Badly beaten reserves show how much Revis is missed

That cheery vibe Rex Ryan gave off at halftime wore off rather quickly in the third quarter, maybe even creating a lump in his throat as he pondered life without his All-Pro cornerback.

Gulp!

The spotlight can be cruel sometimes, and with Darrelle Revis' holdout at 17 days and counting, the reserves in the Jets' secondary no longer are understudies. They've moved into more of a lead role than a supporting one, and their performance in Monday night's 31-16 preseason loss to the Giants proved they need a little more rehearsal time.

"As happy I was with the way our ones played," Ryan said after the game, "I was totally disappointed with the way our twos, and really not our threes, so much as the twos. These are some guys that we're counting on to give us good depth and guys that are going to have to play, and we got whipped by them. There's no question about it."

The Jets allowed 21 second-half points as the reserves were torched, yielding a whopping 205 passing yards to the likes of backup quarterback Jim Sorgi and undrafted rookie Victor Cruz. It made linebacker Bart Scott say of the previously unknown receiver, "He's like Randy Moss out there right now."

"We've just got to get some communication together a little bit, respond," Scott said of the reserve defensive backs' problems. "I think we have a great opportunity to look at the film and self-correct . . . The only way you can get better is practice, hit the grind. These are guys that we are going to count on and these are guys that played well for us last year as well."

Cruz was essentially a one-man wrecking crew in the second half. Half of his six catches were touchdowns, and he racked up 145 yards. His spectacular 64-yard TD, a one-handed grab on a deep ball down the left sideline against Dwight Lowery, was highlight-reel material.

It also might have brought a smile to those in Revis' camp, knowing how paramount the secondary's play is to the Jets' overall success with their complex, aggressive blitzing scheme.

"We just didn't execute and that's what it came down to," Lowery said. "When we get in those situations, we are guys that can be in the game based upon one injury or things happening. So we have to step in and play like we are first-teamers, and obviously that wasn't shown. So we've got work to do."

Lowery, who's expected to be an integral part of the defense when he's lined up all over the field, knows he has to step up his game. Although he had tight coverage on Cruz's bomb, he struggled on several plays. As did Drew Coleman, who was badly beaten on Cruz's 34-yard score.

"There was one touchdown we had where it was blown coverage," Lowery said. "We can't do that type of stuff. If it's combative, that's one thing. But when it's mental errors, those are things that aren't acceptable. I was in positions tonight to make a play and didn't make the play. Just have to be more assertive with playmaking."

Ryan hopes they play a lot better against the Panthers Saturday than they did against the Giants and their vertical game.

"They did a good job just playing backyard bombardier on you, when you set up, playing the one-on-one matchups, back-shoulder fades, they put a clinic on us," Ryan said. "So we clearly have a lot of work to do with our backups in particular."