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Fair to blame Rex for the rust – Metro US

Fair to blame Rex for the rust

The bye week was supposed to be a time for the Jets to heal from a few injuries and refocus for the second half of the season. Instead, the Jets waved bye-bye to their once prolific scoring touch that had produced at least 24 points in each of their last five games — all wins.

In Sunday’s 9-0 loss to Green Bay, the Jets’ offense easily outgained the Packers’ and dominated time of possession but only reached the red zone one time. It could have been just an off day, or it could have been the rust factor.

Last week, coach Rex Ryan said the bye week couldn’t come at a worse time for a team that had won five straight games. He was right, even if is players won’t admit it.

“All week long, guys were fresh and excited to get back on the field,” said Mark Sanchez, who was off the entire bye week. “The effort was there, it was just poor execution so I don’t think it had anything to do with the bye week.”

But the rust clearly haunted the Jets on Halloween Sunday. Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold was twice flagged for penalties. Santonio Holmes dropped a catchable ball in the third quarter that could have led to six points. Then there was the reliable Jerricho Cotchery, who dropped two balls in the fourth quarter.

“There’s going to be some games like this, some games where it just doesn’t work, where it doesn’t click,” cornerback Dwight Lowery said. “This one just came after a bye.”

Now, for the second straight year, the Jets will try to come back from a loss after the bye.

Detroit’s offense says ‘hello’ after bye week

Despite their flip-flopped records, the Jets (5-2) and Lions (2-5) have plenty in common.
Both have second-year head coaches. Both have second-year quarterbacks. And both struggled early last Sunday coming off a bye. The only difference is Matt Stafford overcame mistakes for a win over the Redskins.

“He came back … and just didn’t have real good timing early in that game, but he was able to hang with it and keep on pressing,”?Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. “He got hot in that second half, and that’s a maturity factor that a lot of young quarterbacks don’t have.” –Metro