NEW YORK JETS DAILY CLIPS

October 17, 2014

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Table of Contents

ASSOCIATED PRESS ................................................................................................................................................ 2

Jets' lose 6th straight, 27-25 at New England ........................................................................................................... 2

Patriots beat Jets 27-25 as Jones blocks FG try (Howard Ulman) ............................................................................. 3

NEWSDAY .............................................................................................................................................................. 5

Jets lose to Patriots as Nick Folk's 58-yarder blocked as time expires (Kimberley Martin) ...................................... 5

Nick Folk disappointed after potential winning field goal is blocked (Anthony Rieber) ........................................... 6

Darrelle Revis: The win is the thing (Bob Glauber) .................................................................................................... 7

Jets revisit their running game (Anthony Rieber)...................................................................................................... 8

Geno Smith provides some reason for hope (Bob Glauber) ..................................................................................... 9

THE RECORD ........................................................................................................................................................ 11

Jets' FG try blocked on final play of 27-25 loss to Pats (J.P. Pelzman) .................................................................... 11

Wayne's Chris Pantale has interesting job on Jets' practice squad (J.P. Pelzman) .................................................. 12

NJ ADVANCE MEDIA ............................................................................................................................................ 13

Jets' miserable red-zone offense in first half sets them back in loss to Patriots (Darryl Slater) ............................. 13

Nick Folk explains his strategy on 58-yard field goal that was blocked at end of Jets' loss to Patriots (Darryl Slater) ...................................................................................................................................................................... 14

Why did official help Patriots avoid penalty before Jets' field goal got blocked? (Dom Cosentino) ....................... 15

Jets' defense 'dropped the ball' in loss to Patriots, by continuing to repeat third-down mistakes (Darryl Slater) . 16

Geno Smith injures knee in Jets' loss to Patriots, but says he feels 'fine' (Dom Cosentino) ................................... 18

Rex Ryan as agitated as ever after Jets lose sixth straight game (Dom Cosentino) ................................................ 19

Jets QB Geno Smith plays turnover-free and hurts Patriots with his legs in 27-25 loss | Instant analysis (Dom Cosentino) ............................................................................................................................................................... 20

Patriots 27, Jets 25: The good, the bad and the ugly from the Jets' sixth straight loss (Darryl Slater) ................... 22

NEW YORK POST .................................................................................................................................................. 23

‘Revis Island’ a busy stop in Jets-Patriots game (Mark Cannizzaro) ........................................................................ 23

The stunning irony in the Jets’ brutal blocked field goal (Mark Cannizzaro) .......................................................... 24

Jets report card: One crucial ‘C’ makes all the difference (Brian Costello) ............................................................. 25

The Jets waste a near perfect game — and a season (Mike Vaccaro) .................................................................... 25

How the running game nearly saved the Jets (Brian Costello) ................................................................................ 27

The Jets give Geno every chance to win — and he can’t (Steve Serby) .................................................................. 28

Jets-Patriots rivalry will soon be a distant memory (Mike Vaccaro) ....................................................................... 30

Jets suffer painful loss to Patriots, drop to 1-6 (Brian Costello) .............................................................................. 31

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ...................................................................................................................................... 33

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NY Jets QB Geno Smith passes test but can't block out defeat to Patriots (Kevin Armstrong) ............................... 33

Stinging defeat to Patriots final nail in coffin for NY Jets coach Rex Ryan (Manish Mehta) ................................... 34

John Idzik's decision to pass on Darrelle Revis reunion with NY Jets never looked worse (Gary Myers) ............... 35

Antonio Allen main culprit of NY Jets' struggles in secondary (Kevin Armstrong) .................................................. 37

Patriots' Chris Jones, flagged on Nick Folk kick last season, gets revenge on NY Jets (Kevin Armstrong) .............. 37

NY Jets fall to Patriots after blocked field goal: Instant analysis (Manish Mehta) .................................................. 38

NY Jets fall to Patriots as Chris Jones blocks potential game-winning field goal (Seth Walder) ............................. 39

NEW YORK TIMES ................................................................................................................................................ 40

Jets Do Everything but Win the Game (Ben Shpigel) .............................................................................................. 40

WALL STREET JOURNAL ....................................................................................................................................... 43

New York Jets Lose to New England Patriots (Stu Woo) ......................................................................................... 43

ESPN NEW YORK .................................................................................................................................................. 44

In his last stand, Ryan foiled by Belichick and Brady – again (Rich Cimini) ............................................................. 44

Geno is good, but not good enough (Ian O’Connor) ............................................................................................... 46

Rapid Reaction: New York Jets (Rich Cimini) ........................................................................................................... 48

Tom Brady almost drafted by Jets? Bill Parcells says it wasn't a consideration (Rich Cimini) ................................. 49

THURSDAY’S SPORTS TRANSACTIONS .................................................................................................................. 50

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jets' lose 6th straight, 27-25 at New England Associated Press October 17, 2014

http://pro32.ap.org/article/jets-lose-6th-straight-27-25-new-england

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — After relying on Nick Folk to stay within reach of New England early, the New York Jets couldn't quite get their kicker close enough to finish off the Patriots.

Folk was perfect on four attempts before lining up for a 58-yard attempt that would have won it for the Jets at New England on Thursday night. The distance required Folk to kick it low and defensive lineman Chris Jones got a hand on it, sealing a 27-25 win for the Patriots over the Jets.

"I wouldn't have told them I could make it from there if I didn't think I could make it," Folk said. "I gave it a ride. I felt like I hit it pretty good."

The Jets (1-6) suffered their sixth straight loss, the longest streak in Rex Ryan's six seasons as coach, after taking a 19-17 lead with just under 9 minutes left in the third quarter on Chris Ivory's 1-yard run.

This one was painful. New York missed a two-point conversion attempt that would have tied it after Geno Smith's 10-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Cumberland with 2:31 left.

New England recovered the onside kick, but New York wasn't quite done and forced the Patriots to punt. Starting at their own 12 with 1:09 left to play and no time outs, Smith guided the Jets to the Patriots' 40-yard with eight seconds left to play. Smith was incomplete on a quick out pass that would have gotten Folk a little closer, then the Jets had no choice but to kick it with 5 seconds left.

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"I told them my line was the 40. That's where they got it," said Folk, who boosted his total to 13 straight field goals with four in the first half.

The end of the game was eerily similar to the team's meeting in East Rutherford last year when Folk missed a 56-yarder in overtime. But Jones was penalized 15 yards for pushing the defensive line forward and Folk connected from 41 yards on his second chance, giving the Jets a 30-27 victory.

Jones atoned for his blunder last season by swatting away Folk's attempt and the Patriots rushed the field to celebrate.

"I'm not shellshocked, but it's extremely frustrating," Ryan said. "This is like the third time in a row I thought we were good enough to beat them here. And we came away with a loss."

Ivory finished with 107 yards rushing and Smith passed for 226 yards and a touchdown.

"Obviously, today was tough in the manner that we lost this game because we felt like we had them," Smith said.

Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes and Stephen Gostkowski kicked a pair of field goals for the Patriots.

Each team played Thursday without two key starters who went on season-ending injured reserve after being hurt Sunday — cornerback Dee Milliner and left guard Brian Winters for the Jets and linebacker Jerod Mayo and running back Stevan Ridley for the Patriots.

Gostkowski put the Patriots (5-2) ahead to stay with his second field goal, a 36-yarder with 4:10 to go in the third. Brady's 19-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola gave them an eight-point lead with 4:10 remaining.

The Patriots led 17-12 at halftime despite having the ball for just 7:57, while the Jets held it for 22:03.

The Jets got inside the New England 30 on all four of their first-half possessions. But they managed just four field goals by Folk, covering 22, 47, 46 and 27 yards.

The Patriots went three-and-out on two of their possessions in the half but made the most of the other two as Brady threw touchdown passes to Shane Vereen — a 49-yarder on their fourth offensive play and a 3-yarder that made it 14-9 with 4:22 left in the half.

After Folk's fourth field goal, the Patriots got the ball with 55 seconds remaining in the half. On third-and-10 at the New York 44, Antonio Allen was called for defensive pass interference on Amendola, putting the ball at the 12.

An unnecessary roughness penalty against guard Jordan Devey pushed the ball back to the 27. After a 6-yard run by Vereen, Gostkowski kicked a 39-yard field goal on the last play of the half.

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Patriots beat Jets 27-25 as Jones blocks FG try (Howard Ulman) Associated Press October 16, 2014

http://pro32.ap.org/article/brady-threw-3-td-passes-patriots-beat-jets-27-25

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — After New England held off the struggling New York Jets, usually reserved Patriots coach Bill Belichick praised two of his players who have dealt with some tough times.

Chris Jones blocked Nick Folk's 58-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the Patriots' 27-25 win over the Jets on Thursday night.

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This time, the defensive tackle didn't commit a penalty as he did last season on Folk's failed 56-yard try in overtime that gave the kicker another chance — a 42-yarder that gave the Jets a 30-27 win.

"It was so fitting that he made that play" Thursday, Belichick said. "That was awesome."

Danny Amendola hasn't lived up to the $28.5 million, five-year contract he signed before last season but caught a 19-yard touchdown pass — just his fifth reception this season — that gave the Patriots a 27-19 lead.

"Nobody works harder than Danny," Belichick said. "He's a really competitive kid, tough."

That the outcome wasn't decided until the final play was a surprise.

The Jets hadn't won since their opener and Geno Smith was last in passer rating in the NFL. But he completed 20 of 34 passes for 226 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

"We can take a lot of positives from this," New York wide receiver Eric Decker said, "but at this point we need a win, period."

The Jets (1-6) dropped their sixth straight game, the longest losing streak in Rex Ryan's six years as coach.

"We're not going to sit here and sulk about losing the games because that's going to make things worse," Smith said.

The Patriots (5-2) have a 1 1/2-game lead in the AFC East over Buffalo.

"We started off the year 0-1 so 5-1 since is not bad," said Tom Brady, who threw three touchdown passes and has nine with no interceptions in his last three games. "Hopefully, we can be a lot better."

Some more things to know from the Patriots' win:

TOP KICKERS: Folk's miss, two yards further than the longest field goal of his career, was his first of the season after making 13 straight.

"It felt pretty good off my foot," he said. "I did kick it low, in order to give it enough to get it there."

Stephen Gostkowski made both his field-goal attempts for the Patriots and is 18 for 19 this season.

WASTING TIME: The Jets had a nearly 2-to-1 advantage in time of possession, 40:54 to 19:06, and ran 80 plays to 53 for the Patriots. But New York settled for four field goals by Folk when they got inside the Patriots 30-yard line on each of their first four possessions.

"We had a couple of big penalties in the red zone that hurt us," Ryan said. "It looks like we are good enough to win and then we make too many mistakes."

RUSHING ADVANTAGE: The Jets also had a big advantage in the ground game, running 43 times for 218 yards compared to 15 carries for 63 yards for the Patriots, who lost Stevan Ridley for the season last Sunday with a knee injury.

Chris Ivory led New York with 107 yards on 21 carries and a 1-yard touchdown run that gave them a 19-17 lead six minutes into the fourth quarter.

"The offensive line did a great job pushing those guys back and giving us lanes to run," Ivory said.

Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork expected the Jets to rely on the running attack.

"You run the ball 30 or 40 times, you are going to have a little success," he said.

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BRADY'S TOUCHDOWNS: Brady completed two touchdown passes to Shane Vereen, a 49-yarder far behind the secondary on the Patriots' fourth offensive play and a 3-yarder. Then he connected with Amendola for the 19-yard score with 7:49 left.

"That was a great kind of ad lib," Brady said of the Amendola play. "He ran a little return route and then when he saw me scramble (he) broke it up field like we talk about all the time and he made a great catch."

TIME TO REST: The Patriots wasted little time getting on a roll with three wins in 12 days after a 41-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Now they have the weekend off before preparing for the second of three straight home games, against the Chicago Bears.

"We're ready for a little break," safety Devin McCourty said. "We can go into this long weekend and be happy."

The Jets also have a somewhat brighter outlook after consecutive games against top teams and star quarterbacks. Thursday's loss followed a 31-17 setback to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.

None of New York's next seven opponents has a winning record.

NOTES: Brady has won 41 consecutive regular-season home games against AFC teams. ... Jets rookie TE Jace Amaro was held to three catches after getting 10 against Denver. ... Patriots CB Darrelle Revis had two tackles and one pass defensed against his former team.

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NEWSDAY

Jets lose to Patriots as Nick Folk's 58-yarder blocked as time expires (Kimberley Martin) Newsday October 17, 2014

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/jets-lose-to-patriots-as-nick-folk-s-58-yarder-blocked-as-time-expires-1.9514274

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Rex Ryan's face was full of fury and frustration.

He took a moment to compose himself in a near-empty hallway before he faced the cameras and the questions. But his emotions were just too real and too raw.

Without warning, he cursed under his breath and punched the wall, releasing all of his pent-up anger in one quick jab.

This is what six straight losses will do to you.

They'll turn a boisterous, joke-telling, fun-loving coach into a desperate man who spends his weeks searching for answers that just won't come.

The Jets were this close to pulling off another upset Thursday night, against the Patriots, no less. And they fell short again.

The stage was set for kicker Nick Folk to work his magic once more. They had a first-and-10 at their own 12 with only 1:06 -- and no timeouts -- to get to within striking distance. And Folk got his chance, but his 58-yard attempt was blocked by Chris Jones as time expired, sealing a 27-25 Patriots win.

The crushing scene capped a brutal six-game stretch for the Jets (1-6), who have been in free fall since mid-September. But almost every week (aside from their 31-0 blowout in San Diego), they've been right there -- and they managed to come up short each time. This was no different.

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Thanks to Folk, the Jets scored on all of their first-half drives -- four field goals, from 22, 47, 46 and 27 yards. They dominated the time of possession (40:54-19:06), had more total net yards (423-323) and outrushed the Patriots (218-63), courtesy of Chris Ivory (107 yards on 21 carries). But to beat the Patriots (5-2), they needed touchdowns, and they scored only two. Ivory's 1-yard run in the third quarter and Jeff Cumberland's 10-yard catch with 2:31 left weren't enough to overcome defensive blunders and costly penalties.

After a few moments, Ryan collected himself in the hallway with the help of his public relations director. Then he briskly walked into his news conference to face the questions head on.

"To say it's a disappointing loss is a fair assessment," Ryan said, pointing out the 19-yard TD pass to Danny Amendola on third-and-19 that gave the Patriots a 27-19 lead. "We've been snake-bitten. I don't know how many touchdowns we've given up on third down this year when we've got 'em where we want them, but we've given up a bunch of them. And most of the time it's our own fault. So that's tough to handle."

Ryan praised his players for how hard they competed, highlighted their punishing running game and complimented Geno Smith (20-for-34, 226 yards, one TD) for finally using his legs again. Perhaps more impressive, he didn't throw an interception for the first time this season.

But heavy sighs and a sarcastic tone emerged when Ryan discussed their four red-zone trips without a TD and his inconsistent defense aiding Tom Brady (20-for-37, 261 yards, three TDs).

"It's ridiculous to stand here after a loss and think where our team's at -- it's not where this team should be. There's way too much fight, way too much heart," he said.

Ryan promised his team will keep fighting. And, in turn, his players said they'll keep fighting to save his job. "He's such a good coach to play for," said right tackle Breno Giacomini, a former Seahawk. "I just got here, I'm new and it's been great to play for Rex and it still is. He's not going anywhere. We're going to fight for him. And we're going to keep getting better."

"It's not a good feeling,'' linebacker Calvin Pace said. " . . . He's taken a lot of blame himself, but he shouldn't because he didn't play. We haven't done enough as a team. His players haven't done enough."

Ryan's eyes were glassy, but he did his best to keep his emotions in check as he stood behind the lectern. But the dazed expression on his face didn't accurately portray his emotions.

"I'm not shell-shocked at all," Ryan snapped. "I'm a little upset because our record is what it is.''

" I'm not shell-shocked by any stretch. We did what we wanted to do on them . . . We did those things that it takes to win the game, we just made too many darn mistakes."

And therein lies the problem.

"It's really frustrating," Ryan said. " . . . This was the third time in a row I thought we were good enough to beat them here and we come away with a loss."

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Nick Folk disappointed after potential winning field goal is blocked (Anthony Rieber) Newsday October 17, 2014

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/nick-folk-disappointed-after-potential-winning-field-goal-is-blocked-1.9514431

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Folk hero? Not this time.

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Nick Folk kicked four field goals for the Jets against the Patriots Thursday night. But his 58-yard attempt as time ran out was blocked by a familiar foe as the Jets lost a heartbreaker, 27-25.

Folk's low kick was blocked by defensive lineman Chris Jones -- the same player who last Oct. 20 was called for an illegal pushing penalty on a missed 56-yard field-goal attempt by Folk in overtime. Folk later converted a 42-yarder to give the Jets a 30-27 victory.

"Real happy for Chris," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "After what happened last year, I thought it was so fitting that he made that play."

It was devastating for the Jets, who fell to 1-6.

"You've got to get in there and you've got to make sure you have enough to get it there," said Folk, whose career-high boot is 56 yards. "I just tried to give it enough to get it there."

