Ryan, Jets back to work after falling from ranks of unbeaten in New Orleans

Ryan, Jets look to bounce back after first loss

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Rex Ryan sidled over to Mark Sanchez on the New York Jets’ flight home from New Orleans and offered some perspective for the rookie quarterback.

“I was kind of kidding with him,” the Jets coach said Monday. “I said, ‘Hey, just think of this kid: Can’t get any worse than it got today, can it?’

“I mean, it was the truth. It wasn’t his day. It wasn’t our day.”

It certainly wasn’t as the Jets (3-1) took their first loss Sunday, 24-10 at New Orleans. Sanchez turned over the ball four times, including three interceptions, and shouldered the blame for the loss.

Still, the coach’s confidence in his quarterback hasn’t wavered.

“He kind of had his head down, but he smiled and all that,” Ryan said of Sanchez’s reaction during their conversation. “He’s going to get them back. He’s like a tiger. He’s going to come roaring back. There’s no doubt.

“I have 100 percent confidence in him, and I have confidence in our football team.”

Monday marked the first time in Ryan’s brief head coaching career, and Sanchez’s equally brief NFL career, that they watched film of a regular-season loss.

“I thought New Orleans, you’ve got to tip your hat to them,” Ryan said. “They deserved that game. They outplayed us. They were the better team that day. You know, it’s hard to accept, but that’s the facts.”

New York was already focused on putting the loss behind and beginning to prepare for its next game next Monday night at AFC East rival Miami (1-3).

“I can’t wait to play again,” Ryan said. “It’s almost like you’ve got a volcano inside of you like, ‘Man, let’s go.’ I think that’s the way our team feels.”

Added defensive lineman Marques Douglas: “On Monday night, at around 11 o’clock, we want to be 4-1. We know it’s a tall order.”

Well, especially if the Jets play as they did against the Saints. A 6-minute period to start the second quarter turned the game in New Orleans’ favor on two crucial mistakes by Sanchez.

With the Jets trailing 3-0 and driving for a potential go-ahead score, Sanchez locked in on Dustin Keller. But Darren Sharper read the quarterback’s eyes, picked off the pass and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown.

After the Jets went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, the Saints drove downfield to New York’s 1, but were turned aside on four straight plays. Any momentum gained from the goal-line stand evaporated two plays later when Sanchez held the ball too long, was sacked and fumbled in the end zone, where the Saints recovered for a touchdown and a sudden 17-0 lead.

“It’s obvious he felt like he didn’t have his best day, and a lot of other guys on offense, we didn’t, either,” right guard Brandon Moore said. “He’ll learn from it and move on. It’s part of being a rookie.”

The Jets actually got back into the game and were down 17-10 when the Saints decided to go on fourth-and-1 from New York’s 43. Spurred on by a hard count by quarterback Drew Brees, nose tackle Kris Jenkins charged across the line and was called offside. That gave New Orleans a first down and it cashed in on the mistake six plays later on Pierre Thomas’ 1-yard touchdown run.

“With all the mistakes we made, it still was 17-10 going into the fourth quarter and we had the ball,” Moore said. “That helps motivate you going into other games, knowing that we kind of beat ourselves. It was a winnable game.”

In desperation mode, Sanchez ended the Jets’ last two possessions by throwing interceptions.

“You know what? That makes us on defense want to play better because we realize he’s the same quarterback who took us to being 3-0,” Douglas said. “We’re not down on him. We’re down on ourselves because we let them score 10 points on us.”

The Jets’ running game and offensive line again lacked consistency, despite New York finishing with 132 yards rushing.

“Would we like to run for 400 yards a game? Well, that’s not going to happen,” Moore said. “We’re just trying to get ourselves together as an offense and move forward, execute and make plays.”

Twice in the third quarter with the team facing third-and-1, Sanchez threw incomplete to Chansi Stuckey rather than handing off. On third-and-2 early in the fourth quarter, Thomas Jones was stuffed for no gain.

“We’ve just got to get better at executing,” Ryan said. “If he hits one, the guy catches it and goes for a touchdown, then we’re geniuses.”

Regardless, the Jets refuse to point any fingers at their rookie quarterback.

“It’s all of us,” Moore said. “He doesn’t have to feel like he’s got to put it all on his shoulders.”