The New York Jets got hit in the mouth in Tennessee today, falling to the Titans 38-13. It was ugly from the very beginning they were never able to turn the tide, primarily thanks to a rash of turnovers and penalties. It was a nightmare performance for rookie quarterback Geno Smith who had 2 interceptions and 2 very bad fumbles, both of which showed very little field awareness.

Smith is going to have to cut down on the turnovers for the Jets to remain competitive on a weekly basis. The defense has been put on a short field too frequently and couldn’t recover from it today, as Jake Locker threw three first half touchdowns, putting the Jets into a 24-6 hole. Smith must tuck the football away in the pocket and when scrambling. On the interceptions, he is too frequently locking on to his first read and still showing way too much inconsistency with his accuracy. It is going to be a roller coaster ride starting a 2nd round rookie and Jets fans need to be ready to accept the growing pains.

Surrounding Smith, the offensive line was disappointing, consistently allowing the Titans to get pressure on him and continuing to rack up penalties. It was a tough day for the receivers as both Stephen Hill and Santonio Holmes left with injuries, hopefully neither is serious because the Jets are already thin at the position. Bilal Powell was the lone bright spot, finishing with 66 yards rushing on 4.7 yards per carry and adding on 42 yards receiving.

Defensively, the Titans picked on Darrin Walls in the first half, culminating in a touchdown right before the half by Justin Hunter. While the defense was solid against the run and did have a pair of sacks on Locker, they are going to need to start forcing turnovers. Since week one, they haven’t forced a single one and considering the offensive inconsistencies, the defense will need to start creating some points on their own.

What can you say? The Jets were whipped in just about every aspect of the game. They are a young team with a rookie quarterback. This is going to happen. There are going to be surprisingly encouraging performances and there are going to be a few nightmare games mixed in. If you aren’t ready for a frustrating roller coaster ride this season, you should recalibrate your expectations. Next week could be tough in Atlanta as well but you hope lessons are learned from today, mistakes aren’t replicated and there begins to be a lesser amount of mistakes overall.

Cutting ties with Geno Smith after 4 games makes no sense. An undrafted backup QB with zero NFL experience isn’t taking this team to the playoffs. Get excited after the wins. Remain patient after the losses. There will continue to be ups and downs, Jets fans…that is just the reality we are dealing with this season.

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