New York Jets: 8 Jets Most Responsible for Disastrous 2011 Season

Not to worry, feast yourselves on it; there is more than enough for everyone. The buffet of blame constructed for the 2011 New York Jets is piping hot and miles long. There are more fingers being pointed within the New York Jets organization than at an NYPD lineup.

The once-heralded champions-to-be are left with one urgent question: Who really is to blame for the debacle that is this version of Gang Green? No, this is not yet another whack-a-Sanchez column. It is a real examination of the broken cogs in the Jets machine.

From top management to the most menial water boy, everyone is a suspect. The Jets' tumble from the elite has been a substantial one, and many have played roles. Here are the top eight most responsible for the state of Gang Green.

Rex Ryan

The walking sound bite that is the Jets' unconventional leader has begged the media to deflect the blame for this embarrassing 2011 campaign onto him. There is little reason to suggest it should begin anywhere else.

The mere fact that Ryan—head coach of a major-market franchise that has suddenly fallen from grace into the pit of AFC irrelevance 12 months removed from its second consecutive conference title game—has to ask for blame to be placed on him is ridiculous; a product of today’s sports culture.

Any athlete, current or former, who has competed in team sports, knows that the rise and fall of any team is entirely dependent on the effectiveness of its head coach. It is easy to see when you examine great coaching achievements in sports history.

Would the ragtag U.S. hockey team have completed the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980 and changed the international landscape without the leadership of Herb Brooks, a coach whose accomplishments would earn him enshrinement in the NHL Hall of Fame?

How many members of the legendary 1983 NC State Wolfpack can you recall for their phenomenal professional careers after they captured an NCAA championship title under immortal coach Jimmy Valvano? You will be searching for that one for a while, because there weren't any.

When I see the 2011 New York Jets fall behind opponents in games they are “supposed” to win against teams they are superior to on paper, the most eye-catching event that occurs—without exception—is the sight of Rex Ryan fading back into the sidelines behind his players and assistants.

For a Jets team that is largely without an exceptional leader on the field, Rex Ryan somehow leaves behind the swagger and bluster he spews into a press conference microphone once he heads out of the MetLife Stadium tunnel.

A truly great head coach learns from his mistakes before he moves his team forward. Ryan has become well-versed in the techniques of putting dramatic losses behind his Jets teams over the past few seasons, yet he rarely takes a moment to reflect and absorb the lessons learned by the loss before pushing on towards the next week.

As the Jets continue to make the same wrong turns—the same costly errors in the same aggravating manner week in and week out—Rex Ryan is spot-on correct. He deserves every bit of the blame.

Brian Schottenheimer

The effort dedicated to figuring out why this man has a job in the National Football League is getting tiresome. As I look through the enormous black hole of opinions and analysis involving the atrocious Schottenheimer-controlled Jets offense, I think it is now safe to say that I am not alone in laying a huge portion of the blame for the Jets' failures on our beloved offensive coordinator.

The sphere of negative influence that Schottenheimer has on the members of the Jets organization is immense.

Mark Sanchez is considered a monumental failure as an NFL quarterback by many who have their eyes trained on No. 6; yet he has overcome the limitations of functioning under the nonsensical Schottenheimer playbook to reach two AFC Championship Games.

Shonn Greene has the potential to become a breakout star tailback in the NFL, likely surpassing the 1,000-yard plateau this week in spite of his limited 239 carries on a supposed “ground-and-pound” offense. Greene is often cast aside as games progress in favor of an erratic passing scheme thanks to Schottenheimer’s loss of quality control.

The Jets' offensive line, a physically imposing squad capable of great run-block surges, is not spared either. The front line’s slow, lumbering feet and poor lateral agility are constantly exposed in pass-blocking sets—into which they are put no less than 50 to 60 times a game thanks to their oblivious play-caller.

I find myself wanting to continue on this slide with the numerous other reasons why Brian Schottenheimer should not be trusted with navigating the playbook of a sixth-grade Pop Warner offense, but alas I must move on.

Mike Tannenbaum

This entry requires scientific experimentation.

I want everyone reading this to go into their dining room and kneel next to their dinner table. Next, I want you to remove half of one table leg with a saw. Replace the missing table leg with one of the oldest phone books in your home (preferably one that no one has any use for anymore).

Continue around the next three table legs, sawing each halfway and replacing it with common household items that have either not supported weight of any kind in three years or with a self-inflating balloon not intended for use as a support structure.  

A three-legged table—a table with disjointed, refurbished legs—serves no good for anyone.

Tannenbaum, a general manger who is not shy about making blockbuster deals, duct-taped together a 2011 Jets squad that lacked any of the unity and personality that the past two incarnations possessed.

Goodbye was waved to Jericho Cotchery, a lifelong Jet whose role last season was more character than yardage. Braylon Edwards, a receiver whose late-game heroics were a priceless safety blanket for young quarterback Mark Sanchez, sailed west in spite of his repeated declaration that he wanted to remain a Jet. Multi-faceted weapon Brad Smith was shipped to Siberia before the season, leaving a gaping (and, in hindsight, costly) hole in the Jets' vaunted special teams squad.

