New York Jets: 4 Players Who Must Step Up to Get Jets Back on Track

After a Week 5 loss to the New England Patriots, the New York Jets find themselves in a precarious situation. They are in a position not many thought they would be before the season started. The Jets are currently in third place, two games back of the division-leading Patriots and Buffalo Bills.

Both sides of the ball have seen their fair share of issues, directly leading to the bad 2-3 start the Jets have come out the gate to.

With panic mode in full swing, Rex Ryan has got to get more out of his players in order to back up his annual smack talk if the Jets want to eventually fulfill their coach's promise.

Here are four Jets players who must step up if the Jets want to regain control of their season.

Shonn Greene

Every starting running back in the NFL looks to hit the 100-yard mark each week when they take the field and for the Jets, that has yet to happen for their starting back.

A year after being a solid, secondary back for the Jets last season, Greene finds himself with the majority of the carries and the majority of the blame as well since the Jets run attack has been close to non-existent.

Greene has yet to rush for 100 yards in 2011, with a less than acceptable 3.3 yards per rush.

Greene's lack of production alone is putting a ton of pressure on Mark Sanchez and the Jets passing attack.

If the Jets want to rebound and help their young quarterback continue to develop, Shonn Greene has got to help take the pressure off with an outstanding performance out of the Jets' backfield. Currently, the Jets rushing attack is 31st in the NFL, a stat that is alarming at best.

If Shonn Greene can boost his production for the Jets, it will coincide with a Gang Green rebound moving forward this season.

Jets Run Defense

It's no secret the Jets' pass defense has been doing a stellar job being ranked fifth in the NFL. With Darelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie roaming around in the secondary, that's to be expected.

It's been the Jets' 26th ranked rush defense that has let them down this year. In each of their losses this season, the Jets have allowed the opposing team to rush for over 100 yards in each game.

In their Week 1 win, or I should say Cowboys' loss, they surrendered over 100 yards but won because the Cowboys beat themselves.

In two of their three losses, the Jets have allowed their opponent to rush for over 150 total yards on the ground and ask anybody in the NFL and they would tell you, it's pretty tough to win letting up that many yards to an opposing rushing attack.

So it's pretty clear, if the Jets can keep their opponents rushing attacks in check and can combine that with the fifth best pass defense in the NFL, they would regain their top defensive status that they've been known for since Rex Ryan took over the ship.

That would certainly take the pressure off their offense, needing less points to win each week.

The Jets must stop the run to compliment their pass defense if they want to right the season.

Mark Sanchez

With an anemic rushing attack such as the Jets', it's only natural that the passing attack will have to step up in place of it.

New York Jets' quarterback, Mark Sanchez, will be no different.

As it stands now, the Jets passing attack is ranked 21st in the NFL, certainly not good enough to compliment a rushing attack ranked second to last in the league.

Sanchez will have to do more with his arm, as long as his coaches are willing to allow him of course. I don't see much of a choice for Rex Ryan and company on this one.

Now that's not to say the Jets should just abandon their ground game, but eventually if it doesn't work, you have to try something else. Look for the Jets to be more liberal throwing the football in the upcoming weeks if Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson can't get it going for the Jets.

After breaking the 300-yard mark twice in the first three weeks, Sanchez has failed to break 200 yards in each of his last two games. If Sanchez can't step up after his running game fails, it will be a tough rest of the season for Gang Green.

Jets' Offensive Line

Nick Mangold may be one of the best offensive lineman in all of football. With that being said, it still takes the other guys around him to be a truly great offensive line.

As your offensive line goes, so does the rest of your offense. The most telling statistic of failure for the Jets' offensive line is their 31st ranked rushing attack.

In 2010, the Jets finished with the fourth best running attack in the NFL, a far cry from their results thus far in the 2011 season.

In fact, the Jets have only broken the 100-yard mark twice this season as a team and both games were by the skin of their teeth.

Granted, Nick Mangold did miss a few weeks with an injury, but even against a weak Patriots defense, the Jets were still unable to break the 100-yard mark against their division rivals.

If the Jets want to regain control of their season, the offensive line will have to open up better holes for Shonn Greene to run through and in turn, he will have to find those holes. If the Jets can do that, it will open up their passing attack and make them a more dangerous offense.

If not, defenses around the league will cheat on the pass, and it could end up being a long season for Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets.