Jets' Loss to Packers Magnifies Known Roster Woes

After blowing a 21-3 lead and erasing their own would-be game-saving touchdown, anyone associated with the New York Jets has a sour taste in their mouth no safe amount of cold milk can remove.

While the bulk of the disappointment is derived from the blown lead and almost inconceivable methods of self-destruction, the real concern for Rex Ryan's Jets are the roster warts that started to rear their ugly heads against a quality, Super Bowl-contending team.

Watching the team dominate the feeble Oakland Raiders last week, it was easy to forget that their starting cornerbacks were either buried on the depth chart or playing other positions just a few weeks ago. The unproven members of the offensive line and razor-thin depth at the wide receiver position seemed like old news after such a dominant showing. 

USA TODAY Sports

It took them about a half of football to do so, but a more formidable team reminded the Jets of all of the roster shortcomings they neglected to fix during the offseason. The Jets certainly deserved their Week 1 win, but Ryan and his coaches would be kidding themselves if they expected that level of dominance week after week.

In the first half, it began to appear as if the worries surrounding the Jets secondary were overblown. Before the final minutes of the second quarter, the Darrin Walls and Antonio Allen-led Jets kept Aaron Rodgers in check, holding the Packers offense to just nine points. A terrific defensive game plan from Ryan combined with episodes of stellar defensive line play made the Jets resemble their league-leading 2009 selves. 

However, as soon as the near-perfect conditions to play defensive back had changed, the Jets' secondary was exposed as the paper-thin unit it is and was expected to be all along.  

An injured Sheldon Richardson and an ejected Muhammad Wilkerson brought the defensive line back to earth. Ryan's game plan was nullified when he felt compelled to insert a banged-up Dee Milliner into the lineup to cover the top Packers receiver, Jordy Nelson, on his lonesome. The results were predictable. 

The concerns surrounding the secondary were not directly related to who was listed as the starters in the game program. While not superstars, Antonio Allen and Darrin Walls have shown enough ability to play at a level expected of a starting NFL cornerback, able to succeed in the right situation. 

Problem is, for long-term NFL players, the "right situation" is never sustainable. At some point, other players are going to get injured (or, in Wilkerson's case, ejected). Coaches and teammates will make mistakes, and referees are going to botch calls. 

The only constant in pro football is the constant uncertainty and change. 

Players that last as long-term starters are able to overcome these obstacles. When it comes to the Jets' problem areas on the roster, there simply are not enough of these types of players.

The secondary woes are essentially mirrored on the offensive side of the ball by the receiver group. After an explosive 21-point half, Geno Smith and the offense were only able to pump out another three points for the rest of the game in large part because of injuries to their top receiver, Eric Decker. 

Removing Decker from the lineup did not just slow the Jets offense or force them to be a bit more creative—it halted them completely. The next two leading "receivers" on the day were running back Bilal Powell (two catches, 32 yards) and fullback Tommy Bohanon (two catches, 30 yards).

USA TODAY Sports

A team with a properly stacked receiving corps would be able to at least sustain some type of passing game without their top receiver for a less than a half of football. The Jets, however, are far too dependent on Decker to lose him for any period of time without leaving the offense frozen in place. 

Players like Jeremy Kerley, Greg Salas and David Nelson have proven to be useful in certain roles. Again, however, these players need to be in specific roles to be successful—the Jets do not have the luxury of being able to plug in the next receiver up and being able to run a passing game of professional quality. 

The unattended roster stains don't stop at cornerback and wide receiver. Sophomore left guard Brian Winters was back to his drive-killing ways, giving up a lot of interior pressure to backup-caliber players such as Letroy Guion and Mike Daniels. 

The inconsistent production of the tight ends continues, with Jeff Cumberland making just one catch on the afternoon. Rookie safety Calvin Pryor made his first inevitable mistake, which allowed Jordy Nelson to generate the easiest 80-yard touchdown reception he will ever have.

USA TODAY Sports

All of these issues were well-known before the season started. While general manager John Idzik had good reason to believe that these issues would start to dissolve with so many young, developing players associated with them, it was a matter of time before the Jets dropped a winnable game because of their dependency on unproven players. 

None of these developments should be of much significant news to the Jets. However, after last week's convincing win, it was easy to buy into the idea that the once-glaring holes on the Jets' roster were starting to cloud. 

As this game confirms, it is best practice to take anything that happens on same field as the Oakland Raiders with a grain of salt. 

This is not to say that these problems are not correctable or at least able to be improved over the course of the season. But as injuries mount and playoff pictures start to take shape, the margin of error for the capable players on the Jets will be next to nothing at this rate. 

As they proved in the first half against the Packers, the starting 22 players on the Jets' roster are more than capable of competing (and even dominating) quality, Super Bowl-contending opponents. The foundation to compete at a championship level is present—how long the Jets can sustain that level of play on a week-to-week basis remains to be seen. 

As the second half would confirm, the real question is whether or not the Jets have the substance behind the starters to get them through the trials and tribulations of an NFL season.