In their places, Tannenbaum imported a remarkably unproductive corps in a patchwork attempt to fill these vacancies.  Derrick Mason visited the Jets for a gigantically ineffective cup of coffee while contributing absolutely nothing. Plaxico Burress has had a pedestrian season, providing little more than another 21st-century feel-good story about reformed felons rather than actual on-field success.

Add to this a wild swing-and-miss towards Pro Bowler Nnamdi Asomugha in the preseason, and Tannenbaum made sure the Jets began this 2011 season with an egg on their face before even taking the practice field.

D’Brickshaw Ferguson / Nick Mangold (tie)

Before I begin on the two cornerstones of the Jets' offensive line, let me be clear about one thing. I think that these two players in particular have earned the Pro Bowl nods they received this week.

They have performed yet again beyond expectations given their relatively young age in the league, and have been the cause of what little protection Sanchez has gotten this season.

There comes a time, though, when good players must become great. In the evolution of a football team—or any athletic team, for that matter—great individual performers must take increased leadership roles in order to right a sinking ship. Without it, an entire team can perish without anyone at the helm.

To think, the Jets' offensive line this season has been as porous as it has been in years, and yet they still will send two All-Pros to Honolulu in January.

When Brick and Mangold board their plane destined for Hawaii in a few weeks, I only hope that they will look back and lament on the fact that their fellow linemen are not with them.

Right tackle Wayne Hunter has been nothing but a detriment to the Jets offense this season; his footwork technique, hand placement, and first step are atrocious. Fundamentals aside, Hunter’s complete lack of concern after any one of his numerous penalties or conceded sacks is a product of a leadership vacuum.

These two Jets superstars, perennial All-Pro linemen, should have been on top of this problem from the very beginning. It is truly unfortunate that beard growth and proper baseball cap placement were apparently more of a priority on Jets' sidelines this season.

Antonio Cromartie

Following the collapse of negotiations with Eagle-to-be Nnamdi Asomugha, newly resigned cornerback Antonio Cromartie told Jets reporters that his skills were superior to that of the former Raider All-Pro. He continued by declaring that the experience would inspire him to play with a chip on his shoulder, serving as inspiration to reclaim his position amongst the elite NFL pass defenders.

Some chip, huh? Whatever it cost, the Jets should ask for a refund from chip customer service.

Cromartie has become the second most penalized Jet on the New York roster, constantly needing the help of a tug or hold to slow receivers that he cannot keep up with.

The “tackling” technique exhibited by Cromartie is the thing of historical blooper; there is no receiver in the league who cannot leave Antonio Cromartie grasping at air in the open field.

His aggressiveness this season has been non-existent; I will simply leave the Tebow scamper in Denver as exhibit one.

If this is what Antonio Cromartie plays like with a chip on his shoulder—with arguably the best cornerback in the league standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him—I would hate to see what he looks like when he's disinterested.

Bart Scott

Where has the Mad Backer been this season? His tackle quota is down to its lowest level in the seven seasons he has been a starting NFL linebacker. He has 4.5 sacks this season, more than doubling the total he produced in his first two seasons with the Jets combined, but the responsibility Bart Scott must take for this season is not in the stat book.

Like Ferguson and Mangold on the offensive side of the ball, Scott has failed to seize an opportunity for leadership that has cost his squad mightily. Never one to miss the chance at a sound bite, Scott has been inexcusably silent this season.

In fact, the only time Jets fans have read any words coming from the Bart Scott loudspeaker, they were words of doubt and discouragement. “I don't think we're a Super Bowl team,” Scott said before last week’s game. “Or even a playoff team,” he added.

There are times when teams that are down need to believe they can surpass expectations. There are moments when they need to hear words that give them the confidence to climb mountains, barefooted, in 10 feet of snow…both ways.

All the teammates of Bart Scott have heard from their veteran leader this season is that they aren’t good enough.

Santonio Holmes

The behavior of the one of the Jets' team captains in Philadelphia two weeks ago was a microcosm of everything that Santonio Holmes has provided his team this season.

Given the endangered species that is a Santonio Holmes touchdown catch—followed by a ridiculously irresponsible celebration—it appears that the truckload of money unloaded at the doorstep of the Holmes residence before season's start has gone to Santonio’s head.

The unfortunate part of that split-second poor decision was not the laughable nature of the thing. Holmes is by far not the first pro football player to over-celebrate a meaningless achievement, and he surely will not be the last. The ramifications of his actions could be found in every surrounding event that involved him.

Holmes caused waves within the Jets organization earlier in the regular season when he criticized everyone dressed in green. From the offensive line to the hot dog vendor, Holmes decided at one point that tough love was going to be his leadership technique as captain. Safe to say, none of it worked.

One of the strongest characteristics of the Jets' last two seasons was their ability to acknowledge when they took a licking. A team with potentially volatile personalities—players like Scott, Holmes, Tomlinson and even Braylon Edwards—spent postgame days in relative solitude, choosing to focus on improvement instead of excuses.

Santonio Holmes, now a very rich man thanks to an organization that needed him most this season, chose to focus on excuses and blame-leveling this season. Tone Time, for this season at least, has run out for the New York Jets.