Schottenheimer seeks faster start

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Brian Schottenheimer still is searching for answers.

More than five weeks after the Jets' abysmal performance in Foxborough, their offensive coordinator had no explanation for the team's propensity for slow starts.

"Absolutely, we are frustrated by it," Schottenheimer said. "We keep looking for a lot of things. I think this is a primary week where, going up against an opponent like this, that you need to start fast."

That fast start never came in their previous meeting against the Patriots, who took a 17-0 lead and pummeled the Jets, 45-3, Dec. 6 on "Monday Night Football."

Sure, there are some calls Schottenheimer wishes he could have back, mainly those third-down plays that resulted in little gain. But the coordinator was quick to add that his regrets have nothing to do with being too conservative.

"You're trying to get people involved," he said. "You're trying to show formations to see what their reaction is going to be. I think now that we have third down going a little bit better, it will help.

"A lot of the problem is we get into a third-down situation during the drive and kind of get stymied there a little bit. I think we're coming out of it," he said, referencing the Jets' 10-play and 17-play drives in the third and fourth quarters of last week's wild-card victory in Indianapolis. "We're capable of that. We just have to do it more consistently early in games. Again, I wish I had that answer. I wish it was something easy that we could just fix and solve. It's not that easy."

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The Jets trailed the Colts 7-0 at halftime but eked out a 17-16 victory courtesy of two 1-yard touchdown runs by LaDainian Tomlinson and a 32-yard field goal by Nick Folk. But if the Jets can't figure out a way to extend drives and manufacture points early on Sunday, they could wind up trailing the pass-happy Patriots - who have a plus-28 turnover margin - from the start.

Jets coach Rex Ryan said he isn't panicked about the lack of first-quarter production. Asked if he will abandon his custom of kicking off if he wins the coin toss, Ryan said no and joked that he is done taking advice from the media.

"We're going to defer like we always do," he said. "The one time we didn't, you guys convinced me and we went three-and-out. I'm not pointing fingers or placing blame."

The blowout loss to the Patriots marked the eighth consecutive game in which the Jets failed to score a first-quarter touchdown. Two days later, the defensive-minded Ryan told reporters he would change his strategy and elect to receive if the Jets won the coin toss.

They did against Miami later that week, but they were kept out of the end zone in a 10-6 Dolphins win.

"I just think this is who we are," Ryan said. "We're not afraid to play defense. We'll kick it off to them and see what happens. Their percentage of scoring is higher than anybody else in the league, but regardless of when they get the ball, it's going to be a challenge. To be honest, I'd just as soon play defense first."