Jets cornerback D.J. Reed on team’s five-game losing streak: ‘It’s frustrating’

The Jets roster is full of talented, well-known players such as Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, C.J. Mosley, Sauce Gardner, and Quinnen Williams.

But after eight games, the Jets are 2-6 and their season is hanging by a thread ahead of Thursday night’s game against the Texans.

“It’s frustrating, I’m not going to sit here and say it’s not,” Jets cornerback D.J. Reed said. “We have a talented roster on paper, but quite honestly, that doesn’t mean anything.

“It comes down to playing complementary football, offense scoring points, special teams contributing, defense creating turnovers, giving our offense the ball back. And unfortunately, we are not playing complementary football.”

The Jets are currently on a five-game losing streak and have not won a game since their victory against the Patriots on Sept. 19. Since then, the Jets coaching staff and roster have undergone many changes.

Jets owner Woody Johnson fired coach Robert Saleh and made defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich interim coach on Oct. 8 following a 2-3 start and a loss to the Vikings in London. Ulbrich then demoted Nathaniel Hackett from his play-calling duties and gave the role to passing game coordinator Todd Downing.

Roster-wise, the Jets traded for Adams on Oct. 16, and pass rusher Haason Reddick ended his holdout on Oct. 21 after signing a reworked one-year contract.

After firing Saleh, Johnson called the Jets roster the best in his 25 seasons as owner. Johnson also hoped the coaching change would help provide a spark, but that has yet to happen, and the Jets have been struggling in all three phases of the game.

Rodgers was supposed to help the Jets become Super Bowl contenders, but his play has regressed since returning from a season-ending Achilles injury. So far, Rodgers has the worst record, the lowest number of touchdowns (12), the most interceptions (seven), and the lowest passer rating (85.1) through the first eight games of any season in any season of his career.

But it is more than just Rodgers that’s a problem on the offensive side of the ball. The Jets looked unprepared against the Patriots and used three timeouts in the first quarter. They also were called for a delay of game penalty on a two-point conversion that eventually was unsuccessful.

Gang Green currently ranks 24th in yards (310.6) and 25th in points per game (18.8).

“The one thing that comes to mind is we are kind of shooting ourselves in the foot with little things,” Jets tight end Tyler Conklin said. “Whether it’s penalties, pre-snap, holding, whatever it might be, it just seems like in a crucial moment, it seems like we make mistakes that you can’t make to win football games in this league.

“That’s kind of the thing that’s stuck out in these tough losses. Making mistakes that you can’t make and crucial moments when you gotta win games.

But the Jets’ issues go beyond just the offensive side of the ball. The Jets finished in the top five in total defense during the previous two seasons. Although they still rank fourth in yards per game, the Jets have allowed 28.3 points per game in the three games since Ulbrich became the interim coach. In the previous five games with Saleh as coach, the Jets defense allowed 17 points per game.

In Sunday’s loss, the Jets defense allowed the Patriots offense to go 70 yards in 12 plays. New England won the game after running back Rhamondre Stevenson scored a one-yard touchdown with 22 seconds left and caught the two-point conversion, giving the Patriots a 25-22 victory.

“As far as the defense because that’s all I can speak for, we are not creating turnovers,” Reed said. “Last game, we had a few chances to create some turnovers. The Patriots put the ball on the ground about two or three times and they were fortunate to get the ball back.

“That’s something that we have to emphasize. Just like scoop and score when the ball is on the ground. We gotta emphasize getting that ball back for our offense. The last drive, we gotta be better.

“That game shouldn’t have been close to be real with you. You can’t have anybody in the league feel like they can play with you, especially if you are up by a certain amount of points. You gotta put their foot on their throat.”

In addition to the Jets offense and defense not playing up to their standard, kicker Greg Zuerlein has been under fire for missing six field goals and two extra points this season. During his two previous seasons with the Jets, Zuerlein missed 10 field goals combined.

Now, Zuerlein’s job could be in jeopardy. On Tuesday, the Jets will bring multiple kickers in for tryouts at MetLife Stadium. If the Jets like what they see from the kickers, Zuerlein could be released.

“We have taken a look in so many different ways and energy was the big topic last week and making sure energy was right,” Ulbrich said. “I thought the energy was right, the preparation last week and that carried into the game, that was not a problem. You talk about strain and effort and I felt like that was right.

What it ultimately came down to was execution across the board, and that’s something on everyone. Not just coaches, not just players, but the collective group, we are not executing the way we are capable of executing. And until we do that, this thing will not change. So we have to get better in all that we do when it comes to performing the plays and performing the techniques.”