Why the Jets should worry

The Jets are now 2-2 after their 34-17 loss to the Ravens tonight. Its far too early in the season to believe the Jets can't turn their season around, but the don't expect the Jets to be a serious contender with the way they've been playing. Under Rex Ryan, the Jets have been a team centered around an attacking 3-4 defense that produced sacks and turnovers and rarely gave up the big play. That defense was supported by a run-first attack that saw them finish 1st and 4th in the league in rushing the past two years behind a very solid offensive line.

So far this year, the Jets aren't protecting the football like they have in years past, instead allowing Mark Sanchez to take more control over the offense and throwing far more than he rightfully should. Lets face it, the way Sanchez is turning the ball over (at post time, Sanchez has thrown five interceptions and lost four fumbles), the Jets might be better served to try and get Greene and Tomlinson going, moving Sanchez back into that dreaded "game manager" role that he's much better suited for. Nick Mangold and the rest of their offensive line are banged up, and a defense that prided themselves on being the best (#1 in 2009, #3 in 2010 in yards allowed) has looked average through the first four weeks. Even in their only "dominant" performance, a 32-3 shellacking of the Jaguars, Sanchez still threw 2 interceptions, and the Jets were only able to run the ball for 101 on 32 carries. Shonn Greene has yet to find his groove as the feature back, and LaDainian Tomlinson is starting to fade (which is no shame considering he's had over 3600 touches in his career). There are weapons at receiver and tight end, but if your quarterback can't take care of the ball (or you can't establish a run game to set up play-action passing), then those weapons are of little use. Among qualified quarterbacks, Sanchez ranks 28th in passer rating (75.9) and has more turnovers (9), than total touchdowns (7).

The next five games will go a long ways in determining just how good this Jets team can be, with two games against the Patriots (3-1), a trip to Orchard Park to play the 3-1 Bills, as well as a home game against another talented (but underperforming squad) in the San Diego Chargers (3-1). If the Jets want to make it to the Super Bowl (they've made two straight AFC Championship games), they need to re-discover their identity on both sides of the ball. If not, the playoffs could be out of reach as well.