In the first half, Folk hit from 22, 47, 46 and 27 yards for the Jets' points as they trailed 17-12.

A pair of second-half touchdowns brought the Jets to within 27-25 with 2:31 left, but Geno Smith's potential tying two-point conversion attempt sailed over the right hand of rookie tight end Jace Amaro.

Still, the Jets had a chance to pull off the massive upset. Smith got them to New England's 40-yard line with five seconds left. Then it was Folk from 58 for the win.

Too far? No, said Folk.

"I wouldn't have told them I could make it from there if I didn't think I could make it," Folk said. "I told them my line was the 40. That's where they got it. I gave it a ride. I felt like I hit it pretty good."

Jones hit it even better with his left hand.

"It feels good," he said. "That was last year and it's just good to get a win this year."

Belichick said blocking field goals is something the Patriots work on -- without the illegal pushing these days, of course.

"There's a lot of technique," he said. "Those guys work hard at it. They work hard every week."

Of all the Jets, Folk may be the best at his position. He's kicked plenty of game-winners in his time with the team.

Not this time.

"I felt pretty confident after the first four," he said. "Just a bummer."

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Darrelle Revis: The win is the thing (Bob Glauber) Newsday October 17, 2014

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/darrelle-revis-the-win-is-the-thing-1.9514656

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- There was no game-saving interception, and no game-winning touchdown catch, either. Nothing spectacular for cornerback Darrelle Revis in his first game against the Jets as a member of the Patriots team he once loathed.

Just a good, solid game and a big-time pass breakup when the Patriots needed it most in crunch time of the fourth quarter. And, of course, a hard-fought 27-25 win over the Jets at Gillette Stadium.

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"The only thing to focus about is us getting the win today," said Revis, who signed a two-year, $32-million deal with the Patriots in the offseason after being rebuffed by the Jets on a short-term megabucks deal. "It was a tough game for us, and it came down to the end. Good teams win these tough games like this. We stuck in there as a team and we fought strong today."

Revis played almost exclusively against the Jets' No. 1 receiver, Eric Decker, and did a good job of keeping him in check. Decker finished with four catches for 65 yards and no touchdowns.

Revis was at his best in the fourth quarter, when he broke up a pass intended for Decker on third-and-4 from the Jets' 16. The Jets were forced to punt, and Ryan Quigley's 30-yard kick gave the Patriots excellent field position at the Jets' 46. Tom Brady then threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola to give the Patriots a 27-19 lead.

Geno Smith threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Cumberland with 2:31 remaining to bring the Jets within 27-25, but his two-point conversion pass to Jace Amaro fell incomplete. The Patriots sealed the win when they blocked Nick Folk's 58-yard field-goal attempt with no time left on the clock.

"This is a historical rivalry," said Revis, who once called Bill Belichick a "jerk" when the cornerback played for the Jets. "It's been going on for years and years, and it will probably continue to keep on being a rivalry. You just never know what you're going to get in these types of games, and they're always tough."

Revis said he didn't take any extra motivation from playing the Jets. It wasn't personal.

"No, a win is a win," he said. "I'm excited for this team. We're 5-2. The main goal for us was to win this game and be first in the [division], and we accomplished that as a team."

There was talk that Revis was anxious to be involved in the offense and possibly line up in the red zone. But with the outcome in doubt until the very end, Revis didn't make any appearances on offense.

No problem. All that mattered was the final score.

"It's just football to me," he said. "It doesn't make any difference. An away game is an away game and a home game is a home game with a rivalry. It doesn't matter where you play. Same thing."

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Jets revisit their running game (Anthony Rieber) Newsday October 16, 2014

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/jets-revisit-their-running-game-1.9513968

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Remember Ground and Pound?

The Jets do. It was what they hoped their rushing attack would be a few years ago.

But a more recent and relevant memory for the Jets going into their game against the Patriots Thursday night was a 31-yard effort against the Broncos on Sunday.

When Geno Smith is your leading rusher with 11 yards -- as he was in the Jets' 31-17 loss to Denver -- you probably need to refocus on your rushing attack.

The Jets must have done that in their short week of preparation for Thursday night's game at Gillette Stadium. Behind Chris Ivory's breakout game, Chris Johnson's strong complementary running and Smith's deft scrambling, the Jets ran for 218 yards in a 27-25 loss to the Patriots.

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Ivory had 107 yards on 21 carries, including a 1-yard TD leap in the third quarter. Johnson carried the ball 13 times for 61 yards. Smith ran it seven times for 37 yards, including some key first downs. The Jets led 40:54 to 19:06 in time of possession.

"We did what we wanted to do on them," coach Rex Ryan said. "We were able to control the football, we ran the football, did those things that it takes to win the game. We just made too many darn mistakes."

The Patriots were without injured linebacker Jerod Mayo, but Ryan said that's not why the Jets excelled in the running game. "It had nothing to do with the Patriots on defense without Mayo or anybody else," he said. "Nick Buoniconti. We were able to run the football today and that's because of the people we have, not the ones that they don't have."

The Jets won the toss but chose to kick off, and Tom Brady blitzed 'em for a four-play, 76-yard drive in 1:29. New England took a 7-0 lead on Brady's 49-yard pass to wide-open running back Shane Vereen.

Smith then led a 12-play, 76-yard drive that ended with Nick Folk's 22-yard field goal. It included Ivory's 15-yard run on third-and-1 and Smith getting a first down with a 10-yard run.

A would-be 9-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Jeremy Kerley was negated by a holding penalty on left guard Oday Aboushi, who was starting for the injured Brian Winters.

On their next drive, the Jets went 46 yards in 10 plays. The highlight was Eric Decker beating Darrelle Revis for a 24-yard gain. Folk's 47-yarder made it 7-6.

Ditto on the Jets' next drive in the second quarter: 12 plays, 32 yards, a 46-yard field goal by Folk to give the Jets a 9-7 lead.

On that drive, Revis was called for a holding penalty on Decker on third-and-11 to give the Jets a first down. Smith later scrambled for 7 yards on a third-and-5.

The Jets had the lead, but the Patriots had Brady. He led a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Vereen and a 14-9 New England advantage.

"You can't trade field goals for touchdowns, obviously," Ryan said.

One more drive, one more field goal for the Jets. After Walter Powell's 62-yard kickoff return, the Jets went 32 yards in nine plays and Folk kicked a 27-yarder to make it 14-12.

"The offensive line did a great job," Ivory said. "I thought we moved the ball really well. We've just got to score a little more when we get to the red zone instead of taking threes. That's the difference for a win for us."

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Geno Smith provides some reason for hope (Bob Glauber) Newsday October 16, 2014

http://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/bob-glauber/geno-smith-many-questions-few-answers-1.9513839

Geno Smith takes no consolation from whatever positive things he did in what turned out to be his best individual performance of the season. Sorry, all that matters is the final score.

Patriots 27, Jets 25. It's the only thing that matters.

Forget the fact that he went toe-to-toe with future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady in the Patriots' building. Never mind the fact that Smith finally went an entire game without a turnover for the first time

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this season. Ignore his gutsy drive near the end of regulation, when he got the Jets to within a two-point conversion of tying the score and possibly sending the game into overtime.

"We lost," Smith said. "It's a team game. Tom and I weren't out there by ourselves. It was all of us out there, and they beat us. Hats off to the Patriots. We had an opportunity, especially at the end, and we fell short. Fell two points short."

Smith has had a tumultuous season, on and off the field, so simply playing better after all that has gone on wasn't good enough for the second-year quarterback. Six straight losses, and that's all that matters. Even on a night when Smith competed as well as he has since late last season, when he finished with a flourish to give the Jets the confidence that he could build on those successes this year.

That vision, of course, proved futile for the first six weeks, as Smith struggled to complete passes and maintain his composure in the cauldron that is the New York market. He cursed out a fan after a loss to the Lions. He missed a team meeting the day before losing to the Chargers. There was a pick-6 against Denver to cut short a comeback attempt. And then clumsy remarks about how the media have "misunderstood,'' "misprinted'' and "miscommunicated'' his words in recent weeks.

Thursday night, there was just football. Just a good, solid game of football in which Smith did nearly enough to beat the first-place Patriots on the road. He had his cleanest statistical game of the season, going 20-for-34 for 226 yards and one touchdown.

He was helped by a running game that churned out 218 rushing yards against a Patriots defense weakened by the season-ending injury to middle linebacker Jerod Mayo. But part of that was a credit to Smith, too.

"I thought Geno had his best game tonight," wide receiver David Nelson said. "A lot of the run plays were [Smith's] calls. He was making great reads and putting the ball in a great spot. That's encouraging for us. Hopefully we can build off of that and take what we did tonight and grow off of that for the next opponent."

There was plenty of heart from Smith, too. He was leveled at the knees late in the fourth quarter, wincing in pain after defensive tackle Chris Jones hit him just as he threw, but he returned to the huddle after being sidelined for only one play.

The Patriots scored a touchdown on their next possession to make it 27-19, but Smith put together a 12-play, 86-yard drive and threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jeff Cumberland with 2:31 left.

The Jets needed a two-point conversion to tie it, and Jace Amaro found room near the back of the end zone on a fade route. But Smith didn't put enough air under the ball, and the comeback ended there. The Patriots sealed the win by blocking Nick Folk's 58-yard field-goal attempt as time ran out.

"I have to give [Amaro] a better ball ," Smith said. "He ran a great route."

It's one of several plays that will bother Smith, even though he made his share of positive ones. He'll look back at the inability to score any first-half touchdowns, as the Jets settled for four field goals. And he'll look at other lost opportunities, such as the 15-yard sack he took in the fourth quarter. He'll take no consolation from the plays he did make, the ones that were enough to keep the Jets within striking distance of their longtime nemesis. But he won't give up.

"I know there's no quit in us," he said. "We're not going to sit here and sulk about losing games, because that's going to make things worse. It's extremely frustrating, because I know the dedication in that locker room. We have the guys. We have what we need to win."

All they need to do now is actually win -- the only thing that matters.

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THE RECORD

Jets' FG try blocked on final play of 27-25 loss to Pats (J.P. Pelzman) The Record October 17, 2014

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/jets-fg-try-blocked-on-final-play-of-27-25-loss-to-pats-1.1111310

FOXBORO, Mass. – Nick Folk had been perfect on field-goal attempts this season.

Until the one the Jets needed the most.

Folk’s 58-yard attempt on the final play of the game was blocked and New England survived for a 27-25 victory at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night. The Jets (1-6) lost their sixth straight. They are four games behind New England (5-2), which won its third consecutive game and leads the AFC East.

Geno Smith drove the Jets 48 yards to the New England 40 to set up the try. It was blocked by Chris Jones, who had drawn a penalty in the last meeting between the teams last October for pushing a teammate in an attempt to block a long Folk three-point try. The Jets eventually won that game on a field goal by Folk.

On Thursday night, leading by one, New England increased its advantage to 27-19 on Danny Amendola’s 19-yard touchdown reception from Tom Brady with 7:49 to go. It was Brady’s third touchdown pass of the game.

But as they had all night, the Jets didn’t back down. The Jets marched 86 in 12 plays, and Geno Smith’s 10-yard scoring pass to Jeff Cumberland cut the deficit to 27-25. But Smith couldn’t connect with Jace Amaro on the two-point conversion pass.

Amaro was well-covered by safety Patrick Chung, who had been beaten by Cumberland on the previous snap.

The Jets tried an onside kick, but Amendola recovered at the Jets’ 46. New England couldn’t get a first down and punted.

The Jets had a defensive breakdown on the first series of the game. Running back Shane Vereen was all alone behind the secondary, and hauled in Tom Brady’s 49-yard touchdown pass with a diving effort. It was unclear who was at fault for the Jets.

Trailing 7-0, the Jets immediately moved the ball on offense. Jeff Cumberland’s 28-yard catch on third-and-5 from the 25 jump-started the drive, which ended on Folk’s 22-yard field goal. Geno Smith’s 9-yard scoring pass to Jeremy Kerley was called back because of a holding penalty on left guard Oday Aboushi, who took down linebacker Dont’a Hightower. Aboushi made his first NFL start in place of Brian Winters, out for the season with a knee injury.

The Jets’ defense bounced back and forced three-and-outs on the Patriots’ next two series. That gave the visitors a chance to grab a 9-7 lead on two more three-pointers by Folk, from 47 and 46 yards. The key was the running game, which rebounded from a 31-yard rushing performance in the loss to Denver on Sunday.

The Jets more than doubled that total in the first quarter, garnering 65 yards on the ground. They were helped by the fact that run-stuffing New England middle linebacker Jerod Mayo had suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Patriots’ victory over Buffalo on Sunday.

The second Jets’ drive featured a 24-yard pass from Smith to Eric Decker, who beat former Jet Darrelle Revis on the play.

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Trailing 9-7, New England drove 80 yards in 10 plays and scored on Brady’s 3-yard pass to Vereen. This time, Vereen made a spin move before the catch to fake out linebacker Demario Davis and give the Patriots a 14-9 lead with 4:22 remaining in the second quarter.

But on the next play, Walt Powell broke an attempted tackle and returned the kickoff 62 yards to the New England 41. That led to Folk’s fourth field goal. The 27-yarder cut the deficit to 14-12 with 1:01 left.

That almost proved to be enough time for Brady to get the Patriots into the end zone again. A questionable 32-yard pass interference penalty on Antonio Allen gave New England a first down on the Jets’ 12 with 23 seconds left, but a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on left guard Jordan Devey pushed the Patriots back. They settled for a 39-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski as time expired for a 17-12 halftime lead.

The Jets controlled the ball for the first 6:02 of the third quarter, moving 80 yards in 11 plays. Ivory dove over from the 1-yard-line for the score. He had 39 yards rushing and receiving on the possession and went over the 100-yard mark in rushing for the game during the march.

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Wayne's Chris Pantale has interesting job on Jets' practice squad (J.P. Pelzman) The Record October 16, 2014

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/wayne-s-chris-pantale-has-interesting-job-on-jets-practice-squad-1.1111222

FOXBORO, Mass. – Chris Pantale has an interesting job.

“I was Antonio Gates two weeks ago,” the former Wayne Valley star said this week, “and I was Julius Thomas last week. And now I’m Gronk [Rob Gronkowski] this week.”

No, Pantale isn’t suffering from an identity crisis. As a tight end on the Jets’ practice squad, his task every week is to mimic one of the opposing players who will face the Jets in their next game.

The Jets lost to San Diego and Gates on Oct. 5, and also were defeated by Denver and Thomas on Sunday. They faced New England and Gronkowski on Thursday night.

Pantale enjoyed impersonating Gronkowski this week because he admires the fifth-year superstar’s game.

“It’s been fun,” Pantale said, “because it’s a player that I’ve grown fond of watching play and I’d like to emulate his routes.

“Now that I’m in my second year in the league,” he added, “I watch these guys on tape and it’s not from a fan’s perspective like it was when I was in college. I’m trying to work on my craft and better myself by watching them.”

Gronkowski had 26 receptions for 341 yards and four touchdowns entering Thursday’s game, and has looked like the Pro Bowler he was before being plagued by injuries the past two seasons.

“Rob’s proven himself to be one of the best in the game,” Pantale noted. “There’s no better way to learn than by watching him.”

As for what makes Gronkowski so good, Pantale said, “He’s blessed with good size and good speed and his best thing is probably his physicality on his routes. For a linebacker or a safety, it’s a tough matchup because he can just use his big body to shield defenders and he’s got strong hands.”

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Practice-squad quarterback Matt Simms of Franklin Lakes splits scout-team snaps with second-stringer Michael Vick.

So as Simms said Tuesday, “this week, I am one-half of Tom Brady.”

And that’s after helping simulate Denver’s Peyton Manning for the Jets’ starting defense last week.

“Both guys are awesome at their craft,” Simms said when asked to compare Brady and Manning, “and they’ve perfected their offenses. That’s why they’ve been doing as well as they have for as long as they have.”

Pantale spent much of last season on the practice squad before being promoted to the active roster for the last five games. He didn’t play in any of those contests, however.

Pantale was cut after the final preseason game this year and quickly was signed to the practice squad after he cleared waivers.

“I think I’m more developed as a route-runner and as a blocker” this year, Pantale said. “All I can do is stay prepared during the week and know what I have to do mentally. Hopefully, it’ll show up on the field physically.”

On game days at home, Pantale and the other practice-squad members watch the game from a suite, along with players who are on injured reserve.

“It’s tough watching,” Pantale said. “You are part of the team, but you don’t feel a part of the team when you’re up there. During the week these guys [active teammates] do a good job making me feel a part of the team.”

BRIEFS: Jets OLB Antwan Barnes, activated off the physically unable to perform list Wednesday, played for the first time since suffering a torn ACL at Atlanta on Oct. 7, 2013. OL Ben Ijalana was in uniform for the first time as a Jet. Ijalana, claimed off waivers from Indianapolis last year, was a healthy scratch for 22 straight games before Thursday.

Second-year pro Oday Aboushi made his first NFL start in place of LG Brian Winters, out for the season with a knee injury.

