The blame game continues to make its way around every phase of the New York Jets' locker room and coaching staff.
On Thursday, offensive coordinator Tony Sparano was left to defend his failure to better utilize Tim Tebow and the Wildcat offense.
"The way that I think the perception is of the Wildcat is that we had a bunch of these 30-yard gains," Sparano said, via ESPNNewYork.com. "That wasn't the case in Miami, either. In Miami, it wasn't the case at all. We just did it a lot more, so the 2-yard gains and the 5-yard gains (didn't stand out), but then the 15-yard gain, I guess that jumped out more than the 2 or the 5."
"It's a combination of things, but I wouldn't use the words 'didn't work' at all," Sparano said.
Clearly Ryan believed that facet of the offense would play a bigger role this season. Considering Ryan isn't giving Tebow a chance to play quarterback this Sunday against the San Diego Chargers, it seems that was the only part the former Heisman Trophy winner was brought in to play.
Interestingly, when Ryan was asked to compare this season's offense with last season's, he talked more about his former coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, than his current one.
When asked if Sparano would return next season, Ryan merely cited company policy of not discussing it until the offseason. He gave no token praise for Sparano when asked about next season.
"I think with any situation, whether it's staff or whatever, you know the policy of this organization is not to discuss those things until the appropriate time," Ryan said.
Reading between the lines, it might be Sparano who falls on his sword for the Jets' offensive struggles in the passing game (they rank 30th in the NFL) and quarterback Mark Sanchez's failure to improve.
Follow Kevin Patra on Twitter @kpatra.