Rex Ryan was trying to hold back tears. He stood at the podium, dejected and lost, as he reflected on what will surely be his last season as a Jet, one that has long been in ruins. It looked like he was at his own funeral.  “I can’t believe we’re 2-10,” he said. “A joke.”  The Jets were in the game this time, but lost again, 16-13, to the Dolphins at MetLife on Monday night.  A victory wouldn’t have saved Ryan’s job. But it was a game, a game the Jets could have won. It could have been a brief respite from the pain the team has endured all season long. Instead, defeat. Again.  “It’s gut-wrenching,” said Geno Smith, who returned to the starting QB role but spent most of the night handing off the ball. “I can’t tell you how heartbroken I am.”  Smith was so irrelevant that he actually was omitted from the pregame introductions — when 12 offensive players were announced but not the team’s quarterback. At the time it seemed like an attempt to avoid boos from a hostile home crowd — though there ended up being about as many Dolphins fans as Jets fans in the sparsely attended ballgame. Smith said afterwards he decided he wanted to run out with the rest of the team.  The loss will help the Jets get a better draft pick, but hurt the chances of the beleaguered GM from using it, as John Idzik could be heading out the door with the coach. Some fans in the upper deck held signs calling for Idzik to be fired. This team is in a dark place.  Ryan has tried everything for a win, and on Monday he took his old formula — ground-and-pound — and inserted it to the extreme. Smith threw eight passes before the team’s final drive. He ended with a whopping 13 attempts, completing seven for 65 yards, while eight different rushers carried the ball a total of 49 times.  It actually worked. Until it didn’t.  Chris Johnson looked like his old self from Tennessee, totaling 105 yards in the midst of the team’s 277 rushing yards. The Jets bowled over the Dolphins in the first half but didn’t adjust when Miami did and the Dolphins scored the only 10 points of the fourth quarter.  When Smith finally was allowed to pass, he threw an interception after it deflected off a defender to end the game.  It was interesting timing for such a one-sided game plan. The News had reported earlier this week that both Marty Mornhinweg and QB coach David Lee preferred to stick with Mike Vick instead of switching back to Smith. It showed on Monday, when the latter was reduced to a non-entity.  “It had zero to do with us not having faith in our quarterback,” Ryan said.  He can try and frame it that way, but particularly with Miami (7-5) struggling with injuries at cornerback that’s hard to buy. When the Dolphins started stacking the box, the Jets continued trying to run it.  Down by a field goal inside two minutes, the Jets finally had to let Smith use his arm, but it ended up finishing them off. He navigated the ball to the Jets’ 44 before throwing a pass intended for Jeff Cumberland that was broken up by Jelani Jenkins and picked off by Reshad Jones, ending the game.  “I feel sick,” Ryan said afterwards.  Though Miami eventually caught on to the Jets’ high school-esque game plan, it was actually special teams that let Gang Green down. Nick Folk uncharacteristically missed two field goals, Ryan Quigley had a punt blocked and Saalim Hakim was flagged for a critical holding penalty that gave the Dolphins great field position on what turned out to be their only touchdown drive.  “I don’t get it,” Ryan said. “We got outplayed on special teams.”  Ultimately the loss only confirmed what Ryan said — the Jets are a joke after falling short of even the lowest of expectations. Yet again, there is only agony in Gang Green Nation.  “Everybody in there is hurting. Hurting for each other, for our fans,” Ryan said. “We’d do anything for a win.”  MOBILE USERS: CLICK HERE FOR REX RYAN VIDEO
Geno Smith may be the Jets starter again, but apparently that job that no longer requires throwing the ball.