New England was without two starting offensive linemen, LG Dan Connolly and C Bryan Stork. Both sat out with concussions. Connolly and Stork were replaced in the starting lineup by Jordan Devey and Ryan Wendell, respectively.

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NJ ADVANCE MEDIA

Jets' miserable red-zone offense in first half sets them back in loss to Patriots (Darryl Slater) Star-Ledger October 17, 2014

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/10/jets_miserable_red-zone_offense_in_first_half_sets_them_back_in_loss_to_patriots.html

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Though the Jets’ offense performed admirably in Thursday night’s 27-25 loss to the Patriots – with 423 yards gained and 28 first downs – a lingering problem continued.

The Jets got into the red zone four times. They scored just two touchdowns. Another time, they reached the Patriots’ 20-yard line, but did not crack it, so this did not technically count as a red-zone trip. But even

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in this situation, the Jets settled for a field goal. The Jets went 0 of 2 on red-zone trips in the first half – 0 of 3 if you count this other possession, which does not technically count.

Seven games into the season, the Jets are 1-6, riding a six-game losing streak. Their red-zone numbers remain grim, due to Thursday’s 0-of-2 first half. The Jets have now scored touchdowns on just 9 of 22 red-zone trips this season – 40.9 percent. Stunningly, that actually marks an improvement on the Jets’ red-zone percentage entering the game – 38.9, which ranked third-to-last in the NFL.

The Jets’ offensive line played quite well Thursday. The Jets ran for 218 yards – 5.1 per carry. But the offensive line made a couple big errors in the red zone.

“It starts with the red zone,” said right tackle Breno Giacomini. “We’ve got to finish down there. We’ve got to put points on the board, especially when we have such a high-powered offense. We got down there. We couldn’t punch it in all the time.”

On the Jets’ first drive, they had first-and-goal at the Patriots’ 9 – the Jets’ second red-zone play of this possession, after second-and-6 at the 19, on which Geno Smith scrambled for 10 yards.

But on first-and-goal at the 9, new left guard Oday Aboushi committed a 10-yard holding penalty, saving Smith from a sack. That set the Jets back, and they had to line up for third-and-goal at the 13. Smith hit tight end Jace Amaro for a 9-yard pass on the play.

On the Jets’ second drive, they had first-and-10 at the Patriots’ 20. But they never technically got into the red zone, because right guard Willie Colon committed a holding penalty on this play. The next three plays: a 1-yard run by Chris Johnson, and then two incomplete passes.

The Jets could have been up 14-7 on the Patriots at this point, after two possessions for each team. Instead, New England led 7-6.

On the Jets’ fourth possession (their last one of the first half), they got back into the red zone – first-and-10 at the 16, and then second-and-1 at the 7 right after that. But on second-and-1, Smith’s handoff to Chris Ivory was slow to develop, as it appeared Ivory did not grab it cleanly. Ivory was tackled for a loss of 2 yards. Then Smith threw to the end zone for David Nelson on third-and-3 at the 9, but Nelson was covered and the pass sailed long.

“Coming into it, we knew they had a really good red-zone defense,” Smith said.

The Patriots actually were tied for 16th entering Thursday’s game in red-zone defense.

Anyway, even though the Jets went 2 for 2 in the red zone in the second half, with touchdown drives of 80 and 86 yards, their first-half red zone (and near-red zone) problems resulted in them trailing 17-12 at halftime. The Jets could have scored three touchdowns in the first half. Instead, they settled for four field goals.

On a night when the Jets’ offense did a lot of good things – including 9 of 16 on third downs (56 percent) for a group that came in converting 37.7 percent, 24th in the NFL – the red zone issues were part of the reason why the Jets couldn’t pull out the win.

“We had a couple big penalties in the red zone that hurt us,” said Jets coach Rex Ryan. “It played out really the way it has a lot of the season. At times, it looks like we are good enough to win, and then we make too many mistakes.”

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Nick Folk explains his strategy on 58-yard field goal that was blocked at end of Jets' loss to Patriots (Darryl Slater)

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Star-Ledger October 17, 2014

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/10/nick_folk_explains_strategy_on_58-yard_field_goal_that_was_blocked_at_end_of_jets_loss_to_patriots.html

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Last season, Jets kicker Nick Folk made three game-winning field goals. He had an opportunity Thursday to get his first of 2014, albeit in a tough spot.

But Folk's 58-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds of Thursday's game at the Patriots was blocked by defensive tackle Chris Jones, who committed the infamous, game-changing pushing penalty on a field goal block attempt in last year's Jets win over New England at MetLife Stadium.

Folk's career-long field goal remains 56, in a 2010 Jets game at Denver. Folk is in his eighth year in the NFL.

Thursday's 58-yard block was Folk's first miss of the season. He was 9 for 9 entering Thursday, including 5 for 5 from 40 yards and out. Last year, he went 33 of 36, including 15 of 17 from 40 and out. It was the best statistical year of his career.

Before lining up from 58 on Thursday -- a kick his teammates anxiously anticipated -- Folk had already made from 22, 27, 46 and 47 yards, all in the first half, as the Jets' offense stalled three times after reaching or cracking the Patriots' 20-yard line. Despite the 58-yarder being two yards longer than his career best, Folk was confident he could connect on it.

"I wouldn't have told (the Jets' coaches) I could make it from there if I didn't think I could make it," Folk said. "I told them my line was the 40. That's where they got it. I gave it a ride. I felt like I hit it pretty good."

Jets coach Rex Ryan said Folk had to hit a low, line-drive kick from a distance this long, so he could get enough power behind it. The problem is, low, line-drive kicks are more likely to be blocked.

Folk said it was "not necessarily" accurate that he had to hit a low line drive, "but with the way it was today (with the conditions), yeah, you've got to do whatever you've got to do, to give it enough to get it there. That's what I tried to do at the end there. It felt pretty good off my foot. I felt like I hit it pretty strong. It's just a bummer that it didn't get past eight yards."

As for the Jets having to settle for field goals in the first half, after botching chances for touchdowns, Folk said he could not speak on that.

"That's a good question for the offense, not really me," he said. "I just try to do my part. Whenever I'm called out there, I just try to go make my kicks."

Despite Thursday's miss of a potential (and very difficult) game winner, Folk has now made 46 of 50 field goal attempts since the beginning of last season, including 22 of 25 from 40 yards and longer.

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Why did official help Patriots avoid penalty before Jets' field goal got blocked? (Dom Cosentino) NJ.com October 17, 2014

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/10/why_did_official_help_patriots_avoid_penalty_before_jets_game-ending_field_goal_got_blocked.html

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Brace yourselves for another officiating controversy involving a field goal at the end of a Jets-Patriots game, America. Because what the heck is this?

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Thursday night, Jets kicker Nick Folk tried a 58-yard field goal on the game's final play. The try was obviously a longshot (duh): Folk had never made a kick attempt longer than 56 yards, and this one was blocked by Patriots defensive end Chris Jones. The Patriots won, 27-25, and the Jets got to slink back to Florham Park to figure out what to do, their season in ashes now that they're 1-6 with six straight losses.

Now, the Jets did plenty wrong and deserved to lose. Their season is a trash heap because they stink. But this isn't a good look for the NFL's officiating crew.

Check out what happened just before the ball was snapped. Patriots linebacker Dont'a Hightower approached the line of scrimmage and attempted to stand just over Jets long snapper Tanner Purdum. According to the rule book, this should have been a five-yard penalty. But instead, an official stepped in, grabbed Hightower by his right arm, and presumably told him to move over, which Hightower quickly did. But why?

An NFL spokesman did not immediately return an email message seeking comment, but that might have something to do with the fact that it's now past 3 a.m.

You can watch the video here; I'd embed it, but the NFL would rather not do anything to make life easy for its fans.

The video begins just as the official steps up to nudge Hightower aside. I've screen-grabbed it for you at the top of this post. And here's a close-up Vine that gives a clearer view of the official's actions:

The entire sequence is an odd echo of the last Jets-Patriots game, played last October down in North Jersey. That afternoon, Jones—yes, the same player who blocked Thursday night's game-ending kick—blocked a 56-yard Folk field goal attempt in overtime. But, at the time, Jones was assessed a penalty for pushing teammate Will Svitek into the line of scrimmage, which violated a rule the NFL had only implemented prior to last season. Jones was assessed a 15-yard penalty, the Jets got a new set of downs, and Folk later hit a field goal from 42 yards out to win the game. That triggered some confusion over the what the rule actually said. And the NFL would later admit the Jets should have been flagged for the same type of infraction earlier in the game.

But at least that was an honest mistake. What happened Thursday night seemed to be active intervention on the part of an official to prevent what, by rule, should have been a penalty. Had Hightower stayed where he was, inside the shoulder pads of Purdum, Rule 9-1-3(a) calls for a five-yard penalty for illegal formation: "When Team A presents a punt, field-goal, or Try Kick formation, a Team B player, who is within one yard of the line of scrimmage, must have his entire body outside the snapper’s shoulder pads at the snap."

But the official intervened instead, and immediately after Hightower got nudged, he moved outside Purdum's shoulder pads, where he was lined up legally. Again: Why?

A five-yard penalty would have given Folk a shot at a field goal attempt from 53 yards out. There's obviously no telling whether Folk would have made it, but he has successfully kicked five field goals from 53 yards or greater in his career, and he was a perfect 13-for-13 on field goals this season—including one from beyond 50 yards—before his would-be game-winner Thursday night got blocked.

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Jets' defense 'dropped the ball' in loss to Patriots, by continuing to repeat third-down mistakes (Darryl Slater) Star-Ledger October 17, 2014

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http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/10/jets_defense_dropped_the_ball_in_loss_to_patriots_by_continuing_to_repeat_third-down_mistakes.html

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson were on their hands and knees on the Jets’ sideline, watching Nick Folk line up for a last-ditch, 58-yard field goal Thursday night. As Folk struck the ball, Richardson sprung up, hoping.

Then Richardson saw Folk’s kick get blocked, sealing a 27-25 Patriots win. Richardson’s shoulders sagged, and he walked off the field after another loss – the Jets’ sixth straight – on a night when their offense played well enough to win, but their defense lagged in critical moments.

Richardson and Wilkerson certainly were not to blame. They have been the brightest spots on the Jets’ entire team during this miserable 1-6 start. And the Jets’ defense has actually performed reasonably well on a play-in, play-out basis. But in the most important situations, when great defenses separate themselves from just good ones, the Jets have too often failed.

The Jets out-gained the Patriots 423 yards to 323 on Thursday. The Jets held the ball for 40:54, compared to 19:06 for New England. The Jets had 28 first downs, the Patriots 16. The Jets converted 9 of 16 third downs. The Jets still lost.

That’s because they surrendered a 49-yard touchdown pass on the opening possession and allowed touchdown passes of 3 and 19 yards – both on third down, with the latter coming on a rare third-and-goal from the 19.

The Jets’ defense has given up 20 touchdowns this season. Eleven of them have come on third down, including passes of 12, 12, 13 and 59 yards before Thursday, and a run of 15 yards. The Jets have now allowed six touchdowns of at least 12 yards on third down -- a baffling statistic for a defense that was supposed to be this team's foundation.

In all six of their games, the Jets have allowed at least one third-down touchdown. Thursday marked the third time they had allowed multiple third-down touchdowns in a game this season. They surrendered three of them in the 31-0 loss at San Diego, and two against Chicago on a Monday night.

For as well as the Jets’ defense has played at times, ranking sixth in yards per game entering Thursday, it has done far too little in the largest situations. The Jets entered Thursday 25th in the NFL in third-down conversion defense (46.7 percent). The Patriots hit that percentage again Thursday, converting 6 of 13 third downs.

“We dropped the ball on defense,” said rush outside linebacker Quinton Coples. “This one is on the defense.”

Strong-side linebacker Calvin Pace called the loss “terrible, because the offense did a hell of a job, man.”

Jets coach Rex Ryan, who runs the defense and is inching closer to doing that somewhere else next season, bemoaned the Jets’ third straight close loss at New England. In their past two trips, the Jets lost by three points. Ryan is now 4-8 against the Patriots.

“We never played the smartest game in the history of the sport, without question, on defense in particular,” Ryan said of Thursday’s showing. “We were able to control the game. But we made enough mistakes on defense to cost us the win, obviously. This is like the third time in a row I thought we were good enough to beat them here, and we come away with a loss.”

It happened largely because of two long touchdown passes – a 49-yarder from Tom Brady to Shane Vereen, and a 19-yarder on third-and-goal to Danny Amendola. Both times, safety Antonio Allen’s mistakes cost the Jets.

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On the Vereen touchdown, cornerback Phillip Adams let Vereen run past. Allen was supposed to pick up the deep route, by his own admission, but did not play deep enough. He made a similar mistake against the Lions, costing the Jets a 59-yard touchdown pass on third down.

Amendola’s leaping, 19-yard catch was a beauty, and the difference in the game, as it put the Patriots up 27-19 with 7:49 remaining. Amendola turned at the last minute and snagged Brady’s pass out of the air in the end zone. Amendola had faked Allen toward the inside initially, and then curled outside, getting past Allen, who never turned and looked for the ball as it sailed toward Amendola.

Ryan’s comments on the play dripped with sarcasm, his displeasure with Allen evident, because this touchdown, in this situation, seemed entirely preventable.

“Just the greatest route in the history of the game,” Ryan said. “I think we were shocked that he would run a route to the goal line.”

Allen owned his errors afterward. He said he was playing a zone coverage, which usually means he should peek at the quarterback. But just before Amendola curled outside, Allen took a look at Brady, and lost track of Amendola.

“I’ve just got to do a better job of putting my eyes in the right place and playing the ball,” Allen said. “In that situation, when the ball has got to go to the end zone, I should just play him like man (coverage) or something like that and do a better job in the end zone. I’ve just got to play the hands, keep my eyes on (Amendola), instead of trying to take that peek. I’ve got to get my head around and play the ball better. Even if I don’t see the ball to him, I’ve got to turn to the receiver and find where his hands are at and play through the hands (by watching when they extend for the ball).”

This is becoming a similar refrain for the Jets’ defense, rehashing mistakes like these after games.

“Once again, another week, keep making the same mistakes and keep losing games,” Wilkerson said. “Until we correct those mistakes and make plays like we’re supposed to on third down, that’s what’s going to happen. We’re going to keep losing games. I feel like we let one slip away. We had this one.”

A locker away, a few moments later, Richardson echoed Wilkerson.

“No matter how good you do on first and second down, if they’re scoring on third down, it really doesn’t matter what you did on first and second down,” Richardson said. “We had told our offense to get us a certain amount of points this season and we’re going to have their back. We didn’t have their back today.”

The Jets’ preseason playoff aspirations are a pipe dream now. But if they want to somehow make sure this season does not spectacularly go up in flames, they need to put into practice their postgame lamenting of big plays – words that sound more and more hollow with every third-down touchdown.

“We’ve got to eliminate the big plays, man,” Allen said. “We’ve been talking about it all season. It always seems to come back up. We’ve just got to do something about it, instead of talking about it every week. I put a lot of it on me, because I was out of position a couple times and they hit a couple big plays.”

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Geno Smith injures knee in Jets' loss to Patriots, but says he feels 'fine' (Dom Cosentino) NJ.com October 17, 2014

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/10/geno_smith_injures_knee_in_jets_loss_to_patriots_but_says_he_feels_fine.html

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- With 11:48 remaining in the game, Jets quarterback Geno Smith dropped back to pass in his own end zone. He threw incomplete to tight end Jeff Cumberland, but he also took a shot to his left leg from Patriots defensive tackle Chris Jones.

Smith tried to get up but couldn't. He got on all fours before he lay prone to await treatment from the team's trainers. And then he left the game, though he would return after missing just one play of the Jets' 27-25 loss to the Patriots on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium, their sixth straight defeat overall and third in a row on the road against the Patriots by three or fewer points.

"Just a low hit," Smith said afterward. "I felt some pain in my knee, but thank God it went away and I was able to get back to it."

Smith played what might have been his best game of the season Thursday night. He completed 20 of 34 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown. He also—for the first time this season and just the fifth time in 23 career NFL starts—did not turn the ball over once. He also rushed seven times for 37 yards—taking off and running is something he's needed to do—and his quarterback rating was 88.6.

After returning from the injury, Smith led the Jets on an 86-yard touchdown drive to bring the Jets within two. He then marched them from their own 12 with 1:06 to the Patriots' 40. But Nick Folk's possible game-winning field goal was blocked by Jones, and that was that.

Smith was able to leave the field under his own power after getting hurt, and he required no additional treatment on the sideline. The injury was not serious at all, Smith said, and he doesn't need an MRI or anything of the sort once the team returns to North Jersey.

"No," he said. "I'm fine."

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Rex Ryan as agitated as ever after Jets lose sixth straight game (Dom Cosentino) NJ.com October 17, 2014

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/10/rex_ryan_as_agitated_as_ever_after_jets_lose_sixth_straight_game.html

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Rex Ryan looked devastated after the Jets lost to the Patriots, 27-25, on Thursday night. It was their sixth straight defeat, and it would be an understatement to say Ryan wasn't disappointed by this one.

