Rex believes, but Jets have work to do

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- For a brief moment, Rex Ryan might have thought he was fired Monday when he couldn't get through a secure area at the Jets' training facility.

"I got locked out," he cracked before being asked if he thought someone in the offices upstairs was trying to tell him something. "I don't know," he deadpanned.

Sunday's 30-21 loss to the Patriots, the Jets' third consecutive defeat, dropped them to 2-3 heading into Monday night's AFC East matchup with the Dolphins (0-4) at MetLife Stadium. Ryan's job security certainly isn't an issue, but he might be facing his toughest challenge since taking the reins in January 2009, perhaps even more daunting than righting the team in his first season after a pair of three-game losing streaks.

The Jets are a mess on both sides of the ball, things Ryan said can be improved through three areas -- alignment, assignment and technique. Although they're ranked No. 12 in the league defensively, their rushing defense is yielding 134.8 yards per game after BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran for two touchdowns and a career-high 136 yards.

Offensively, they're constantly playing catch-up because of their sluggish starts, as evidenced by going three-and-out on seven of their 11 series against the Patriots. They're ranked 28th in the league on offense, averaging only 297 yards per game.

While their rushing attack improved Sunday, gaining 97 yards on 25 attempts, they're still one of the league's worst, ranked No. 30. There also were several bad penalties among the eight committed for 89 yards, many costing them key field position.

With so many things going wrong in this three-game stretch away from home, there's always the possibility of a fractured locker room and dissension working its way into the ranks. But Ryan isn't worried about any kind of mutiny building up.

We put together a lot better football team and a group of characters than that," he said. "Because we are 2-3 right now, that's when you get stronger, that's when you come in together and you build that character."This is a resilient bunch, and I'm telling you, we'll see. I believe in this football team," Ryan said. "We may get beat, but we are not going to get beat because we don't believe in each other or we are coming apart at the seams. That's not who we are."

Really, who are they? At this point, no one seems to know what the Jets' true identity is. "I would like our identity to be whatever it takes to win," center Nick Mangold said Monday. "I don't care if we've got to throw it, if we've got to run it, if we've got to quarterback-sneak it the whole way down. Heck, put Brandon Moore back there and let him be 'The Fridge' and run around. Whatever it takes, I would like that to be our identity. "

Despite having the day off, several players showed up at the facility Monday to work out and watch videotape. Dustin Keller said it was a testament to his teammates' desire to do their part to turn it around.

"You look at a lot of teams, a three-game losing streak and things, a lot of teams fall apart," the tight end said. "But not with this team. We're a real tight-knit group and everybody has each other's back."

That's why Ryan remains confident the Jets will return to those winning ways."Each team is going to have to deal with adversity, and this is our opportunity,'' he said. "We've been resilient in the past and we've overcome some things, and I think we'll overcome it now.''