Rex Ryan: Optimism fading away

Coach Rex Ryan, never afraid to speak his mind, offered a blunt assessment Friday of the New York Jets' season.

"It's been a big failure," he said.

Who can argue?

The Jets (1-6) came into the season talking playoffs, expecting to build on last year's surprising 8-8 finish, but they're on a six-game losing streak and staring at nine weeks of virtually meaningless football.

On Thursday night, they suffered an unprecedented defeat, becoming the first team in history to lose a game despite 40 minutes of possession time, 200 yards rushing and no giveaways, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

It was the 27-25 loss to the New England Patriots that left Ryan fuming.

Twelve hours later, he had calmed down but was no less disappointed.

"The season's not over, but you don't want to be 1-6," he said. "If you asked me, I'd be thinking we'd be the other way."

The only drama left in the season, if one could call it that, is the development of quarterback Geno Smith and Ryan's job status.

The Jets, who acquired wide receiverPercy Harvin from the Seattle Seahawks on Friday afternoon, according to sources,are headed to their fourth straight season out of the playoffs, so it would be an upset if Ryan makes it to2015. For the first time since November 2009, his first season, his career record is below .500, at 43-44.

Ryan insisted he's not worried about his job.

"You're right, this is a win business -- I understand that, there's no doubt -- but this is about the team," he said. "The team has always been the priority. The priority has never been my future."

The team still is playing hard for Ryan, evidenced by the fact five of the seven games have been decided by eight points or fewer. After the crushing loss to the Patriots, several players expressed their support of Ryan.

"He's taking a lot of the blame on himself, but he shouldn't have to," linebacker Calvin Pace said. "It's on the players. ... It's not a good feeling."

Said wide receiver David Nelson: "We came into the season with high expectations, and you're humbled a little bit by the third, fourth, fifth, sixth week of the season."

One of the bright spots Thursday night was Smith, who played an interception-less game for only the fifth time in 23 starts. The Jets won the previous four games in which he didn't throw an interception.

"I see him getting better," Ryan said of Smith, who began Week 7 as the lowest-rated starter in the league.

Modest improvements notwithstanding, the Jets were significantly outplayed at the quarterback position over the past six games. Of course, check out the quarterbacks they faced -- Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford, Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. The result: 16 touchdown passes, only one interception.

The Jets' weakness at cornerback was exposed by the top guns, although Ryan -- always defiant when it comes to his defense -- refused to call it a defensive failure.

He noted the Jets are fifth in total defense, adding that it's "not realistic" to expect a team to shut down those six quarterbacks.

"I would challenge you to look at the stats those players had against other teams and see how far off we are," he said. "We're probably better than the other teams."

But still 1-6.