1. The Jets and their receivers can officially deny the mutiny talk all they want, but the numbers and the body language and the cryptic comments make it clear there are serious problems within their offense. Santonio Holmes admitted to me after Sunday’s loss to the Patriots that Brian Schottenheimer’s unit is “a work in progress” because of the new additions and the lack of an offseason program due to the lockout, but that explanation just doesn’t fly. If Cam Newton and Andy Dalton can come straight out of college after a lockout and regularly shred NFL defenses, there is simply no reason Mark Sanchez can’t do the same with – at least on paper – a dramatically better cast than either of those rookies. Firing Brian Schottenheimer would be the easy answer (especially since former Super Bowl head coach Bill Callahan is already on the staff), but that won’t necessarily solve the problem. The Jets have a chemistry problem: Their receivers don’t appear to trust Sanchez to get them the ball, while Sanchez either doesn’t trust Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason to get open or feels harried into poor decisions by the ineptitude of the offensive line. Benching Mason in favor of the much younger and speedier Jeremy Kerley on Sunday was a step in the right direction, but the situation merits an even bolder move from Rex Ryan – either in the makeup of his coaching staff (changing coordinators) or the roster (getting rid of the 37-year-old Mason, a locker-room lawyer if there ever was one). Ryan needs to do something, because mustering just 255 total yards against the NFL’s worst defense that was also playing without its leading tackler simply can’t be shrugged off.
2. Kevin Gilbride should be thankful his counterpart Schottenheimer keeping Gilbride and the Giants off the backpages after Sunday’s abominable home loss to the woeful Seahawks. The stage couldn’t have been better set for Coughlin’s team to take charge of the NFC East, yet the Giants gave up 29 points to what had been one of the worst offenses in football even after Seattle was forced to go to its backup quarterback. But this inexcusable stumble needs to go on Gilbride as much as the defense, because even without Brandon Jacobs, there is no excuse for virtually abandoning the running game against a West Coast team traveling east. Gilbride called almost twice as many passes (39) as runs (21) and gave Jacobs’ replacement, DJ Ware, just four carries. Sure, the Seahawks have a top-10 rushing defense, but turning pass-happy always invites the possibility of “Bad” Eli Manning suddenly showing up – which is exactly what happened. The Giants averaged just 2.5 yards per rush on 14 carries in the first half, but the game was tied at that point and there was no reason to panic – especially on a hot day against a team not used to playing in hot weather. And don’t give me injuries to Chris Snee and fullback Henry Hynoski, both of which happened very late. Gilbride has been around long enough to know running games take time to develop, yet it seems the Giants’ play-caller just can’t help pushing the “pass” button. It’s in his DNA, too often to Big Blue’s detriment.
3. The Jets’ problems on offense are almost too voluminous to mention, but the total disappearance of the deep passing game – despite the presence of Holmes, one of the game’s speediest long-ball threats – continues to be the biggest head-scratcher. Sanchez has just 15 throws of 20-plus yards in the season’s first five games (Cam Newton has 29) and just one throw of more than 40 yards (Eli Manning has six). This issue is easy to explain, however: Holmes is getting blanketed deep because teams don’t need to double Burress or Mason, and the patchwork line isn’t giving Sanchez time to set up and throw the deep ball. Solving it, at least in the short run, isn’t as easy aside from getting the speedy Kerley more involved. Until the Jets get this figured out, every possession is going to be a grind.
4. Victor Cruz has been a revelation for the Giants, but to use one of Coughlin’s favorite phrases, his continuing “careless disregard for the football” is something the coach and his staff need to zero in on immediately and relentlessly. The idea isn’t to make Cruz self-conscious and cause him to start overcompensating, because that could very well cut down on the big-play ability that has made the young wide receiver so much fun to watch. But Cruz’s sloppiness with the football cost the Giants against Seattle and, of course, nearly cost them the win at Arizona the week before on the play that should have been declared a fumble.
Follow Bart Hubbuch on Twitter at NYPost_Hubbuch
