NY Jets: Rex Ryan Losing Control of Team Heading into Crucial Game vs. Patriots

Rex Ryan has made a name for himself as head coach of the New York Jets by being cocky, confident, arrogant and brash with opposing players and coaches. But now, with his team going to New England having lost two straight games, things are starting to fall apart.

According to a report from Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, wide receivers Santonio Holmes, Derrick Mason and Plaxico Burress have talked to Ryan about the offensive game plan and are criticizing Brian Schottenheimer.

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The receivers' decisions to approach the head coach during a season when the Jets are throwing it more than ever under Ryan speaks volumes about their feelings about the play-calling. Wideouts don't typically want to change when they're part of a pass-friendly offense. However, all of them recognize the importance of re-establishing a ground attack that has lost its way. To that end, Ryan admitted that his team will lean more on the ground-and-pound attack moving forward to re-establish a more physical mind-set.

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While the receivers have a point about this team losing its edge on the ground, they should not have made this a public issue. The Jets have all kinds of problems, both on offense and defense, and the last thing they need are more distractions heading into New England.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is better than anyone at zeroing in on a weakness that a team and/or coach might have and exploiting that to no end.

Everyone knows that the Jets have not played up to their potential in the last two weeks, but maybe they should start looking at Mark Sanchez and stop blaming everyone around him.

Overall, Sanchez's numbers this season are solid but nothing to get excited about. He has 1,005 yards, six touchdowns, five interceptions and is completing just 55.1 percent of his passes.

Despite his inconsistent play, Ryan continues to support the third-year quarterback. But when are we finally going to see the results on the field that warrant such confidence?

The Jets receivers don't need to focus on the offensive coordinator to figure out what is wrong with the offense. They need to look at the person throwing them the ball and the coach that always has to defend him in post-game press conferences.

Ryan is not in danger of losing his job, but if things keep going the way that they have been, he is in danger of losing this team.