"It’s ridiculous to stand here after a loss and think where our team’s at," Ryan, the Jets' head coach, said of the team's 1-6 record. "It’s not where this team should be."

But where should they be? The Jets outgained the Patriots, 423 total yards to 323. They had a two-to-one edge in time of possession. They didn't turn the ball over. Yet here they stand, with one game remaining in October, their record at 1-6, their season in a free-fall, and Ryan at a loss to explain a third straight defeat against their arch-rivals at Gillette Stadium by three points or less.

The mistakes—an inability to score touchdowns in the red zone, getting off the field on third down when it matters, a failure to force turnovers, ill-timed penalties—have been the same, week after agonizing week.

“I’m not shell-shocked at all," Ryan said. "I’m a little upset. Our record is what it is. I’m not shell-shocked by any stretch. We did what we wanted to do on them. We were able to control the football, ran the football, did those things that it takes to win the game, then we just made too many darn mistakes. That’s what it is. But shell-shocked? I’m not shell-shocked, by any stretch.”

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Ryan tends to wear his emotions on his sleeve. But on this night, during his post-game press conference, he was dismissive of some questions, sarcastic about others. When one veteran beat reporter pointed out that Ryan seemed as agitated as that reporter's ever seen, Ryan didn't disagree.

"Yeah," he said curtly. "I think so."

Later, Ryan went on: "“It’s really frustrating. You're playing your first divisional game. Obviously this is the big dogs in our division. ... You’re trying to beat them at their place, and this is the third time in a row I thought we were good enough to beat them here, and we come away with a loss.”

Right tackle Breno Giacomini said he felt no differently. Giacomini and the much-maligned offensive line has been the fulcrum of so many of this offense's failures this season. But the O-line had its finest game of the season Thursday night, powering the rushing attack to 5.1 yards per carry and a season-high 218 rushing yards. The O-line, with Oday Aboushi making his first start in place of the injured Brian Winters, also generally kept the pocket clean for quarterback Geno Smith, who didn't turn the ball over for the first time this season and posted a quarterback rating of 88.6.

"We feel the same way," Giacomini said.

Outside linebacker Calvin Pace said the players deserve more of the blame than Ryan.

"It’s not a good feeling," Pace said. "I’ve been with Rex his whole time here and he’s taking a lot of blame on himself, but he shouldn’t because he doesn’t play. We haven’t done enough as a team. His players haven’t done enough to go get victories."

Wide receiver David Nelson may have summed up the team's mood as it relates to Ryan perfectly.

"He wanted this one—we all did," Nelson said. "Not only because it was the New England game, but because we were 1-5 coming into this. We know we're better than that.

"I think another reason why he's so disappointed is he believes in this team. He believes that we are a playoff-caliber team and that we were built for success. I think that's why it's so difficult for him to swallow and so difficult for all of us to swallow, because we truly believe that we have who we need to get the job done, and we're just not doing that. Today was extra difficult because we fought so hard. We had the chance at the end of the game and just came up short. We come in with high expectations, and we were humbled a little bit, for the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth week of the season."

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Jets QB Geno Smith plays turnover-free and hurts Patriots with his legs in 27-25 loss | Instant analysis (Dom Cosentino) NJ.com October 17, 2014

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/10/jets_keep_it_close_but_fall_to_patriots_for_sixth_straight_loss_27-25_instant_analysis_tktk.html

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Well, at least the Jets didn't get embarrassed, right?

They had the ball for an astounding 40:54. They rushed for 218 yards. And Geno Smith didn't turn the ball over. But it still didn't matter. The Jets dropped a 27-25 decision to the rival Patriots on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium.

For all they did right, they still did just enough wrong—ill-timed penalties, blown coverages despite decent pressure on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, and an awful punt at the worst possible time and place. It

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ended with Nick Folk attempting a 58-yard field goal as time expired, but Chris Jones blocked it. It seemed appropriate.

There are no moral victories in the NFL, no points to be gained from keeping things close against against the AFC East's standard-bearer on the road. The Jets are now 1-6 with six straight losses. That's the only stat that matters right now.

So how'd it happen? A quick breakdown:

The offensive line was actually pretty good. Heck, I daresay it was dominant, at least in the first half. Tough to say exactly what the difference was, but what's obvious is that Oday Aboushi replaced the injured Brian Winters at left guard. Everyone who obsesses over quarterbacks should be forced to sit and watch what happens with this offense when the line plays well. The Jets scored on their first five possessions, and all were lengthy, time-consuming, sustained drives. They were able to run the ball, which opened things up for the receivers, which allowed quarterback Geno Smith to be a game manager who didn't turn the ball over. Funny how that can happen when the guys on the other side get blocked, huh?

The Geno Smith story. Smith completed 20 of 34 passes for 205 yards and one touchdown. For the first time this season, he didn't turn the ball over. He also used his legs—like we've been telling him to do—by rushing for 37 yards on seven carries. And it helped open things up for him. He sometimes made some decisions just an instant too late, but this loss wasn't on him.

That Revis guy. Smith wasn't afraid to go at ex-Jets corner Darrelle Revis at times, and he managed to connect with Eric Decker at least twice with Revis in coverage. But Revis had a huge pass break-up on a third down throw to Decker in the fourth quarter that was followed by a bad punt that put the Pats in prime position to score the deciding touchdown. But more on that in a bit.

Rex zone woes continue. The Jets came into this game ranked 30th in the league in offensive red zone efficiency (38.89 percent). And for as effective as they were moving the ball, those troubles continued: The Jets proceeded to settle for field goals on their first two trips inside the Pats' 20, plus another time in which they reached the 20 before going backward. And the first two times, they got set back because of holding penalties against Aboushi and Willie Colon, respectively. Those are the sort of self-inflicted mistake the Jets have been since the season started, really.

Defense gives up more big plays. Look, Tom Brady does what Tom Brady does. But on the Pats' first touchdown—a 49-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Shane Vereen just 1:29 into the game, cornerback Phillip Adams and safety Antonio Allen had some kind of miscommunication that allowed Vereen to get behind the defense for an easy score. Allen, who keeps getting bounced between cornerback and safety, sat for the next series, and Adams was later replaced toward the end of the first half by Kyle Wilson. Allen later returned to play slot corner. But that early deep TD was eerily reminiscent of what happened three weeks ago against the Lions. And Brady finished with 261 passing yards. And the Jets forced zero turnovers. They still have just three takeaways this season.

The Ryan Quigley punt. Quigley averaged 48 yards on his first two punts, but with about 11 minutes remaining in the game, punting from his own 16, Quigley shanked one that went just 30 yards. The Pats led 20-19 at the time. Nine plays later, they were in the end zone, with Danny Amendola scoring on third-and-goal from the 19. The whole sequence more or less sums up the Jets' season.

Any injuries? Running back Bilal Powell left the game in the second half with a foot injury.

Nick Folk no longer perfect. Folk, the Jets' kicker, made his first four field goals before Jones blocked that 58-yarder at the gun. Folk is now 13-for-14 on the season.

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What's up with Quinton Coples? Jason Babin got the start at outside linebacker, and while exact snap counts won't be available until the morning, Coples wasn't out there much, though he did have a key pressure to force Brady into an incompletion early in the fourth quarter. Last week, Babin played 36 snaps to Coples's 34, and head coach Rex Ryan cryptically said it's because the Jets needed Babin's pass-rushing skills against Peyton Manning. Was the strategy the same Thursday night, or is Coples in the doghouse?

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Patriots 27, Jets 25: The good, the bad and the ugly from the Jets' sixth straight loss (Darryl Slater) Star-Ledger October 17, 2014

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/10/jets_xx_patriots_xx_the_good_the_bad_and_the_ugly_from_a_rainy_thursday_night.html

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The Jets came oh-so-close to snapping their five-game losing streak Thursday night at the Patriots. But in the end, it was a familiar result -- another loss, six in a row. The Jets last lost six straight in 2007. They haven't dropped seven in a row since 2005 -- a fate they will try to avoid next week at home against Buffalo.

The Jets were able to drive 86 yards for a touchdown with 2:31 remaining in the game, but Geno Smith's two-point conversion pass for Jace Amaro sailed long, with safety Patrick Chung in coverage. If Smith found Amaro, that would have tied the game at 27. Instead, the Jets found themselves on the losing end again, 27-25 this time.

The Jets teased their fans at the finish, by putting together a last-ditch drive. It ended when Nick Folk's 58-yard field goal attempt at the gun -- which would have exceeded his career long by 2 yards -- was blocked by Chris Jones. He was the Patriots player penalized on that critical field goal push play last year in the Jets' win at MetLife Stadium.

Here is a look at the scope of things that happened in this one, as the Jets fell to 1-6 and coach Rex Ryan moved a step closer to being fired after the season:

THE GOOD

The Jets got off to a strong start offensively -- something they desperately needed. They scored on their first five drives, though they got just one touchdown out of those possessions. After scoring a touchdown on their first possession of the second half, the Jets had gained 278 yards, including 167 on the ground -- 5.1 yards per rush. They had possessed the ball for 28:05, compared to 8:05 for the Patriots, at this point. The Jets converted 7 of their first 11 third downs. Entering the game, the Jets had converted just 37.6 percent of their third downs this season. The Jets led 19-17 after scoring a touchdown to open the second half -- an 80-yard drive. But the Patriots responded with a field goal on the next drive, to go up 20-19.

GENO SMITH: QB plays well, but it's not enough

THE BAD

The Jets started Darrin Walls and Phillip Adams at the cornerback spots, as they began life after Dee Milliner, who is out for the year with a torn Achilles tendon. That pairing didn't last long. Adams, whom the Jets signed after final cuts, struggled in the first half and was benched in favor of slot cornerback Kyle Wilson. Coverage safety Antonio Allen took over Wilson's duties as the slot corner in the Jets' nickel package (five defensive backs). Wilson replaced Adams on the Patriots' final drive of the first half. Adams this week expressed confidence in the Jets' cornerbacks. He didn't do much to back it up on the field Thursday night.

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THE UGLY

Yes, the Jets scored on their first five possessions. But on two of them, they cracked the Patriots' 20-yard line, and on another, they got to the 20. They settled for field goals on all three of those drives, all of which came in the first half. The Patriots were able to go up 27-19 on a Tom Brady touchdown pass to Danny Amendola with 7:49 left in the game -- on third-and-goal from the 19. It was New England's second third-down conversion of that drive. The Patriots got auspicious field position to start the drive after Ryan Quigley managed just a 30-yard punt. New England took over at the Jets' 46. It was an ugly sequence for the Jets, who let the Patriots hang around by not cashing in those first-half scoring chances.

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NEW YORK POST

‘Revis Island’ a busy stop in Jets-Patriots game (Mark Cannizzaro) New York Post October 17, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/10/17/revis-island-a-busy-stop-in-jets-patriots-game/

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Darrelle Revis knew exactly how this game was going to go. He had been on the Jets’ end of enough of these rivalry games against the Patriots plenty of times.

He disregarded the Jets’ 1-5 record entering the game.

“We knew this game was probably going to be close and come down to this,’’ Revis, the former Jets cornerback now playing for the Patriots, said after New England survived a 27-25 win Thursday night at Gillette Stadium.

“That’s what rivalries are; it doesn’t really matter what the records are,’’ Revis said. “This is a historical rivalry. It’s been going on for years and years and it will continue. You never know what you’re going to get in these games.’’

What Revis got — perhaps to his surprise — was some balls thrown his way. “Revis Island’’ was a little busier than it usually is.

The highlight play against him was a 24-yard Geno Smith pass over Revis to receiver Eric Decker on the Jets’ second offensive possession, leading to their second field goal.

“Great throw by Geno Smith,’’ Revis said. “I undercut it, and it [Smith] had thrown it any other way it was going to be going the other way, because I was on it like a hawk. Great throw. I’ve got to give credit to them executing that pay. Great throw. Great catch by Decker.

“I was there. Sometimes, it’s a game of inches. [Smith] threw it right at the out of bounds line. It was that close.’’

Later in the game, on a fourth-quarter Jets possession with Gang Green trailing 20-19, Revis made a key third-down breakup of a Smith pass attempt to Decker. On the play, Decker tried to fake Revis into thinking it was same play on which he had been beaten earlier.

Instead of taking his route deeper, though, Decker stayed in the middle of the field and Revis tipped the pass away from him on third-and-four, forcing the Jets to punt the ball away to the Patriots, who scored a touchdown on the ensuing possession to go up 27-19.

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“I broke it up playing my leverage,’’ Revis said of the fourth-quarter Decker play. “They ran a ‘seven route’ earlier and [Decker] ran a ‘seven stop’ that time and tried to get me going up the field. I just stuck my hands in there and made a play.’’

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The stunning irony in the Jets’ brutal blocked field goal (Mark Cannizzaro) New York Post October 17, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/10/17/the-stunning-irony-in-the-jets-brutal-blocked-field-goal/

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The thud heard ’round New England on Thursday night elicited two completely different emotions for the two players involved on the last play of the Patriots’ gritty 27-25 survival against the Jets at Gillette Stadium.

For Jets kicker Nick Folk, who attempted the 58-yard potential game-winning field goal, the thud made him immediately sick to his stomach.

For Patriots defensive tackle Chris Jones, the thud produced instant euphoria, because it was his hand that caused that thud — when the ball Folk kicked in an effort to save the Jets’ sinking season met his mitt.

“Oh, it was a bummer,’’ Folk said inside a dead-quiet Jets locker room minutes after it was over and the Jets had tumbled to 1-6 with their sixth consecutive loss. “Yeah, you hear it. It’s just something you never want to hear. They rushed hard; they did a great job.’’

Jones’ take on the thud: “It depends on how much it hits your hand. If it hits just your fingertips, you’re like, ‘Oh, I hope it doesn’t go through.’ But I felt it hit my palm, so I knew I got it pretty good, and when I saw it go past the line I was really excited. I started running off the field. I didn’t know what to do at the moment.’’

For the 6-foot-7, 309-pound Jones, in his second NFL season, there was a wildly ironic twist to his heroic moment.

As a rookie last season playing the Jets at MetLife Stadium, Jones was called for a penalty on a new rule that gave Folk another chance at a game-winning field goal. Folk booted a 42-yard field goal with 5:07 left in overtime to give the New York Jets a 30-27 victory over the Patriots.

A moment earlier, Folk was wide left on a 56-yarder, but the miss was negated when Jones was called for unsportsmanlike conduct on a 15-yard penalty that had never before been called in an NFL game.

Referee Jerome Boger explained in a pool report that Jones was called for pushing his teammate “into the opponents’ formation.”

Jones said he “didn’t really think about’’ last year’s bizarre play “at first, and then it kind of hit me. It is hard to believe, but God wanted me to block the field goal and I blocked the field goal.’’

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he was “obviously really happy for Chris at the end. After what happened last year, I thought it was so fitting that he made that play. That was awesome.’’

Folk had made his four previous kicks in the game — all in the first half — from 22, 47, 46 and 27 yards, and was 13-of-13 for the season before the Jones block. On the sideline, he told the coaches if the offense could get the ball to the New England 40, that was in his range.

“I tried to drive it a little bit,’’ Folk said of the ill-fated kick. “I tried to give it a good ride. I thought I hit it pretty good, but bummer … it didn’t get past the line. A little bit of adrenaline and I tried to let one fly.’’

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Asked what he saw, Folk said, “I couldn’t tell you. I try not to look up that fast. If I look up that fast it’s already missed.’’

The thud was all Folk needed to hear to know it missed and the Jets had lost another game.

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Jets report card: One crucial ‘C’ makes all the difference (Brian Costello) New York Post October 17, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/10/17/jets-report-card-one-crucial-c-makes-all-the-difference/

Offense

The Jets’ offense played its best game of the season, but it was not enough because it came up short four times in the first half, setting for field goals. The Jets ran for 218 yards, led by the bruising Chris Ivory (21 rushes, 107 yards, 1 TD). QB Geno Smith (20-of-34, 226 yards, 1 TD) showed something with no turnovers and 37 yards rushing. The Jets were undone in the first half by two holding penalties in the red zone (Oday Aboushi, Willie Colon) and a dropped pass by Jace Amaro.

Grade: A-

Defense

The defense was not terrible, but again gave up huge plays. The 49-yard touchdown at the beginning of the game got things started. Safety Antonio Allen blew the coverage on the play. Allen was also in coverage on the third-and-19 touchdown by Danny Amendola in the fourth quarter. The Jets gave up two touchdown drives of 80 yards again. For most of the night, Tom Brady (20-of-37, 261 yards, 3 TDs) had too much time to operate.

Grade: C

Special teams

Nick Folk was money in the first half, nailing four field goals. He missed his first of the season as time expired, but it was a 58-yarder that was blocked. Ryan Quigley killed the Jets with a 30-yard punt in the fourth quarter that set up the Patriots’ game-winning touchdown. Walt Powell had a 62-yard kick return that set the Jets up with great field position.

Grade: B

Coaching

Give Rex Ryan credit — he had his team ready to play. The team kept fighting despite the way this season is going. Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg had a great plan, emphasizing the running game against a weakened Patriots’ front. Ryan did his best to neutralize Brady, but a few breakdowns killed the Jets.

