Ryan Fitzpatrick, Todd Bowles making trims to help Jets improve

The Jets are scaling things down -- in more ways than one.

In an attempt to shake things up and start anew, Ryan Fitzpatrick made his own personal sacrifice this week. He decided to bid adieu to his trademark bushy beard. "It seemed like it was time," said the starting quarterback, who turned 33 on Tuesday. "Switch up the mojo a little bit.

"I was going to make a funny joke about Rex Ryan, but I'm not going to," he added, referring to the former Jets coach who said Fitzpatrick wasn't "a real handsome kid" and called the quarterback's beard "disappointing."

After some playful prodding by reporters, however, Fitzpatrick obliged.

"OK, I will," he said, smiling. "This is what I was going to open with: 'Well, after the last few games, I decided that I just need to look in the mirror and figure out what I can do better and when I looked in the mirror, I realized Rex was correct, and I was pretty ugly and I think this is a better look for me right now.'"

It was a lighthearted moment in a string of frustrating days for the Jets, who are on the brink of a free-fall. Losing four of the past five games hasn't shaken their resolve or lessened their confidence. But at 5-5, they're under no illusions about their predicament.

Something needs to change with this team. And fast.

Ten games into the season, they're regressing, not improving. But coach Todd Bowles has a solution for his struggling team -- mathematics.

"We probably tried to go to trigonometry when we should have stayed with algebra," he said. "And I think we're getting back to basics."

What does that mean exactly?

"Algebra was running the ball, throwing it when we can, play-action and doing the things we need to do and playing the right type of football and playing complementary football," Bowles said. "And so we're trying to get back to that."

After starting 4-1, the coaches tried to get "more creative" on both sides of the ball, he said. But that came at a price, especially on offense. The Jets are 14th in scoring (23.4), 19th in passing offense (239.2 yards), and 14th in rushing (112 yards).

Said Bowles: "It gets to a point where it's too creative and you've got to . . . get back to basics and get your feet back under you."

Fitzpatrick agreed: "I think we try to complicate things too much at times and you almost end up outsmarting yourself . . . We're going to play to our strengths and do what we're good at and not try to be too cute."

Math wasn't the only analogy used to describe the Jets' wayward offense.

"It's just like basketball," receiver Brandon Marshall said. "When you're three-pointer is off, you've just gotta go to the bucket . . . Our jumper has been off and we've just gotta get back to driving and getting to the foul line . . . hitting some free throws."