Absence of Mangold disrupts Jets' offense

BALTIMORE -- About 2 1/2 hours before Sunday night's opening kickoff, with no other Jets players on the field, three-time Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold tested his sprained right ankle for about five minutes in front of team personnel near the east end zone of M&T Bank Stadium.

After going through a variety of drills to evaluate his agility, Mangold did not impress enough. He was ruled inactive and missed a game for the second time in his six-year career, spending it on the sideline in green sweats.

It's hard to judge exactly how much Mangold would have helped the Jets' offense, which was largely underwhelming in a 34 -17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. But the offensive line certainly missed their leader.

"Communication has to go way up, especially with a guy like Nick out," said left guard Matt Slauson, who was forced into playing three series at center when rookie starter Colin Baxter was pulled after two botched center-quarterback exchanges with Mark Sanchez. "He makes it so easy. When he's not in, we all have to pick our game up . . . Tonight we had miscommunications and a lot of problems."

On the Jets' first offensive play from scrimmage, Ravens safety Ed Reed came free off the right edge and sacked Sanchez, forcing a fumble that was picked up and returned 6 yards by Jameel McClain for the game's first touchdown.

"We missed a protection call on that one," Jets coach Rex Ryan said. That's something Mangold frequently has a direct influence on calling, or helping to call.. (Sanchez had said this past week that Mangold's presence is a "luxury" because "a lot of times, Nick will take care of things at the line that I'll only see on film after," especially on shotgun plays).

On the two quarterback-center exchange gaffes, Baxter told Newsday after the game that he jumped the count on the first miscue and that the second, on a third-down shotgun play, "came out hot." Ryan said it was a little high.

In any event, Sanchez mishandled the ball, and the fumble was recovered by the Ravens. The turnover put Billy Cundiff in position to kick a 38-yard field goal for a 20-7 Ravens lead.

The Jets' coaching staff evidently had seen enough. On the next drive, Slauson slid inside and replaced Baxter, a move that forced much-maligned lineman Vladimir Ducasse into action.

Ryan said he wanted to let Baxter "get his composure back."

"He had a couple of mistakes there so we tried to give him a few plays [off],'' Ryan said.. "I expect better than that out of myself," Baxter said. "I probably would have taken myself out too if I was the coach.". But things went from bad to worse, and Baxter soon was reinserted. Later in the second quarter, Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata got past both Ducasse and D'Brickashaw Ferguson to hit Sanchez square in the back. The blind-side hit forced a fumble that was run back 26 yards for a touchdown by linebacker Jarret Johnson. On the drive after that, Ducasse was called for a penalty.

"I took reps every day," Slauson said. "I always have to be aware and prepared for that move. Obviously, it wasn't ideal, but I'm always ready for it."

After three series for Slauson at center, the second round in a game of musical offensive linemen arrived. Baxter came back in for Slauson, who moved back to guard to take Ducasse out. At that point, the Jets' offense had mustered less than 40 yards and finished the first half with 82.

While that original starting offensive lineup stayed in place for the rest of the game, Mangold could only watch, a fact that NBC showed in the final seconds of the game with the big guy standing in cold-weather gear on the sideline. The Ravens scored 24 points off turnovers and scored three defensive touchdowns in a game for the first time in franchise history.

Ryan said he didn't want to risk Mangold further injuring himself and that he's hopeful he will play next week at New England, with the Jets suddenly on a two-game losing streak.

"He's getting much better," Ryan said. "He wanted to play in the worst way today. He just wasn't there. It's a long season and if he's not healthy, if he gets hurt again, then that would be a mistake on our part to put him out there."

In Mangold's brief pregame workout, the 6-4, 307-pounder limped at times and did so more noticeably toward the end. He shuffled his feet to the left and right in 5-yard increments. He mimicked blocks and moves against air that he would need to execute in the game, starting in a three-point stance, and moving side-to-side and backward to imitate run and pass protections. He ran a fake pull play and jogged 25 yards downfield, but that's as far as he would go.

Then the Jets' offense limped without him.