We learned Sunday that Mike Vick can probably still be a starting NFL QB; that Mark Sanchez quite possibly can too; that Percy Harvin is capable of amazing things, even in a Jets uniform; that Chris Johnson still has something left in the tank; that Matt Simms is perfectly suited to the third-string quarterback role; that, for all the talk about Rex Ryan and John Idzik being shown the door, we better hope they bring Marty Mornhinweg with them; and that Idzik, who may well be the most hated man in the Big Apple, has done a (very) few things right in his brief tenure as Jets GM.
We also learned that, in this catastrophic season, the Jets can even get beat when the key play comes from a guy who’s sitting on his rear end. Chiefs tight end Anthony Fasano was doing so, in the end zone, when a deflected pass fell into his hands to put his team up 14-0 late in the first quarter, and to basically put the game out of reach for the Jets, who simply aren’t good enough to come back from that kind of deficit against a team that doesn’t make many mistakes.
Uncharacteristically, the Jets also made few major gaffes in the 24-10 loss at Arrowhead Stadium. They had just five penalties and no turnovers, and Vick completed 75 percent of his passes. All year, people have questioned why Idzik brought in the 34-year-old QB and the 29-year-old Johnson (29 in running back is the equivalent of 74 in any other position or profession) in the offseason, only for them to play limited roles. Both players showed why yesterday. Johnson may not be a feature back anymore, but his speed and elusiveness provides a valuable change-of-pace. With the home team unable to put the Jets away after threatening to do so early in the contest, Johnson brought his team to the Chiefs’ 3-yard-line late in the third quarter, giving the visitors four chances to get within one score.
Then, for some reason I still can’t fathom, the ball went not to Vick… or Johnson… or Chris Ivory, but to Bilal Powell on a direct snap. As usual, I’m still trying to figure out what Mornhinweg was thinking. Three downs -- and one Vick fumble, which the QB recovered -- later, they were still down 14 and well on the way to 1-8.
Harvin, meanwhile, lived up to his talent. The only thing that stopped him Sunday -- as a receiver, runner or return man -- was a trip by Chiefs kicker Cairo Santos. Harvin will likely always be a handful for whoever is coaching him, but Idzik’s midseason pickup has already proven to be a good move. That said, this is the same GM who put together a historically awful defensive backfield that has yielded 24 TDs and come up with just one interception through nine games.
In the end, that’ll be his -- and the Jets’ -- undoing.
