his job. But at 1-3, it’s getting ugly for everyone.