Coach Rex Ryan decided to give most of his starters the night off in the preseason finale at Philadelphia.
Then again, he had no choice but to do so with two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis.
Revis, whom Ryan talked up last season as the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year after Revis finished second in the balloting, has sat out the entire preseason schedule and training camp, holding out because he wants a lucrative contract extension. The Jets haven't come close to satisfying his monetary desires, and the stalemate dominated the Jets' preseason, overshadowing the stuff that actually happened on the field.
Of course, the brash Ryan hasn't changed his bold tune one bit, even after linebacker Calvin Pace suffered a fractured bone in his right foot in the third preseason game. After subsequently undergoing surgery, the Jets' best edge rusher will miss at least the season opener and maybe more games.
But Ryan said that even without Pace and with Revis' presence still a question mark, "we've got enough depth here (on defense). We've got enough good football players that offenses need to worry about our defense. We're definitely not worried about it. I've got a lot of confidence in the guys we have. I'm not nearly as concerned as maybe other people are."
Antonio Cromartie, acquired from San Diego in a March trade, also is an excellent cover corner. But while he had a terrific, almost Revis-like training camp, he was a bit shaky in the Jets' third preseason game, the last one in which he played. And it remains to be seen if he can be the game-changer Revis was. Revis was so good in 2009 that he almost always took away the opposition's best receiver.
And because the Jets didn't need to double-team the Randy Mosses and Chad Ochocincos of the world, that freed up more people to blitz and harass the quarterback. Without Revis, it's likely the Jets will have to modify their blitzing strategy or risk getting torched often.
There was no such drama on offense during camp, as everyone was present and accounted for. Still, there were times when one could be excused for thinking the entire first-string offense was missing.
In 18 possessions in three preseason games, the Jets' starting offense scored only two touchdowns. And one of those came early in the fourth quarter of the third game against Washington's backups.
"I think we would've liked to perform a little better in a couple of those preseason games," Sanchez admitted, "but that's behind us and we have to learn from those mistakes and be ready to go when it counts.
"I don't think we're too worried about it," he added. "We're confident. We're excited about this next challenge and we know that it's time to get going."
But if they have to make part (or perhaps all?) of the journey without Revis, it will be that much more difficult. To have a chance to live up to the massive hype that has surrounded the Jets since spring, they must get Revis back into the fold. And Sanchez and a talented cast of wideouts must provide enough of a passing game so opposing defenses don't stack the box the way they did when Sanchez was a turnover-plagued rookie.
COACHING: Rex Ryan, 2nd year, 2nd with Jets (11-8).
REMEMBERING: 2009 record: 9-7 (2nd in AFC East); lost in AFC title game to Colts, 30-17.
PREDICTING: 2010 regular-season record: 10-6 (2nd in AFC East); lose in AFC wild-card game.
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