Chargers Smelled Success; Jets Played a Stinker

Everything about the Jets’ performance smacked of last season--a mistake-a-minute offense, a defense that could not stop any moving objects and special teams that backfired at crucial moments. It resulted in their biggest eyesore of 1990, a 39-3 loss to the Chargers at Giants Stadium.

And to think the Jets were actually expected to win, which goes to prove one thing: The Jets, despite some encouraging signs in the previous five weeks, are capable of a stinker on any given day, regardless of the opponent. They proved they can lose with the worst of them. In Dick Vitale vernacular, the Jets are a bunch of Dow Jonesers.

Coach Bruce Coslet is the first to admit it. “We’re susceptible to this every time we go out against I-don’t-care-who-it-is,” Coslet said. “We can get toasted or we can beat anybody.”

That it happened against the Chargers, a team on the brink of turmoil after last week’s embarrassing, 36-14 loss to the Steelers--made it even more jarring. “I feel like committing a crime,” cornerback James Hasty said.

But the players refused to admit that this one hurt more because they lost to a so-called inferior team. “A loss is a loss is a loss,” tackle Brett Miller said. “You want to win the ones you think you should win, but it comes down to the fact that, whether it’s against the Super Bowl champs or the Toilet Bowl champs, you can’t let these losses pile up. This is the time of the year you have to break out of your shell and start putting some wins up there.”

In his postgame address to the team, Coslet remained calm, according to players. Instead of yelling, he issued a challenge, telling them that next Sunday’s game against the first-place Bills (4-1) will be a test of their mettle. “Look what happened to (the Chargers) last week; they got toasted in Pittsburgh,” said Coslet, telling reporters what he told the team. “They came back, and they came in here and ripped us. We’ll see if we can be that type of team.”

If the Jets (2-4) play like they did yesterday, they can forget about it. The Jets, a good-first-half, bad-second-half team in their previous games, played like it was two second halves. The Chargers whipped the Jets in every facet, a “total team effort,” Coslet said. “Even the coaching staff got whipped.”

Defensively, the Jets were crushed by the Chargers’ mammoth offensive line. The Chargers gained 224 yards rushing, including a 40-yard touchdown run by Rod Bernstine that made the Jets look silly. Bernstine split the defense, bouncing off tacklers. The Jets’ defenders pursued Bernstine as though they had their hands tied behind their backs.

“The bad part is that, going in, we knew their offense was three yards and a cloud of dust,” linebacker Kyle Clifton said. “That’s exactly what they did, and we still couldn’t stop them.”

Now the Jets must regroup for the Bills, who earlier beat them, 30-7. It won’t be easy. Things could get hairier with another blowout. “October is the key month,” defensive tackle Marvin Washington said. “It separates the contenders from the pretenders. We have to get something going. We don’t want to be left in the dust.”