Rex Ryan needs to prevent locker-room split

As bad as the three consecutive losses have been, there may be an even more disturbing development inside the Jets' locker room. With tempers fraying over the early-season slump, there now is open sniping between two of the team's best players. And a head coach who seems oblivious to it all.

If Rex Ryan doesn't get a handle on this one, we might be seeing a team about to come apart at the seams, something the third-year coach adamantly believes will not be the case.

It started after a 34-17 loss to the Ravens two weeks ago, when wide receiver Santonio Holmes told reporters the team's offensive line wasn't protecting Mark Sanchez well enough for the quarterback to function properly. It flared again Thursday, when Holmes, selected as a team captain before the season, reiterated his criticism of the line in what appeared to be a much more calculated scenario, as opposed to the raw emotion of a losing locker room after a game.

But this time guard Brandon Moore fired back, setting off a locker-room firestorm that Ryan needs to extinguish now, before it gets further out of hand.

But first the coach needs to realize there's a problem. After all, only a few minutes before Moore ripped Holmes in interviews, Ryan seemed blissfully unaware of any problems that might have been festering.

Asked by a reporter during his news conference if he was concerned about how Holmes' comments would be interpreted by his offensive linemen, Ryan replied, "No. They have got skin like an armadillo."

Evidently not, Rex.

"I've never had a teammate do that that I can recall," Moore told the Star-Ledger. "It's not really being a captain, a leader. It fragments. It's not productive."

Especially if players are going to take the criticism the way Moore has. We're talking about a quality player who has earned the utmost respect in the Jets' locker room and among the coaching staff. In fact, Ryan calls Moore the best guard in the league.

But with Ryan unwilling to call out his star receiver or at least set him straight in a private conversation, the coach has a major problem on his hands. After all, if he does nothing, he's essentially giving carte blanche to let Holmes say whatever he wants, consequences be damned.

Moore seems to think that will be the case.

"Obviously, [Holmes] has the green light to do that from somebody up top, the people that run the team or whatever," Moore said. "He's got the 'C' on his chest, and he can do that."

Players deserve a wide berth after a game, and understanding the context of comments made immediately after the heat of battle is essential. Holmes actually was right on all counts, and Sanchez was being too sensitive when he was asked about it later in the week. (Sanchez said he didn't like to hear the criticism and wanted it to stay in-house.)

Ryan is right about this: You really do need to have the skin of an armadillo to make it in this league, especially a quarterback playing in the New York market.

But saying something in the moments after a difficult loss is one thing; delivering a gratuitous shot at the offensive line in the middle of the week -- a shot that he even prefaced with the words, "I may be criticized again for saying it" -- is quite another. Moore's remarks are ample proof that Holmes was out of line.

It shouldn't come as that big a surprise, though, given that Ryan encourages his players to speak their minds.

"There really is no [media] policy," he said. "You just be yourself, and we won't tell guys what to say and what not to say."

But when the things guys say threaten to divide the locker room, especially during a losing streak that threatens the team's dream of winning a Super Bowl, there's a problem.

Now it's up to Ryan to either clean up the mess or let it simmer and further erode the team chemistry he has worked so hard to create. If Ryan says nothing, he's offering tacit approval of Holmes' comments and the damage they've created. He's also sending a signal to Moore and anyone else taking offense at the criticism that they're wrong to react that way.

Your move, coach.