BY NICK ST. DENIS
The scouting report on the New York Jets' defensive front is quite complicated. The scouting report on their secondary isn't.
The Baltimore Ravens took their shots downfield Sunday despite less-than-favorable weather conditions, and it paid dividends.
A pair of long completions by quarterback Joe Flacco -- one of which went for 66 yards and a touchdown -- was the latest development in the debacle that is the Jets' defensive backfield. The Jets lost their second straight and fell below .500 for the first time this season.
"We haven’t fixed it yet," Jets coach Rex Ryan said after the game of the Jets' big-play pass defense, via Michael J. Fensom of NJ.com.
Yeah. No kidding.
The Jets, who fell to the Ravens by a 19-3 margin, have re-defined "bend but don't break." Well, not really defined. Just re-arranged. Gang Green's defense goes long stretches without bending. But then it breaks.
New York picked off Flacco once, sacked him four times and held Baltimore's offense to a 3-for-13 conversion rate on third down. But the big plays through the air put the nail in the coffin -- a coffin that was built by the Jets' offense.
The Ravens' long touchdown pass was a two-for-one deal. Not only did Jacoby Jones beat the much-maligned rookie cornerback Dee Milliner for the score, but Jones also outraced newly-acquired Jet and former Raven safety Ed Reed, who was supposed to be in deep-pass support.
"I never really saw the ball,” Reed said. “I should have played it different."
As Fensom points out, the Jets get speedster Mike Wallace next when the Jets host the Miami Dolphins next week. Wallace has to be licking his chops, as he will likely be up against veteran Antonio Cromartie, who got burned by Torrey Smith on a 60-yard strike and has stunk most of the season.
"All I know is we will work it until it does get fixed, and I have all the confidence in the world we’ll fix it," Ryan said.
Good luck, Rex.
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