Grade: A

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The Jets waste a near perfect game — and a season (Mike Vaccaro) New York Post October 17, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/10/17/the-jets-waste-a-near-perfect-game-and-a-season/

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Out of the mess, there was light. Out of the despair, there was hope. A few steps away from the abyss, the Jets had put together the kind of night that is supposed to matter in the NFL, that is supposed to yield satisfaction.

Zero turnovers. Dominant time of possession: 40 minutes and 54 seconds to 19:06, numbers eerily reminiscent of the way a Giants team had once upon a time played keep-away with a powerful Bills team all the way to a Lombardi Trophy.

And out of all of this, a chance, a prayer, a hope: the football sitting on the New England 40-yard line, five seconds left, the most dependable kicker in football lining up for what would have been a career-best 58-yarder to win the game and stun Gillette Stadium into silence.

“After almost 60 minutes, we had the ball and we had the game in our hands,” wide receiver David Nelson said. “That’s really all you can ask for.”

“It felt good off my foot,” Nick Folk said. “It felt really good.”

But this is a year when almost perfect doesn’t mean a thing, not for the Jets, certainly not yet. Later, for the second week in a row, Rex Ryan raged, “You hope at some point things even out.”

Of course, that’s exactly what most of the people inside the stadium believed had happened. Folk needed some extra octane to get the ball home; that meant keeping it lower. And that meant before it could sail through the air and break New England’s heart, it collided with the hand of a Patriots defensive tackle named Chris Jones.

If that name sounds familiar, it should: last year, Jones was whistled for an obscure penalty when Folk was attempting a 56-yarder in New Jersey that sailed wide. Jones was called for pushing the pile. Folk made the most of the mulligan. And now, 11 months later, things really had evened out.

Just not as Ryan wanted.

“At times,” he said, “we look like we’re good enough to win.”

And then his mood darkened on a dime.

“And then we make too many mistakes,” he said.

Ryan spoke with bile in his voice and salt on his tongue, a coach who knows well it is getting late early for his tenure in the chair.

And the Jets played with the purpose of a team that understood it needed to win or face the prospect of running the table to keep itself relevant.

And it wasn’t enough. The final was 27-25, and the Patriots sped merrily off the field, comfortably ensconced in their usual perch atop the AFC East, and the Jets stormed off the field realizing that even on a night when they played as close to a game plan as a team can play, it wasn’t enough.

“They gave us all we could handle,” Tom Brady said. It was meant as a compliment. It was no consolation prize.

“I’m a little upset our record is what it is,” Ryan seethed, the record now 1-6 and the mission every bit as simple as it is hopeless: start winning and hope you don’t stop. Aim for nine wins in nine weeks when there only has been one in the first seven. Yikes.

“They were almost perfect,” Brady said.

But almost was enough to pour gasoline on one more lost night in a lost season. As good as the offense was, as careful as Geno Smith was with the ball, as dominant as the running game was, there were too

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many possessions that ended with field goals and not touchdowns, thanks to dropped passes and killer penalties.

As stubborn as the Jets’ defense was, there was a quick Pats touchdown just 89 seconds into the game, and then an inexcusable one much later, on third-and-goal from the 19. And, yes, as good as a job as Ryan did getting his scuffing team ready to play on short rest, there were two wasted timeouts in the second half, neither of which he could fully explain afterward, both of which reflect poorly on the boss.

Preserve just one of them, maybe the Jets have enough time to pick up 10 extra yards at the end. And Folk can make a 48-yarder left-footed if necessary. But there were no extra yards, and no extra time. And now there is little in the way of hope left. The imperfect team pitched a near-perfect game. And it wasn’t enough.

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How the running game nearly saved the Jets (Brian Costello) New York Post October 17, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/10/17/how-the-running-game-nearly-saved-the-jets/

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Jets returned to the glory days of Ground and Pound on Thursday night.

The running game was rolling, with Chris Ivory rushing for 107 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. The Jets ran for 218 yards total, their best this season.

After two subpar games, the offensive line pushed the Patriots around in the 27-25 loss.

“It was something we have focused on for a few weeks now,” tackle Breno Giacomini said. “We are just trying to get better. We did that, but we didn’t do good enough because we couldn’t finish the game. That is something we have to do next time.”

Quarterback Geno Smith got back to running the ball, too, getting 37 yards on seven carries and converting several big third downs by running.

It looks like the Jets have tired of the lack of production from 2012 first-round pick Quinton Coples.

The outside linebacker was benched as the Jets went with Jason Babin instead. Coples barely played in the game and had no impact. He had some success early this season, but his production dropped offin recent weeks.

“There wasn’t nothing behind it,” Coples said. “They just told me to be ready.”

Last week against the Broncos, Babin played slightly more than Coples. Jets coach Rex Ryan downplayed that last week, but it’s clear there was more to it.

The Jets took Coples with the 16th pick in 2012. They drafted him over linebacker Chandler Jones, who was taken by the Patriots with the 21st pick and was extremely active Thursday night, with a big sack of Smith early in the fourth quarter.

The Jets must decide whether to pick up a fifth-year option on Coples next spring. Right now, that choice looks obvious.

Cornerback Kyle Wilson did not play much early, but replaced Phillip Adams on the final drive of the first half as the outside cornerback. Wilson usually plays in the slot, but the Jets tired of seeing Adams get beat and put Wilson outside.

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Ryan’s coaching record with the Jets is now under .500 in the regular season at 43-44. He is 4-2 in the playoffs. …. Smith left the game for a play in the fourth quarter when Chris Jones hit him in the knee, but Smith said he is fine. … The Jets inactives were WR Chris Owusu, WR Greg Salas, CB Josh Thomas, LB Trevor Reilly, OL Dakota Dozier, OL Wesley Johnson and NT T.J. Barnes. LB Antwan Barnes was active for the first time this season. He came off the PUP list on Wednesday. Barnes played quite a bit in the game, considering his first practice was Tuesday. OL Ben Ijalana was active for the first time since the Jets picked him up before last season.

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The Jets give Geno every chance to win — and he can’t (Steve Serby) New York Post October 17, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/10/17/the-jets-give-geno-every-chance-to-win-and-he-cant/

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — One play, Geno. Just one more play, one more pass.

Go win the game.

He tried.

Go tie the game.

He couldn’t.

He tried.

No medals for trying.

“Not good enough,” Geno Smith said. “Spotty at times. I had opportunities there. Just didn’t get the job done.”

The Jets were playing as if to save Rex Ryan.

They were playing as if Ryan had eaten iron bars at the Wednesday night team meeting and in the locker room before the game.

They were playing with a snarling rage. Chris Ivory already had 100 rushing yards on the first possession of the third quarter.

They were Mean Green, looking for a fight.

Perhaps it was the sight of the Patriots that made their blood boil and remind them of the hatred.

Perhaps it was their desperation, being sick and tired of being sick and tired, losers of five in a row.

They were playing as if they would have been forced at gunpoint to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings.

And Geno Smith, he wasn’t doing the things that cause your team to lose the game.

Not once did he scream “F–k you!” at a fan. He didn’t miss any team meetings. He was trying so very hard to write a narrative that even the media could not misinterpret.

And yet on his best night of the season (20-for-34, 226 yards, one TD, 37 yards rushing), a night in which he didn’t turn the ball over, not once, a night in which he threw the late touchdown pass to Jeff Cumberland that pulled the Jets to within 27-25, he could not complete the last pass, the pass that would have tied the game with 2 ¹/₂ minutes left of Patriots 27, Jets 25.

Geno’s Law, formerly Murphy’s Law.

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It had been the beginning of the fourth quarter and Ryan and the Jets, trailing 20-19, asked Smith to go win the game.

On third-and-5, he was sacked by a jailbreak for a 15-yard loss.

Gang Green stopped Tom Brady.

Go win the game.

Smith had it at his 4 with 12:29 left.

At the end of an incompletion for Cumberland, Chris Jones felled Smith by the legs and Smith was down and out, and Michael Vick was in.

“Kinda felt some pain in my knee,” Smith said.

Now Ryan asked Vick, from his 10 with 11:44 left, to go win the game.

Vick scrambled around left end for 6 yards.

And here came Smith back to replace him.

He tried for Eric Decker, who couldn’t hang onto the ball with Darrelle Revis, who looked human at times, draped all over him.

Brady, starting at the Jets 46 following a horrific 30-yard punt by Ryan Quigley, found Danny Amendola with the inexcusable 19-yard TD pass on third-and-goal against Antonio Allen. It was Patriots 27, Jets 19.

Now Ryan asked Smith to go tie the game.

Smith started at his 14, 7:42 left.

He hit Jeremy Kerley over the middle for 16 yards.

A few plays later, hit Cumberland for 12 yards. He was 34 yards away. Some Ground and Pound got him to the 14.

Third-and-6, 2:36 left, Smith stood tall and rifled a 10-yard TD pass to Cumberland.

“I thought Geno played his best game tonight,” David Nelson said.

Go tie the game.

Smith looked right, a fade into the pylon for Jace Amaro.

Who had beaten Patrick Chung.

And Smith overthrew him.

“I got to give him a better ball,” Smith said. “That’s completely on me.”

“Just a little bit miscommunication,” Amaro said.

How so?

“I guess he thought I was going to come more inside on that,” Amaro said. “Threw it a little bit more flat. We’ve been practicing that play for a while. Never had any problems with it. But … just missed it when it mattered most.

Amaro was asked how close it was to his outstretched hand.

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“It was probably about a couple of inches away. Maybe if I would have gotten my head turned around a little bit quicker, but I’m taught to look up in the air. Didn’t see the ball until it was almost parallel to my face.”

One last chance, from his 12, 1:06 and no timeouts left.

Go win the game.

Smith hit Chris Johnson for 8 yards, then Johnson again for 11, soon hit David Nelson for 11, then Kerley for 13.

“I think you can kind of outthink yourself and I’ve done that in the past, but today I just stuck to my fundamentals and what I’ve been coached to do,” Smith said.

He was at the New England 45, 14 seconds left.

He threw to Ivory for 5 and out of bounds.

Eight left.

Incomplete for Kerley.

Nick Folk for a 58-yard field goal to win it.

Blocked by Jones.

Of course it was.

“We know we’re good enough to win,” an agitated, exasperated Ryan said.

If they were good enough to win, they would have won.

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Jets-Patriots rivalry will soon be a distant memory (Mike Vaccaro) New York Post October 17, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/10/17/jets-patriots-rivalry-will-soon-be-a-distant-memory/

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — So, there were 66 seconds left in an old-school Jets-Pats skirmish, one that conjured the best of all this used to be, and could be. The Jets had refused to act the part of a 1-5 team. They had dragged the Patriots through the muck of their field, even if there was no actual mud.

For the first time in too long, Geno Smith looked like a man completely at peace with himself, and with his job. The Jets approached midfield. They crossed midfield. The clock was churning, cranking, burning. Somehow, in 61 of those seconds, Smith had driven the Jets to the Patriots’ 40.

Nick Folk lined up for a 58-yard field goal. Could this be the break the Je …

Nope. Blocked. Pats 27, Jets 25.

Jets 1-6.

Season officially on the other side of the brink.

The Jets played with every ounce of the desperation expected from a team fully aware the zero hour had approached. Offensively, they were safe and they were smart, and they scored the first five times they had the ball, four field goals and a Chris Ivory touchdown, Smith taking care of the ball, throwing when necessary, managing the game.

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On the other side of the ball, things started terribly, the Patriots scoring 89 seconds into the game when Tom Brady found a frighteningly wide-open Shane Vereen, but that turned out to be an aberration. Mostly, the defense surrendered only dribs and drabs to Brady, small chunks here and there.

By the end of the third quarter the Patriots held a one-point lead, 20-19, and the rain-slicked crowd seemed more than a little concerned by all of this. After all, before the game the Pats had released a small #ThrowbackThursday video featuring the Butt-fumble, and at halftime Pats owner Robert Kraft had whipped the crowd into a frenzy by recoiling in horror at the memory of Ty Law — inducted this night into the Pats Hall of Fame — wearing a Jets jersey late in his career.

If that was some uncharacteristic hubris coming from the Patriots, it was understandable. After all, the Jets entered the game 1-5 and reeling, while the Pats were in their customary place all alone atop the AFC East, coming off a couple of feel-good wins against Cincinnati and at Buffalo.

The Jets were our last hope to keep these embers of the old New York-Boston enmity burning. Though the Patriots have been the dominant team in this rivalry since Bill Belichick flipped sides, the Jets have been the occasional stone in their shoe. They are the last AFC team to win a regular-season game at Gillette Stadium, in 2008. They beat the Patriots in a playoff game here in 2011.

Even a year ago, the Jets provided a sour note during the Patriots’ annual merry jaunt through the regular season, winning in New Jersey in overtime after Folk received a penalty mulligan after missing his first attempt, from 56 yards. And if not for Smith’s first career turnover-fest in Week 2, they might actually have pulled off a sweep.

So the Jets, with all their big plans, certainly were in position to keep this fury firing.

Look, it’s never going to be like it was the three years when Bill Parcells was coaching the Jets and every visit to Foxborough became a holy war. In those days, the game became Tuna Bowl and the hard feelings were everywhere, something we’re reminded of in Parcells’ new book, something that became even more intense when Belichick defected and took a lot of Parcells folks with him — starting with Parcells’ own son-in-law, Scott Pioli.

But Rex Ryan is a enough of a lightning rod, and his style of doing business so polarizing, that this could have been sustained. All the Jets had to do was not stumble into a bear trap and tumble into a bottomless pit of lousy football.

Of course, that’s exactly what they had done.

And exactly where they are. Even after a hell of a close try. For whatever that’s really worth.

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Jets suffer painful loss to Patriots, drop to 1-6 (Brian Costello) New York Post October 16, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/10/16/jets-suffer-painful-loss-to-patriots-drop-to-1-6/

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — If this is the end of the Rex Ryan era, the Jets players are fighting it every step of the way.

The Jets lost their sixth straight game, a 27-25 heartbreaker to the rival Patriots to fall to 1-6, making a fourth straight season with no playoffs and the firing of Ryan at the end of it feel inevitable.

You have to give Ryan credit, though. The Jets are still playing hard for him. They’re just not good enough.

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The Jets came out with a strong offensive game plan and had some success against Tom Brady and the Patriots’ offense, but New England held the Jets to field goals in the first half and then found just enough holes in the Jets’ defense to beat the Jets a fourth straight time at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots took control of the game with 7:49 left to play when Brady found Danny Amendola for a 19-yard touchdown to make it 27-19. Amendola made a ridiculous, twisting catch after beating Jets defensive back Antonio Allen on the play. The seven-play drive was set up by a terrible punt from Ryan Quigley, who booted a 30-yarder, giving the Patriots the ball on the Jets’ 46. Passes to Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski moved New England down the field.

The Jets threatened to tie the game with 2:31 left when Geno Smith found tight end Jeff Cumberland for a 10-yard touchdown to cut it to 27-25. The two-point conversion attempt was an overthrown pass from Smith that sailed over tight end Jace Amaro.

The Jets got the ball back one last time with 1:06 to go at their own 12-yard line. Smith drove the Jets 48 yards on eight plays, hitting four straight passes before a final incompletion, but Nick Folk’s 58-yard attempt was blocked.

The loss came, despite the Jets playing their best game in weeks. They actually ran the ball well behind a solid effort from the offensive line and Smith ran effectively and played mistake-free.

Chris Ivory ran for 107 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries and the Jets finished with 218 yards rushing a week after gaining just 31. Smith, who left for one play in the fourth quarter with a knee injury, went 15-for-27 passing for 178 yards and ran for 37 yards.

Most importantly, he had no turnovers.

The Jets took a 19-17 lead in the third quarter when they finally reached the end zone on a 1-yard plunge by Ivory with 8:58 remaining. The lead was short-lived as the Patriots responded with 10-play, 53-yard drive that ended in a Stephen Gostkowski 36-yard field goal, making it 20-19.

The Jets offense controlled the game in the first half, but could not convert it into touchdowns. The Jets settled for four field goals in the opening half and trailed 17-12 despite holding the ball for more than 22 minutes.

The game started with Brady finding a broken coverage by the Jets on the fourth play of the game. Running back Shane Vereen was wide open downfield after safety Antonio Allen failed to pick him up once cornerback Phillip Adams released him deep. Brady hit Vereen, who made a diving catch for a 49-yard touchdown and it looked like it would be a long night for the Jets.

But the defense responded after that, holding the Patriots to three-and-out on the next two drives.

The offense, meanwhile, controlled the clock with a great game plan from offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. He hammered the Patriots with a heavy dose of Ivory.

He also ran different receivers into the game and mixed up formations. Smith looked comfortable as the offensive line gave him time to throw for most of the night.

The problem for the Jets was once they reached the red zone, they could not make the push into the end zone. They put together a 12-play, 76-yard drive on their first possession. But at the 9-yard line, left guard Oday Aboushi, making his first start, was flagged for holding. The drive stalled and Folk kicked a 22-yard field goal.

