No Darrelle Revis. No Santonio Holmes. No chance. We get it.
What's left will decide how this year's New York Jets are remembered. And if they play the way they did in Monday night's tight 23-17 loss to the Houston Texans, Rex Ryan's team can still win some games this season. Not enough to fulfill the promise this team once had, but enough to make 2012 his best coaching job yet.
It's not impossible. Ryan's obsession with Bill Belichick plays into this. When the New England Patriots lost Tom Brady for the 2008 season, Belichick still managed to win 11 games. Ryan arguably has been dealt an equal blow. The Jets lost their heart when Revis tore up that knee -- or did they?
This team has its back against the wall -- and the imperfections runs deep -- but New York battled Houston tonight and can certainly match wits most of the remaining schedule if they keep this up. The NFL is stocked deep with mediocre teams. Peer down the rest of New York's schedule, pull the Patriots out of the equation, and many of the games are winnable.
They aren't the bullies anymore. Ryan's hubris has been reduced to murmurs, but his legacy in New York has everything to do with how this campaign plays out.
Early against the Texans -- as Matt Schaub flung play-action passes at will -- it appeared the Jets might finally tumble off their axis into an abyss. That's still a possibility, but maybe these Jets are made of more.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
