Glauber: Must put the knock on Sanchez

There are a lot of words we can use to describe the Jets' offense in last night's 10-9 season-opening loss to the Ravens, but we'll simply choose one: brutal.

Or, if you prefer the story in pure numerical terms, we'll offer this: 1-for-11 on third downs, with the only conversion coming on their final drive; 18 rushing yards from Shonn Greene; 10 completions from second-year quarterback Mark Sanchez, who vowed he'd show marked improvement this season; 74 passing yards and a 56.4 rating for the quarterback.

And the most troubling number of all: 9 points off three field goals.

"We wanted to play better in front of our home crowd, but this loss is attributed to a lot of mistakes on third down, not being able to convert, whether the ball wasn't in the right spot and guys didn't come down with it, or pressure from a very good defensive front," Sanchez said. "There's no excuse. To be 1-for-11 on third downs, so we're disappointed in that. There were just too many self-inflicted wounds."

About the only positive stat for Sanchez: no interceptions. Small solace for an otherwise dismal effort as the Jets opened their new stadium in humbling fashion.

It's not as if the Jets didn't have their chances. Try the first time the Ravens touched the ball. Shaun Ellis and Bryan Thomas crunched Joe Flacco on his first drop-back, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Sione Pouha at the Ravens' 11.

You couldn't have asked for a more perfect opportunity. Unfortunately for the Jets, the offense couldn't follow up with anything better than a field goal; on third down, Sanchez threw the ball out of the back of the end zone, and the Jets settled for a Nick Folk 23-yard field goal.

There would be another Folk field goal - this one a 28-yarder - midway through the second quarter. Even so, there was little to be encouraged about from an offense that converted zero third-down opportunities in the entire half.

And how often have you seen a team do so well in one respect - in this case, the Jets' defense - only to succumb after problems on offense. The Ravens went ahead 7-6 with just six seconds left in the half.

It wasn't much better in the third quarter; the Jets still couldn't muster a third-down conversion. So brutal was the effort that there was a mock cheer after Sanchez completed a 13-yard pass to Jerricho Cotchery on second-and-19 to end the third quarter. Next play: a 6-yard Sanchez sack to force a punt.

Next possession: another three-and-out followed by another Folk field goal to make it 10-9.

Next possession: ended with another sack of Sanchez with 4:43 to play.

And, finally, it ended on Sanchez's fourth-down completion to Dustin Keller, who failed to get out of bounds past the first-down marker and sent the Jets meekly into the night.

"We have to go back and take a look at ourselves and see what went wrong," Sanchez said. "People need to own up on our mistakes."

It doesn't get much easier next week, as the Jets play host to a Patriots team that destroyed the Bengals in the opener on Sunday. For now, there's no panic.

"It's a long year," Sanchez said. "We've got a few more games before we have to start worrying, so I think we'll be OK. I think we'll be just fine."

We'll see. For now, let's hope the Jets enjoyed their summer of Hard Knocks. Looks like the Ravens showed them the title will still apply now that the regular season is here.