The Jets got to the red zone again on their next drive and this time it was right guard Willie Colon with the penalty. Colon was called for holding at the 20. The Jets again settled for Folk field goal, this one from 47 yards to cut the Patriots’ lead to 7-6.

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After another three-and-out, the Jets offense got some help from old friend Darrelle Revis, who was called for holding on third-and-11. The flag kept the Jets’ drive alive and Folk made it from 46 yards this time to give the jets a 9-7 lead with 7:52 left in the first half.

The Patriots offense finally showed some life with 16-yard passes to Edelman and Gronkowski on their next drive. The Jets defense did not bring the pressure on third down from the 3-yard line and Brady had enough time to find Vereen for a touchdown and a 14-9 lead.

Kick returner Walt Powell took the ensuing kickoff 62 yards to the Patriots 41. Ivory rushed for 27 yards on the drive and Folk’s fourth field goal of the night cut the New England lead to 14-12.

The Jets defense looked like it might give up another last-minute touchdown before halftime, a problem for them this season. But The Patriots drive was killed by an unnecessary roughness penalty on offensive lineman Jordan Devey, who hit Jets linebacker Antwan Barnes after the play. Gostkowski hit a 39-yarder to give the Patriots a 17-12 lead heading into halftime.

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NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

NY Jets QB Geno Smith passes test but can't block out defeat to Patriots (Kevin Armstrong) New York Daily News October 17, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/geno-smith-feels-pain-hit-fine-jets-loss-article-1.1977594

FOXBOROUGH − For weeks, Geno Smith was getting hit from every and all angles. He had cursed out a fan, he missed a team meeting and hadn’t won since Week 1.

But following Thursday’s heartbreaking 27-25 loss to the Patriots, Darrelle Revis, the ex-Jet himself, was heaping praise on the second-year quarterback, especially a 24-yard throw Smith perfectly placed over Revis and into the hands of Eric Decker.

“You know what? Great throw,” Revis said. “If he had thrown it any other way it would have been going the other way.”

But Smith was on Thursday night, showing flashes of the quarterback the Jets had envisioned when they took him with a second-round pick in the 2013 draft. He completed 20 of 34 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown and didn’t throw an interception. Still, he maintained that moral victories counted little for a team that is now 1-6. “We’re not gonna sit here and sulk,” Smith said. “Because that’s gonna make things worse. We need to get better.”

Smith and the Jets will have extra rest before facing the Bills in nine days. The QB will need it physically, having taken a low hit from Patriots defensive lineman Chris Jones. Smith was tended to by trainers on the field, and then walked off to the sideline to sit one play. He threw a few balls on the sideline as reserve quarterback Michael Vick rushed for six yards on the play. Smith came back in immediately. He finished the game and insisted that he was fine afterward. He acknowledged feeling some pain.

“Thank God,” Smith said. “Just a low hit.”

Smith credited kicker Nick Folk for making four field goals when Jets drives stalled in New England’s half of the field. He noted that he needed to give tight end Jace Amaro “a better ball” on the two-point attempt that would have tied the game in the fourth quarter.

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Overall, Smith, long questioned for his leadership, added that he tried to apply the lessons learned against the Patriots. He accepted responsibility, calling his play “not good enough” and “spotty at times.”

“You can kinda out-think yourself, and I’ve definitely done that in the past,” he said. “Today I just stuck to my fundamentals.”

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Stinging defeat to Patriots final nail in coffin for NY Jets coach Rex Ryan (Manish Mehta) New York Daily News October 17, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/mehta-stinging-defeat-patriots-final-nail-coffin-ny-jets-coach-rex-ryan-article-1.1977600

FOXBOROUGH − Rex Ryan’s Jets, 6, of New York/New Jersey passed away Thursday night after more than a month-long battle with shaky quarterback play, embarrassing secondary issues and inferior talent.

Official time of death: 11:59 p.m. EDT.

The team is survived by untold thousands, who have endured more than four decades without a championship and wandered down a painful path for too long. The death blow was delivered by a familiar nemesis in the most heartbreaking manner on a night when Ryan’s Jets deserved to live for another day.

An embattled team with an awful record was the better squad. The Jets put up a valiant fight, but couldn’t foil the Patriots thanks to repeated red-zone struggles, untimely penalties and defensive miscues.

The Jets did too many things right to deserve such a cruel fate. They dominated the time of possession by a 2-to-1 margin. Their turnover-prone quarterback played a mistake-free four quarters. Their rushing attack was unstoppable with a pair of guys who sliced through a porous New England front seven.

“We did what we wanted to do on them,” an agitated Ryan said after the Jets’ 27-25 loss to the Patriots dropped them to 1-6. “We were able to control the football. . . . Did those things that it takes to win the game. We just made too many darn mistakes.”

The Jets seemingly did everything right, but still found themselves six feet under by the time the clock struck midnight. Geno Smith & Co. moved the ball with ease between the 20s in the first half, but a pair of early penalties and a drop helped keep them out of the end zone. The Jets settled for four Nick Folk field goals on their four first-half possessions.

“I would say we better score in the red zone,” wide receiver David Nelson said. “Field goals on the road don’t get it done.”

Ryan’s defense gave up a pair of 80-yard touchdown drives in the first half, committed a deflating defensive pass-interference call that led to a field goal as time expired in the second quarter and gave up a back-breaking touchdown on third-and-goal from the 19 in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve been snake-bitten,” Ryan said. “Most of the time it’s our own fault. That’s tough to handle.”

Ryan weaved magic to win eight games last season with a dearth of talent to avoid the ax, but he’ll need divine intervention to escape what appears to be the end of a six-year road filled with spine-tingling highs and unfathomable lows.

Teams that lose six of their first seven games have less than a 1% chance to make the playoffs. Although veteran outside linebacker Calvin Pace insisted that “In my mind, I think we can win the rest of these games,” the reality is that they won’t. Ryan is far from a perfect head coach, but deserved a better fate

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given the cards he was dealt by a general manager who never fully committed to turning these Jets into a playoff team.

Through it all, Ryan has been the ultimate company man, a team player willing to make himself look like a fool by defending indefensible front-office moves. So, who could blame the coach for being ticked off after coming so close to toppling the one team he loves to hate?

“I’m not shell-shocked at all,” Ryan said. “I’m a little upset.”

He had every right to be given everything that has transpired in the last six weeks. The Murderers’ Row of Quarterbacks killed the Jets, who went 0- for-6 against Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford, Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

“It’s not where this team should be,” Ryan said.

Ryan never looked more perturbed than on this night. His ride that began six years ago with so much promise and had Jets fans dreaming big is coming to an end. He’s 23-32 since reaching the doorstep of the Super Bowl twice.

“He’s taking on a lot of blame on himself, but he shouldn’t,” Pace said. “Because he doesn’t play.”

He’ll be the fall guy like so many before him. His team had a chance to stay alive, but made just enough mistakes to let it slip away. The Jets deserved to fight for another day. They deserved better.

A public memorial will be held over the next 10 weeks at MetLife Stadium and other venues. In lieu of flowers, suggestions can be made to improve a terrible roster for the next man in charge on the sideline. Rex Ryan’s Jets will be greatly missed.

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John Idzik's decision to pass on Darrelle Revis reunion with NY Jets never looked worse (Gary Myers) New York Daily News October 17, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/myers-john-idzik-decision-pass-darrelle-revis-reunion-jets-looked-worse-article-1.1977619

Darrelle Revis is playing at an All-Pro level once again, and the sad part for Jets Nation is he was their guy and he wanted to come back to be their guy again.

Rex Ryan certainly isn’t alone when he said the other day that seeing Revis in a Patriots uniform makes him a “little sick to my stomach.”

Hopefully, Ryan wasn’t being literal, because Revis was out there Thursday night at Gillette Stadium in his Patriots blue uniform on the same sideline as Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.

Can it get any worse in a lost season for the Jets than seeing Revis playing for the hated Patriots? Any team, any city — just not the New England Patriots.

Revis had a quiet game in the Jets’ heartbreaking 27-25 loss, their sixth straight defeat. Revis gave up catches to Eric Decker that helped the Jets on two scoring drives, had a holding call, but then broke up a key-third down pass to Decker in the fourth quarter.

Jets GM John Idzik has done a mediocre (at best) job with personnel in his two seasons, which is what happened when Woody Johnson hired a salary-cap expert to run the football operation. When Johnson was interviewing candidates in January of 2013 to replace Mike Tannenbaum, he asked for their plan on

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how to get rid of Revis, who had put Johnson through two lengthy contract holdouts with the potential for a third right around the corner.

At least one candidate told Johnson he had no intention of dealing Revis because he was not in the business of trading the team’s best player. Idzik obviously had a plan how the Jets would become Revis-free, and that presumably was a key factor in why he got the job. Three months into the job, he traded Revis to the Bucs for first-and fourth-round picks.

When the Bucs cut Revis in March because they didn’t want to pay his $16 million salary and because they felt as a man-to-man corner he was a bad fit for new coach Lovie Smith’s zone defense, Revis’ agent contacted the Jets to let them know Revis wanted to return. But Johnson and Idzik wanted no part of doing business with Revis again even though Ryan would have been so happy to have him back to strengthen the weakest position on the team that he would have picked him up at the airport himself.

Idzik missed an opportunity to be a hero to Jets fans. Revis suffered a torn ACL in the third game of the 2012 season, which turned out to be the final game of his Jets career. The Bucs then put Revis through the rehab and didn’t get the real Revis in 2013, although he did play in all 16 games. The first year after an ACL injury is always a rough one.

So, Idzik could have signed a fully rehabbed Revis and still had the first- and fourth-round picks he received from Tampa.

That’s a no-lose situation for the Jets, except that Idzik didn’t go for it.

Revis is having a terrific year for the Patriots as he is back to pre-ACL form. Do you think the Jets could have used him?

He signed a two-year, $32 million contract with New England, but it’s really just a one-year $12 million deal. The cap number is only $7 million this season. Considering the Jets are $21 million under the cap, Idzik could have signed Revis and still had a $14 million surplus.

“We reached out to a number of teams, including the Jets,” Revis told the Daily News over the summer. “(The Jets) didn’t respond back. That was the situation. There are no hard feelings. It is what it is. I don’t know what the problem is with that situation.”

Then, he found the answer.

“I guess I left a bad taste in the Jets’ mouth for some reason,” he said. “I don’t know what the bitter taste was. You tell me. Mr. Idzik and Mr. Woody Johnson. That’s the guys you have to talk to about that. That’s the guys who are running it. They make the decision. If they feel that is what is best for their team, that is what they are going to do.”

In the Jets’ six-game losing streak, they lost to a murderer’s row of quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford, Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning and Brady. They surely could have used a shutdown corner to help them out.

Idzik is so methodical in his approach that he is testing the patience of Jets fans. He has a plan, and that’s to build through the draft. But so far, the results have been underwhelming.

In the first round last year, he took cornerback Dee Milliner, who had a history of injuries at Alabama. He was in and out of the lineup this season until suffering a season-ending torn Achilles last week. With his second No. 1 pick last year, the one he acquired for Revis, Idzik selected Sheldon Richardson, who won the defensive rookie of the year award. In the second round, he picked Geno Smith, who was supposed to be the quarterback of the present and the future. How that’s working out so far?

Not so good.

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This year, he picked safety Calvin Pryor in the first round when the Jets were so thin at cornerback.

If the clock isn’t ticking on Idzik now, it will be once he hires his own head coach. He sure could have bought himself some good will and extra time if he had signed Revis.

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Antonio Allen main culprit of NY Jets' struggles in secondary (Kevin Armstrong) New York Daily News October 17, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/jets-insider-antonio-allen-secondary-primary-weakness-article-1.1977604

FOXBOROUGH — If it wasn’t the deep pass from quarterback Tom Brady to tailback Shane Vereen for a 49-yard touchdown, it was the defensive pass interference flag on Jets defensive back Antonio Allen. Time after time, Allen and the Jets’ secondary afforded the Patriots opportunities, leaving the door open for an acrobatic catch by wideout Danny Amendola, who reached over and around Allen for the deciding score in Thursday’s 27-25 loss.

“I looked to the quarterback,” Allen said. “Touchdown.”

Playing zone, Allen broke a mandate not to look at Brady in that situation. He stole a quick glance back when Amendola made his move. It was one last miscue for Allen, who admitted to a blown coverage on the first-quarter play that resulted in Vereen’s touchdown. Allen was supposed to be playing half-field on that play.

“It was all me, man,” Allen said. “I didn’t even play the right assignment. Trying to do too much.”

RESPECT THE LAW

Patriots owner Bob Kraft wasted no time laying official claim to Ty Law, who played for both the Patriots and the Jets, during a halftime ceremony honoring the former defensive back.

“Ty was one of my favorite players, but the last time you all saw him play at Gillette he was wearing a Jets jersey,” Kraft said. “That’s just wrong. Good to see the right jersey on you one last time.”

Law, who won three Super Bowls in 10 seasons with the Patriots and played two seasons as a Jet later in his career, slipped a No. 24 Patriots jersey over his head and responded, “I’m a Patriot for life. Believe that.”

ODDS AND ENDS

LB Trevor Reilly and WR Greg Salas were ruled out. . . . WRs Eric Decker (four catches, 65 yards) and David Nelson (one catch, 11 yards) both contributed despite coming into the game with injuries.

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Patriots' Chris Jones, flagged on Nick Folk kick last season, gets revenge on NY Jets (Kevin Armstrong) New York Daily News October 17, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/patriots-chris-jones-flagged-nick-folk-kick-season-revenge-jets-article-1.1977590

FOXBOROUGH – Jets kicker Nick Folk maintained that he didn’t look up quickly enough to see who blocked his kick in the final seconds of the Jets 27-25 loss at Gillette Stadium Thursday night, but if he had he would have seen a familiar hand.

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Defensive tackle Chris Jones, the same player who was famously flagged last season for unsportsmanlike conduct on Folk’s last-second field goal attempt to beat New England at the Meadowlands last season -- the penalty gave the Jets another kick and subsequent victory -- is the one who got a hand on the ball to seal the victory for the Patriots.

In that game from 2013, Jones was whistled for stacking behind and shoving one of his teammates during the attempt. At the time, the call was seen as correct, but odd.

“Obviously really happy for Chris [Jones] at the end,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “After what happened last year, I thought it was so fitting that he made that play. That was awesome.”

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NY Jets fall to Patriots after blocked field goal: Instant analysis (Manish Mehta) New York Daily News October 16, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/jets/ny-jets-fall-patriots-blocked-field-goal-instant-analysis-blog-entry-1.1977493

What we learned: The Jets red-zone issues absolutely killed them on a night when the Patriots were ripe for the taking. Rex Ryan’s team settled for field goals on all four first-half possessions that proved costly. Gang Green dominated the first half, but trailed at intermission because they couldn’t punch it into the end zone before the break. It should have never come down to Nick Folk’s 58-yard FG try, which was blocked to end the game.

Game ball: Tom Brady improved to 8-4 against Rex Ryan with three touchdowns and no turnovers.

What this means: At 1-6, the Jets have a less than a one percent chance of making the playoffs, according to ESPN. The Jets went 0-6 against the Murderer’s Row of QBs they faced from Weeks 2-7. The season is unofficially over.

Good sign: The Jets moved the ball at will between the 20s in the first half, scoring on all four drives before intermission. Gang Green’s first three drives were at least five minutes to help them dominate the time of possession. Midway through the second quarter, the Jets had run 31 plays to the Patriots’ 10. Ryan’s team held the ball for more than 22 minutes in the first half, but trailed 17-12 due to red-zone inefficiency (more on that later).

Good sign II: Gang Green more than doubled its rushing total from last week against the Broncos (31) in the first quarter (65). Marty Mornhinweg went back to the basics, pounding Chris Ivory early and often. The bruising tailback rushed for 69 of the Jets’ 124 yards on the ground in the first half. It was the first time that a Belichick defense had given up at least 100 yards in the first have against the Jets (31 games).

Bad Sign: It only took four plays for the Jets maligned secondary to get torched. A miscommunication between safety Antonio Allen and cornerback Phillip Adams proved costly a minute and a half into the game. Brady found a wide-open Shane Vereen, who was 30 yards behind any Jets defender, for a 49-yard touchdown to give the Patriots an early lead. Allen committed a 32-yard defensive pass interference in the final minute of the first half to help set up a Patriots FG as time expired in the first half. He was beat by Danny Amendola on a killer TD on third and goal from the 19 midway through the fourth quarter.

Bad Sign II: A pair of early penalties by offensive linemen prevented the Jets from getting into the endzone in each of the first two drives. Oday Aboushi made a critical early mistake in his first career start on the first drive. Aboushi, who replaced Brian Winters (ACL) at left guard was flagged for a holding penalty that wiped out Geno Smith’s 9-yard touchdown to Jeremy Kerley on the Jets’ first drive. Gang Green settled

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for Nick Folk’s 22-yard field goal. Offensive linemen have committed entirely too many penalties through the first seven weeks. Willie Colon’s holding penalty wiped out Chris Ivory’s run that would have given Gang Green a first and goal from the 10.

Bad Sign III: Ryan’s defense gave up two 80-yard TD drives in the first half.

