Jets know that to reach the playoffs, the time to win is now

David Harris has been here before.

The schedule shows there still is plenty of time to turn things around, enough games for the Jets to pull off the improbable. But Harris knows better. Time is not on their side.

They can close out the 2013 season as just an average NFL team, fizzling down the stretch after showing some early-season promise. Or the Jets can put their words into action -- starting today against the Miami Dolphins, who share the same 5-6 record as the Jets and are one of six teams vying for the final AFC wild-card spot.

"Our backs are against the wall," Harris said. "There is no room for letdown anymore. We've got to find a way."

But the Jets possess the makings of a perfect storm of mediocrity: an erratic young quarterback, a banged-up and underperforming receiving corps and a defense that is susceptible to giving up the big play.

Four years ago, they endured a similar seesaw of emotions thanks to Mark Sanchez's 12 touchdown passes and 20 interceptions (second most in the NFL). And now veterans such as Harris, Calvin Pace, D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold find themselves again trying to strike a balance between a win-now sense of urgency and much-needed patience for another young quarterback: Geno Smith.

In 2009, Sanchez and coach Rex Ryan relied on a talented running game, a top-ranked defense, veteran offensive weapons and a standout offensive line to reach the AFC Championship Game. Smith, however, is working with much less. And even though he was asked to do less in the past two games, he threw five interceptions and only 17 completions in 45 combined passing attempts against the Bills and Ravens.

Whether the Jets want to publicly admit it or not, they again are at the mercy of a nascent signal-caller. And this dynamic has generated a delicate tightrope for teammates to walk. But for veterans, the roller coaster of epic highs and disastrous lows isn't always as easy to handle.

Time is their enemy, and a constant reminder of how fleeting football careers can be.

And while Smith negotiates the twists and turns of an expected learning curve, each game brings another veteran a step closer to the end of his NFL tenure or his time with the Jets.

"Guys that have been here have been through that already, they were hoping to be kind of removed from that," wide receiver David Nelson, who was signed in October, said of Sanchez's rookie "growing pains." "At this point in their career, they're hoping to kind of be with an established presence and a veteran group."

Referencing wide receiver/kick returner Josh Cribbs and Pace, specifically, Nelson added: "It's just one of those situations where you've got to seize the moment when it comes around."

But the resounding message from Nelson and other vets is to have faith and continued support in Smith.

"He's going to have some struggles. That's just how it goes with every quarterback -- ever," tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. said with a smile.

Sanchez, speaking this past week at a soup kitchen in Morristown, N.J., said he was so worried about "that next week, that next game" during the 2009 season that he was unaware of certain team dynamics around him.

"You kind of lose [sight of], 'Hey, this could be so-and-so's last year' or 'We might not have the same so-and-so coach,' " said the fifth-year quarterback, whose preseason shoulder injury and subsequent injured-reserve designation clinched the starting role for Smith.

That "youthful bliss" is one of the benefits of being a rookie, Nelson said. But at the same time, "it is hard for the veterans," said Winslow, 30.

"But you can't really control that," said the tight end, who is on his fourth NFL team since being drafted sixth overall in 2004. "You just hope for the best . . . And hopefully we get in [the playoffs]."

Sunday's home game against the Dolphins (5-6) is just the latest in a string of must-win contests for Ryan's club. The Jets -- who haven't won since Nov. 3 -- are coming off back-to-back losses for the first time this season and are on the periphery of the AFC playoff picture with no tiebreakers to speak of.

Smith, however, isn't the only rookie to struggle this season. Left guard Brian Winters has been exposed in pass protection and cornerback Dee Milliner has yet to prove he was worth the No. 9 overall pick. But veteran right guard Willie Colon said every player shoulders responsibility for his own play. "And we're not individually doing our best sometimes either," he said.

Sanchez was the weak link on the Jets' 2009 playoff team. But Harris, 29, maintained that in football, "one person isn't responsible for a loss and one person isn't responsible for a win." The same is true now with Smith, he said.

"We all need to pick our level of play up," he added. "If you want to win, that has to happen."

Frustration is to be expected, Nelson said. Encouraged, even. Inside the facility, players "can be as frustrated as you want,'' but they must remain a united front -- always encouraging, always motivating, he said.

"There's a little too much of guys being afraid to say something because of how fragile the situation can become," Nelson added. "Guys are a little afraid of saying something to somebody because they're afraid it'll hurt their confidence or it might divide the team. There has to be that balance."

Nelson said several players have become "a vocal presence" this week and emphasized the importance of a win-now attitude. "We're not in a good position, but we're not in a terrible position. We're still in this," he said. "And we can still control what we need to control."

Colon said he's never understood why so many players use the media as an excuse or a source of motivation, and some Jets are determined not to let "outsiders'' derail their efforts. Their "brotherhood,'' they say, is strong enough to withstand the struggles of a rookie quarterback, bad losses and even NFL pundits.

"As long as you don't give the media sound bites or bulletin-board material, you're going to be OK,'' Winslow said. "There are certain people out there that feed off of that and really don't care as long as they're just getting their story. If you keep it internal, everything's good. But once you go outside of the box, then everything turns negative, teammates start turning on each other and everything turns to crap.''