Next week: The Bills, who actually had the smarts to bench their struggling second-year quarterback a couple weeks ago, come to MetLife Stadium in the playoff hunt. Veteran Kyle Orton is 1-1 since replacing EJ Manuel, who looked lost to start the season. Ryan’s teams have typically dominated the Bills, but got blown by 23 points in the last meeting in Week 11 last season.

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NY Jets fall to Patriots as Chris Jones blocks potential game-winning field goal (Seth Walder) New York Daily News October 16, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/jets-fall-patriots-chris-jones-blocks-potential-game-winning-field-goal-article-1.1977510

FOXBOROUGH — A ticked off and snippy Rex Ryan stood at the podium after what was presumably his last game at Gillette Stadium as head coach of the Jets, having to put a heartbreaking loss into words.

His fate had probably been sealed long before Thursday, but at 1-6 there’s no coming back, despite the brave faces in the Jets locker room.

The Jets lost to the Patriots, 27-25, on the road. Again. And it hurt. Again.

Ryan has suffered tough losses before, tough losses to the Patriots before, but with his team at 1-6 and the season essentially over two weeks before Halloween, he was more agitated than ever, firing back smart-ass retorts to reporters’ questions.

“It’s ridiculous to stand here after a loss and think where our team’s at,” Ryan said. “I’m not shell-shocked at all, I’m a little upset. Because our record is what it is.”

The Jets fought and scratched and kept it close with their rivals Thursday night, and in the end, Geno Smith had the Jets driving in the final minute, down two points. They got just far enough for a 58-yard field goal attempt for Nick Folk, but they never got the chance to see if it would be good. The left arm of Chris Jones — the same man who played a part in Ryan’s win over the Pats last season when the Patriots defensive lineman was called for a pushing penalty that nullified a missed kick — stopped the kick before it barely got off the ground, swatting away the win and — for all intents and purposes — the Ryan era.

“He wanted this one,” David Nelson said of Ryan. “We all did. Not only because it was New England but because we were 1-5 coming into this.”

The fact the Jets dominated time of possession and the action at times and came so close seemed to infuriate the coach even more. “The fact that we’ve had three opportunities against this team at this building,” Ryan said. “Three games in a row that we’ve battled and had a great chance to win and came up short each time.”

The players wouldn’t give up hope on the season since they aren’t mathematically eliminated, but they know the score on Ryan’s future.

“It’s not a good feeling with Rex,” Calvin Pace said. “He’s taking a lot of blame on himself but he shouldn’t because he doesn’t play. We haven’t done enough as a team, the players haven’t done enough.”

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A lot went right for the Jets on Thursday: they bowled over the New England defense with Chris Ivory powering his way to 107 yards and Smith adeptly using his legs. The Jets had the ball for more than 40 minutes. The Patriots were hurting themselves with penalties. And the Jets hung on to the ball, not surrendering a turnover.

But the Jets made mistakes too: penalties in the red zone and stalling out for only field goals on their first four drives. Worst of all was a blown coverage on the fourth play of the game that turned into a 49-yard touchdown reception for Shane Vereen. “You can’t make mistakes against New England,” Pace said. “Maybe somebody else, but Tom Brady always finds a way to find that guy who’s open.”

Smith played well, keeping possession of the football and completing 20 of 34 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown while keeping the sticks moving with his legs. He added 37 yards on seven rushing attempts. But he also had an opportunity to tie the game with 2:31 left on a two-point conversion and sailed a pass beyond Jace Amaro’s reach.

“Not good enough,” Smith said of his own performance.

But it was close. Ultimately, the Patriots defeated the Jets for the eighth time in 12 tries facing Ryan. They’ll probably get just one more shot. “We’re gonna keep on fighting for Rex,” Pace said.

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NEW YORK TIMES

Jets Do Everything but Win the Game (Ben Shpigel) New York Times October 17, 2014

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/17/sports/football/ny-jets-do-everything-but-win-the-game.html?ref=football&_r=0

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Rex Ryan has endured last-second comebacks in Denver and shutouts in San Diego, five-turnover debacles in Tennessee and blowouts in Cincinnati, but never has he been as livid after a loss, as bang-his-head-against-the-wall incensed, as he was late Thursday night at Gillette Stadium.

What set off this bout of frustration, stunning in its rawness, was not just this defeat, by 27-25 to the New England Patriots, but everything that preceded it and, perhaps, all that is still to come. As Ryan roasted his defense and spit sarcastic responses, the five losses that preceded this one came rushing back, and so did the Jets’ last three at New England, by a total of 8 points, and so did, quite possibly, the potential consequences for their cumulative failure.

The Jets played their best game of the season on Thursday, far better than their record would suggest – rushing for 218 yards, outgaining New England by 423 to 323 over all, controlling the ball for nearly 41 minutes, not turning the ball over – but it was not good enough. They are 1-6, and 1-6 teams cling to the fantastical – stranger things have happened and all that – because, really, what else is there to talk about?

With this team, one thing above all: Ryan’s job security. It has hovered over the Jets ever since he agreed to a contract extension that essentially landed him in the same predicament as last season, and it grows more and more imperiled every week. His players realize it.

“We’re going to fight for him,” offensive lineman Breno Giacomini said.

On the field, they did. At the site of Ryan’s greatest triumph, a playoff victory in January 2011, the Jets scored on their first five possessions. They gouged the Patriots’ defense with a three-pronged rushing

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attack headlined by Chris Ivory, who ran 21 times for 107 yards and a touchdown. They came within inches first of tying the score, then of winning, late in the fourth quarter.

At the end of the night – after Geno Smith’s 2-point conversion attempt floated just beyond the outstretched hands of Jace Amaro, after Nick Folk’s 58-yard field-goal attempt as time expired was blocked by Chris Jones, whose penalty last season enabled the Jets to boot the winning kick – none of this provided consolation.

“This game, it was there,” Ryan said. “It was there for us.”

He added, “I know one thing, we’re going to keep fighting. And people that don’t understand it, they probably never put on those pads before. We’re going to fight our butts off. And it doesn’t matter who’s in front of us or whatever, we know we’re good enough to win.”

Forget about the last five games, his team kept saying. Forget about it all – the losses, the embarassment, the excrutiating corrosion of optimism – because on Thursday night, against the team they despise like no other, their season started anew.

That is how the Jets, and Ryan, chose to view their predicament. As if pride, or the spirit of the rivalry, could rescue them from the crippling despair that would accompany a sixth consecutive defeat.

The Jets seized the notion that anything can happen when they play New England, and anything almost did.

But the symbolism is striking: Once again, Ryan failed to beat New England. Five full seasons with the Jets, five division titles for the Patriots. And a sixth appears on the way.

“He wanted this,” receiver David Nelson said. “We all did.”

It was Nelson who on Tuesday asserted that the Jets had lost their swagger and their confidence. They came close to regaining it, and they knew it. Silence reigned in a locker room where, minutes earlier, Ryan had blistered the team.

In one corner, Amaro tormented himself by wondering aloud, What if? As in, what if he had turned his head a split-second quicker? Maybe he could have gotten a finger, a hand, on the ball, and hauled it in.

“I just missed it,” Amaro said.

In another corner, Antonio Allen accepted responsibility for two coverage breakdowns that led to Patriots touchdowns. The first, a 49-yarder to Shane Vereen, put New England ahead, 7-0, 1:09 into the game. The second infuriated Ryan perhaps more than any other play this season.

On 3rd-and-goal from the Jets’ 19, Allen dropped into zone coverage. As Tom Brady eluded pressure, rolling left, Allen took his eyes off Danny Amendola, who had floated behind him. That lapse gave Brady the time, and the space, to thread a pass on the run to Amendola, who caught the touchdown pass before Allen even turned his head back.

“You can’t make mistakes against New England, you just can’t,” linebacker Calvin Pace said. “But Tom Brady always finds a way. He finds that guy who’s open.”

Ryan, his voice dripping with sarcasm, added, “Just the greatest route in the history of the game, I think. We were shocked that he would run a route to the goal line.”

The Jets’ defense has allowed 20 touchdowns this season. Of those, 11 have come on third down. Including Amendola’s. Including Vereen’s 3-yarder in the second quarter.

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These things tend to happen when the Jets face Brady, who threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns. Or Peyton Manning. Or Aaron Rodgers. Or any of the quarterbacks who shredded them these last six weeks, exposing the Jets’ secondary for 16 touchdowns and 275 yards per game, on 63.2 percent passing (134 of 212). Smith did not match Brady on the stat sheet – 20 of 34 passing for 226 yards and a touchdown – but he nearly beat him on Thursday. Impressing his teammates and coaches after a difficult two-week stretch that tested his maturity and viability as the Jets’ starter, Smith led an 80-yard touchdown drive to open the second half and, then, with 2:31 left, zipped a 10-yard scoring pass to Jeff Cumberland. The Jets trailed by 27-25, and hope flickered, certainly more than in previous installments of their Thursday night rivalry.

It being a Thursday and all, the Patriots took to social media to remind – mock? – the Jets of a seminal moment in their history, posting a photo on their official Twitter account of the infamous butt fumble from the Thanksgiving matchup two years ago.

Not to be outdone, the Jets responded by also conjuring a Thursday night memory. Just as they did here last September, the Jets blew an assignemnt on New England’s opening drive. Despite dropping eight defenders into coverage, the Jets failed to account for Vereen, who, after slipping 15 yards behind Allen and Phillip Adams, made a diving touchdown catch.

“I was like, ‘Oh, he’s open’ and then the ball was just going and I said, ‘Oh my God,’ ” Brady said.

Recognizing that time this week would be limited, some coaches worked ahead to develop the game plan. It did not include ceding a touchdown in the first 89 seconds. Unlikely, at least.

What seemed even less plausible, based on their struggles this season, was that the Jets’ offense would score on all four first-half possessions.

And yet.

Out came Smith, and behind an inspired offensive line and the relentless churning of Ivory, the Jets marched up and down the field, amassing first downs and rushing yardage – everything, it seemed but touchdowns. Continuing a season-long pattern, they bumbled in the red zone. They failed to convert on both opportunities. A holding penalty on Oday Aboushi, making his first career start at left guard, negated a Smith touchdown pass to Jeremy Kerley on the Jets’ opening series.

“We’ve got to finish,” Giacomini said. “We’ve got to knock that door down.” By the end of the first quarter, the Jets had doubled their entire rushing total (65 to 31) from last week. By halftime, they had quadrupled it. Ivory accounted for 69 of the 124, but Smith added 27, gaining first downs on three of his four scrambles.

Mobility, elusiveness, decisiveness — it was what they have wanted to see from Smith, and the Jets wondered why they have not. Smith operated the offense with confidence. He did not throw into coverage. He helped the Jets possess the ball for 22:03 of the first half, an ideal counter to the Patriots’ prolific offense.

Folk’s first three field goals put the Jets ahead by 9-7. The fourth, with 1:01 left before halftime, drew them to a 14-12 deficit before Stephen Gostkowski drilled a 39-yarder at the end of the half.

The Jets ran inside confident, certain. “All we had to do is go out and do what we’re doing: Play smart and get off the field,” Ryan said. They did play smart, just not smart enough. They did get off the field, just not quickly enough. And that is why Ryan walked into the interview room in a mood as nasty as the weather, and left it about 9 minutes later, seething still, perhaps never to return again.

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WALL STREET JOURNAL

New York Jets Lose to New England Patriots (Stu Woo) Wall Street Journal October 17, 2014

http://online.wsj.com/articles/new-york-jets-lose-to-new-england-patriots-1413531300?tesla=y&mod=WSJ_NY_Sports_LEFTTopStories&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB12555689437384833539804580219612590959010.html?mod=WSJ_NY_Sports_LEFTTopStories

FOXBOROUGH, Mass.—It had been a ruinous season. The Jets were 1-5, having lost five straight because of their quarterback’s weekly turnovers and their defense’s mental lapses. But Thursday night was different. The mistakes had receded. All they needed to win, to illuminate the darkness, was for Nick Folk to make the longest field goal of his career.

With five seconds left and the Jets trailing the New England Patriots, 27-25, Folk’s right foot sent the ball whizzing toward the goal posts. It needed to go 58 yards. It traveled only 17.

The pigskin thudded into the left, red-gloved hand of Chris Jones, the Patriots lineman whose overtime penalty last year allowed Folk to kick the game winner at MetLife Stadium. The football fluttered until it reached the 31-yard line, where, like the Jets’ season, it spiraled slowly before sputtering out.

In each of their six losses, the Jets have had the chance to tie or win the game on their final possession. Yet none of the defeats were as pitiful as Thursday’s at Gillette Stadium, when the Jets played their best game of the season.

“It’s just ridiculous to stand here after a loss, and to think where our team is at,” head coach Rex Ryan said. “It’s not where this team should be. There is way too much fight, way too much heart and, you know, I just hope that it levels out.”

The Jets’ lone victory was the season opener against Oakland, in a mistake-filled game against a still-winless and even more woeful Raiders squad. In their following five games, the Jets had turnovers at crucial junctures. Thursday night, that didn’t happen. Against a star-studded Patriots defense, maligned Jets quarterback Geno Smith had perhaps the best performance of his young career, completing 20 of 34 pass attempts for 226 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers.

This time, it was his teammates who failed him. On the Jets’ first drive, Smith threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Kerley, but left guard Oday Aboushi, making his first NFL start in place of an injured Brian Winters, was flagged for holding. The Jets had to settle for a field goal. On the next drive, running back Chris Johnson ran for 10 yards to the New England 10, but right guard Willie Colon was called for holding. Again, the Jets had to settle for a field goal.

The Jets kicked a field goal on their next drive. And on the drive after that, too. That wasn’t enough to keep pace with the Patriots and future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady , who found Shane Vereen for two first-half touchdown passes. The first was a 49-yard score that came because of an apparent miscommunication between Jets defensive backs Antonio Allen and Phillip Adams.

Trailing 17-12 to start the second half, the Jets took the lead after running back Chris Ivory plowed into the end zone on a one-yard run to finish an 80-yard drive. He would finish the game with 107 yards on 21 carries, as he was the Jets’ workhorse for the early part of the game.

The Patriots kicked a field goal to regain the lead, 20-19, late in the third quarter before the game turned into a field-position battle. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Jets had forced Brady into a third-and-

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goal at the Jets 19 when the Patriots quarterback threw the ball down the middle to Danny Amendola. Covering the Patriots receiver was Allen, who never turned to look for the ball that sailed into Amendola’s hands at the goal line.

Smith responded by leading the team on an 84-yard drive that ended with 2:41 left in the game, when he passed to tight end Jeff Cumberland for a 10-yard touchdown. But on the two-point attempt to tie the game at 28, he overthrew his other tight end, Jace Amaro.

Folk’s ensuing onside kick failed, but the Jets forced the Patriots to punt after a three and out. Smith got the ball back at his own 12-yard line with 1:06 left. Five completed passes later, the ball was at the New England 40 with the clock stopped with five seconds left.

Folk told his kick holder, punter Ryan Quigley, “medium large.” That meant he wanted Quigley to tilt the ball slightly to the right, which the punter did as Folk launched the ball upward on a windless night.

For such a long field-goal attempt, the kick had to be a low line drive. He wasn’t surprised it met Jones’s left hand. Would it have gone in otherwise?

“I think so,” Folk said. “I hit it pretty well.”

About 15 minutes later, Ryan stood at the podium. Since taking over the Jets in 2009, he had never lost three games in a row, let alone six, before this season. Now he was being uncharacteristically sarcastic. Asked about how the team gave up that third-and-19 touchdown catch to Amendola, Ryan said: “I have no idea—just the greatest route in the history of the game. I think we were shocked that he would run a route to the goal line.” He gave similar answers to other questions.

Ryan then admitted he was more agitated than he had ever been after a loss.

“I am a little upset because our record is what it is,” he said. “I’m not shell shocked by any stretch, by any stretch. We were able to control the football, we ran the football, did those things that it takes to win a game. We made too many darn mistakes.”

Inside the locker room, attitudes were more measured, even slightly optimistic. Linebacker Calvin Pace, who has played for the Jets since 2008, said his couldn’t fault his team’s effort.

“In my mind, I still believe we can win the rest of these games,” Pace said. “The outside people are going to laugh at that statement.…Until they count us out, we’re still going to keep on fighting. It’s not going to be a situation where it just gets uglier and uglier.”

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ESPN NEW YORK

In his last stand, Ryan foiled by Belichick and Brady – again (Rich Cimini) ESPN New York October 17, 2014

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/44759/in-his-last-stand-ryan-foiled-by-belichick-and-brady-again?ex_cid=espnapi_public

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- A livid Rex Ryan stepped to the interview podium, bemoaned the two plays that will haunt him for months (maybe longer), questioned the intelligence of his defense and released enough steam to fill a hot-air balloon.

He's a 1-6 coach with a six-game losing streak, and the raw emotion came pouring out of him after the New York Jets' 27-25 loss Thursday night at Gillette Stadium. Ryan needed to beat the New England

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Patriots to keep the Jets' season relevant, to give himself a puncher's chance to save his job. His team played well enough to win -- some might say it deserved to win -- but we've seen this movie before.

"We've been snake bit," Ryan said.

On this night, the snakes were Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. In this rivalry, they're always the snakes. Except for that playoff victory in January 2011, the highlight of the Ryan era, the storyline never changes. Over and over and over, the Jets find a way to have their hearts crushed by the Patriots. The seasons change, the players change and the culprits change, but the ending usually stays the same: Ryan, at a podium, lamenting one that got away.

"It was there; it was there for us," Ryan said.

On their last three trips to Foxborough, the Jets have lost by three, three and two points. When does it become too much for owner Woody Johnson to bear? When will he decide that he's tired of kissing Robert Kraft's rings? The Jets are headed to their fourth straight non-winning season, their fourth straight year out of the playoffs, and it would be an upset if Johnson and general manager John Idzik give Ryan another chance in 2015.

The Jets are toast -- soggy toast, considering the weather. Ryan understands the situation. He knows he lost more than a game, which explains his prickly mood.

"You figure out what our record is, and you tell me if that ties into it a little bit," said Ryan, stuck in the longest losing streak of his career.

The real kicker is, Ryan was undermined by his pride and joy, his defense, which allowed three touchdown passes and let Brady make enough plays to be the hero, per usual. They let the Patriots steal it from them -- again. They'd almost rather lose with a Butt Fumble than a last-second heartbreaker.

The Jets followed the "How to beat the Patriots" blueprint, almost to the letter. They controlled the ball for 40 minutes, 54 seconds. They rushed 43 times. They converted on third down (9-for-16). They contained Rob Gronkowski. They got a no-turnover performance from quarterback Geno Smith.

Repeat: There were no turnovers from their turnover-prone quarterback, who played a terrific game. The Jets did just about everything right, but they brain-locked on a few plays, and you can't do that against Brady.

Safety Antonio Allen made two big mental mistakes, blowing a coverage on 49-yard touchdown pass to running back Shane Vereen and letting his man get behind him on a 19-yard scoring pass to Danny Amendola, aka "The Invisible Man" in these parts. The latter mistake, on a third-and-19 play, gave the Patriots a 27-19 lead in the fourth quarter. It was one of two touchdowns allowed on third down, bringing the Jets' total to 11, a staggering amount.

Allen owned up to his errors after the game, acknowledging, "They were my fault." Ryan wasn't forgiving.

"We never played the smartest game in the history of the sport, without question, on defense in particular," he said.

Asked about the Amendola play, a fantastic, twisting grab on a scramble by Brady, Ryan turned sarcastic.

"It was the greatest route in the history of the game," he said. "We're shocked that he ran a route to the goal line."

Allen wasn't the only culprit. The Jets did other dumb things, such as wasting two timeouts in the third quarter -- one on offense, one on defense. Ryan didn't offer a reasonable explanation for either one, but the mismanagement of the timeouts probably cost them the game.

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They had no timeouts remaining when Smith got the ball at his own 12 with 1:06 remaining. The Jets had to settle for a desperation field goal try from 58 yards, which was blocked by Chris Jones, the same Chris Jones who was penalized for an illegal push during the whacky finish in the Jets' overtime win last season.

Afterward, Belichick delighted in mentioning how it was "fitting" and "awesome" that Jones blocked the potential game-winning field goal. Ryan was in no mood to draw parallels and dive into the symbolism.

"Yeah, that's a great analogy," Ryan said facetiously.

Six years into this gig, Ryan still can't conquer the Patriots. This probably was his last meaningful shot.

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Geno is good, but not good enough (Ian O’Connor) ESPN New York October 17, 2014

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/11714894/new-york-jets-geno-smith-good-not-good-enough?ex_cid=espnapi_public

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The kid tried his damnedest out there, he really did. Geno Smith made some big throws in the clutch, ran the ball with purpose and exhausted most of his options in pursuit of a desperately needed victory on Tom Brady's field.

Smith even recovered quickly from a nasty fourth-quarter shot to his knee, taking off only one play in an old-school, Y.A. Tittle, blood-and-guts way. For a while there, it seemed the quarterback who missed a meeting before the San Diego game while watching a movie was finally going to get his Hollywood ending.

But no, he didn't get that ending at the expense of the New England Patriots. Smith drove his New York Jets 86 yards for a touchdown in the closing minutes yet misfired on the two-point conversion attempt for the tie. For an encore, Smith drove his team toward the prospect of a winning field goal in the final 66 seconds yet didn't get his flawless kicker close enough to pay dirt.

Nick Folk, at the time 4-for-4 on the night and 13-for-13 on the season, had to launch No. 14 from 58 yards out, meaning he had to hit a three-iron instead of a pitching wedge.

"If you're a golfer on the 18th hole, you don't want to hit it short into the water," Folk said. "I thought I hit it pretty solid."

He did. Only the Patriots' Chris Jones hit it pretty solid, too -- the same Chris Jones who famously blew a game against the Jets last year by illegally shoving a teammate in the direction of a wayward Folk kick.

Rex Ryan was livid Thursday night, too, angrier with the football gods than he'd been in his six seasons as a head coach. Ryan ripped his cherished defense for making too many mistakes, for wasting a second-half timeout that proved damaging in the end, and for allowing Danny Amendola to manage a circus catch off a sandlot route on third-and-goal from the 19.

"Just the greatest route in the history of the game," Ryan said sarcastically. "I think we were shocked that he would run a route to the goal line."

Ryan called his Jets "snakebit" and the bad breaks "ridiculous" and just couldn't understand how a team that controlled the ball for nearly 41 minutes and rushed it for 218 yards could still find a way to lose its sixth consecutive game.

But in the end, despite fielding a defense that's surrendering more points per game than any Jets team since Rich Kotite's went 1-15 in 1996, Ryan shouldn't have been all that confused. His quarterback threw one touchdown pass, and Bill Belichick's guy threw three.

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"Tom Brady," Calvin Pace said, "always finds a way."

This isn't to say Geno Smith is to blame for this 27-25 defeat; in fact, he played one of his better games. Smith completed 20 of 34 passes for 226 yards, ran for 37 yards on seven carries and stood tall during the furious Jets rally.

"I thought Geno played extremely well and gave us an opportunity to win," Ryan said. "I love the fact he took off with [the ball]. ... I thought, obviously, there are probably a couple of plays that we wish we had back, but other than that I thought Geno played really well."

Back to those couple of plays Ryan wished they had back. Smith moved the ball effectively in the first half but forced Folk to finish four drives with field goals. Every Jets fan watching believed Brady would make the visitors pay for constantly settling for three points.

And despite his glacial foot speed, Brady did indeed escape pressure and roll left on that third-and-19 before throwing the ball Amendola turned into the winning points.

Smith answered with his long drive and punctuating touchdown pass to Jeff Cumberland, and it was an impressive thing to see. Only the moment demanded more from him. It usually does with Brady quarterbacking for the opposing team.

The Jets called for a lob pass to Jace Amaro for the necessary two points, and an educated fan can certainly question Marty Mornhinweg's wisdom in going with a play that had 50-50 proposition written all over it.

Amaro, for one, didn't question it, and he had his reasons. "We practiced it for a couple of weeks," said the rookie tight end. "We felt like we had it. We had the look we wanted pre-snap. We had the look we wanted during the play. It worked out the way we wanted it to. We just didn't finish it."

The 6-foot-5 Amaro had 6 inches on his defender, Patrick Chung, and Smith overthrew him anyway.

"I was open," Amaro said. "I just didn't have a chance to make the play. ... [The pass] was flat, and there wasn't any air on it. I tried to stick my hand up there and was a couple of inches away from it.

"I felt like that was what we wanted. I had [Chung] on my inside, and we wanted it over the top. So that was a game-changing play right there."

Amaro said Smith approached him on the sideline, apologized for missing him, and told him, "I'll get you next time."

There wasn't going to be a next time in Gillette Stadium.

"Jace did a great job of getting open; I've got to give him a better ball," Smith admitted, to his credit. "That's completely on me."

Smith made another unforced error that hurt earlier in the fourth quarter, choosing a third-and-four as a chance to attack Darrelle Revis; the pass to Eric Decker was broken up.

"Not good enough," Smith said of his own performance. "Spotty at times. I had opportunities there but just didn't get the job done."

It could've been worse, a lot worse. Before the game, if only to rev things up a bit, the Patriots tweeted out a Throwback Thursday photo of Mark Sanchez's signature Buttfumble play from Thanksgiving night 2012, a picture worth thousands of retweets.

Just another reminder that the Patriots have won 11 AFC East titles with their quarterback (and now a league-record 19 straight home games with Brady facing divisional foes), and that the Jets have won a grand total of one AFC East title (with Chad Pennington in 2002) since Brady was drafted.

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"We felt like we had 'em," Smith said Thursday night.

The Jets always feel like they have the Patriots cornered -- and always end up letting them escape. Nothing will change until the Jets find a special player at the quarterback position, even if it requires the staggering good fortune that visited the Patriots when they selected Brady with the 199th pick in 2000.

Sanchez wasn't that guy for the long term, and it doesn't look good for his successor. At times Geno Smith was pretty good against New England, and at other times he was very good. Just not good enough to make the closing play or two required to beat one of the best quarterbacks of all time on his home field.

Brady and Peyton Manning are going to be around for a few more years, and Andrew Luck is going to be a monster in the AFC for who knows how long. In the Super Bowls to come, it's going to take a hell of a quarterback to beat the Russell Wilsons and Colin Kaepernicks coming out of the NFC.

The evidence so far says Geno Smith won't develop into that kind of talent. If he doesn't prove over the next nine games that he can make the winning plays he couldn't quite make in Gillette Stadium, the Jets will have to hire a Marcus Mariota or a Jameis Winston or a Bryce Petty next spring and let him give it a try.

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Rapid Reaction: New York Jets (Rich Cimini) ESPN New York October 16, 2014

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/44723/rapid-reaction-9?ex_cid=espnapi_public

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- A few thoughts on the New York Jets' 27-25 loss to the New England Patriots:

What it means: The Jets are finished for 2014. They dropped their sixth straight, falling to 1-6 and 0-1 in the AFC East. This was their last stand, and probably Rex Ryan's last stand. It was a tremendous effort, but they weren't able to overcome Tom Brady and a few lapses on defense. The Jets played their game, controlling the ball for a stunning 40 minutes, but they're so limited offensively that there was no margin for error. It ended with a blocked field goal from 58 yards as time expired.

Stock report: Geno Smith delivered a gutty, workmanlike performance, managing to go without an interception for only the fifth time in 23 career starts. The Jets can live with "workmanlike" from Smith, who has gone three straight games without sabotaging the Jets with turnovers. He was aggressive with his scrambling, rushing for 37 yards. Smith managed the game nicely, but he just couldn't deliver any huge plays in the passing game. He finished 20-for-34 for 226 yards and a late touchdown pass. In the end, he came up one pass short, misfiring on a two-point conversion that would've tied the game.

An 'F' performance by Double-A: Antonio Allen, whose head must be spinning with all his recent position changes, surrendered two touchdown passes and was flagged for a 32-yard pass-interference penalty. He made a huge mental mistake less than two minutes into the game. Allen, who started for safety Calvin Pryor, blew a coverage and it resulted in a 49-yard touchdown reception by running back Shane Vereen. The Jets were in a three-deep coverage. Allen was responsible for an outside third, but he got caught looking at Brady and got burned. It happened again in the fourth quarter, this time a 19-yard touchdown reception by Danny Amendola, who made a great catch.

Killed by Murderer's Row: This marked the end of a six-game stretch in which the Jets faced six top quarterbacks. How'd they do? Not well. They allowed 16 touchdown passes, with only one interception. Brady threw three scoring passes, including two to Vereen. The second touchdown, a 3-yarder, came

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against a soft zone. For the most part, the Jets did a decent job on defense, as they did last week against Peyton Manning. But when you're facing a future Hall of Fame quarterback, a few mistakes are too many.

Where's Quinton? Slumping pass-rusher Quinton Coples was replaced in the starting lineup by graybeard Jason Babin. Coples also wasn't used in many sub packages, as Ryan rotated Antwan Barnes (activated from PUP) into the pass-rushing rotation. Coples, a former first-round pick, played only a handful of snaps, a stunning fall from grace. Meanwhile, defensive end Chandler Jones, whom the Jets passed on to draft Coples, had a big night for the Patriots.

Game ball: Chris Ivory, coming off a 7-yard rushing performance last week, carried the Jets' offense, rushing for a game-high 107 yards on 21 carries. He also scored the Jets' only touchdown, a 1-yard leap that gave them a 19-17 lead. The Patriots, minus injured middle linebacker Jerod Mayo, couldn't handle Ivory's punishing running style.

What's next: After their mini-bye, the Jets play the Buffalo Bills (3-3) at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 26.

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Tom Brady almost drafted by Jets? Bill Parcells says it wasn't a consideration (Rich Cimini) ESPN New York October 16, 2014

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/44717/tom-brady-almost-drafted-by-the-jets-parcells-says-it-never-was-a-consideration?ex_cid=espnapi_public

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Former New York Jets coach Bill Parcells shot down a report that said a Jets scout implored him to pick Tom Brady in the sixth round of the 2000 draft.

"I have no, absolutely no recollection of that," Parcells said Thursday during an appearance on "The Michael Kay Show" on ESPN New York 98.7 FM. "You know, some of these scouts ... now that Brady has been a monumental success, they kind of re-visit their opinion. Don't forget, 198 teams passed him."

Brady was drafted 199th by the New England Patriots, and you know the rest. The New York Daily News, citing an unnamed source, said Jets area scout Jesse Kaye lobbied Parcells in the draft room to select Brady with the 179th pick.

The Jets, who had picked quarterback Chad Pennington in the first round, ended up choosing defensive back Tony Scott at No. 179. He never amounted to anything in the NFL.

Parcells said he had a "high regard" for Kaye, a longtime scout, but he emphatically denied the Brady scenario.

"I don't ever remember hearing his name from anyone in the Jets organization," he said. "I don't know who that was that said it, but I can tell you no one ever told me to draft Tom Brady."

Here's what I think happened:

It's commonplace in the draft room for area scouts to push players from their region. Kaye scouted the Midwest and had seen Brady at Michigan, so he probably gave a positive scouting report. But to say he made a passionate plea for Brady ... I'm not sure. I have to think Parcells would've remembered that. Then again, it doesn't help his legacy to admit he passed on Brady.

The Jets already had Pennington, Vinny Testaverde and Ray Lucas, so they weren't looking for another quarterback.

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There was one heated draft-room debate that year, and it involved the decision to pick wide receiver Laveranues Coles in the third round. Parcells was skeptical because of Coles' off-the-field troubles, but he was talked into it -- and it turned out to be a good selection.

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THURSDAY’S SPORTS TRANSACTIONS

Associated Press October 16, 2014

http://www.chron.com/default/article/Thursday-s-Sports-Transactions-5828076.php

BASEBALL

American League

TEXAS RANGERS — Named Jeff Banister manager.

National League

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Named Mark Grace assistant hitting coach, Andy Green third base coach, Glenn Sherlock bench coach, Henry Blanco coach and bullpen catcher, Mike Harkey pitching coach, Dave McKay first base coach, Mel Stottlemyre Jr. bullpen coach and Turner Ward hitting coach.

American Association

GRAND PRAIRIE AIR HOGS — Released RHP Ryan Searle.

BASKETBALL

National Basketball Association

MILWAUKEE BUCKS — Exercised the third-year contract option on G-F Giannis Antetokounmpo and the fourth-year contract option on F-C John Henson.

WASHINGTON WIZARDS — Waived C Daniel Orton.

FOOTBALL

National Football League

CHICAGO BEARS — Waived C-G Taylor Boggs from injured reserve with an injury settlement.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — Placed LB Jerod Mayo and RB Stevan Ridley on injured reserve. Signed OL Chris Barker and RB Jonas Gray from the practice squad.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS — Fired Isaiah Harris, director of player development.

Canadian Football League

MONTREAL ALOUETTES — Released QB Troy Smith.

HOCKEY

National Hockey League

BUFFALO SABRES — Assigned Ds Jake McCabe and Mark Pysyk to Rochester (AHL).

DETROIT RED WINGS — Assigned C Andy Miele to Grand Rapids (AHL).

NEW YORK ISLANDERS — Loaned D Griffin Reinhart to Bridgeport (AHL).

Daily Clips Cont.

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TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING — Assigned F Jonathan Drouin to Syracuse (AHL).

American Hockey League

SPRINGFIELD FALCONS — Signed F Andrew Cherniwchan.

ECHL

BAKERSFIELD CONDORS — Announced D C.J. Ludwig has been assigned to the team from Oklahoma City (AHL).

LACROSSE

National Lacrosse League

MINNESOTA SWARM — Agreed to terms with G Brodie MacDonald on a two-year contract and D Mike Grimes, F Corbyn Tao, D Dominique Alexander, D Andrew Casimir, F Nick Cotter, and F Marcus Holman on one-year contracts.

COLLEGE

IDAHO STATE — Signed football coach Mike Kramer to a three-year contract extension through the 2017 season.

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