BALTIMORE — Stephen Hill remained in the starting lineup, but his role in the game plan shrunk dramatically.
Hill was on the sideline for a large chunk of Sunday’s 19-3 loss to the Ravens after starting the game. He mostly played on third down, then got more time when the Jets had to go to a pass-only offense after falling behind. Hill, the second-year receiver, had no catches for the third straight game. He bristled when asked about his playing time.
“Man, ain’t nobody worried about no snaps,” he said. “Golly. Ain’t got to worry about snaps; just go out and play, that’s it. I don’t know why y’all ask me about stuff like that. It don’t make sense.”
Hill was targeted just once in the game and that was on the Jets’ final drive.
“It really doesn’t matter,” Hill said. “It don’t matter at all. I just want to win.”
Jets coach Rex Ryan said this week Hill’s performance this season had been disappointing and the team would look at cutting his role back.
The Jets sustained a couple of injuries that bear watching. CB Antonio Cromartie left the game in the fourth quarter with a hip injury. His hip has been bothering him all season, and it flared up again Sunday.
“It’s that same nagging injury, so for me the biggest thing is just to see what’s going on with it, keep trying to rehab and go from there,” he said.
RB Chris Ivory said he sprained his left ankle on his first carry in the game early in the first quarter, but played through the pain. He had an X-ray after the game and said the trainers want to evaluate him again Monday. He said the injury could be a high ankle sprain, but that seems unlikely considering he was able to play through it.
The Jets had a bizarre fumble in the second quarter when C Nick Mangold’s shotgun snap to QB Geno Smith hit WR Greg Salas in the leg as he went in motion. The ball was recovered by Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs.
“Obviously, you’re not supposed to throw it into the receiver,” Mangold said. “That’s kind of a given. Unfortunately it was just bad timing. We had a motion on there. It’s just one of those things that rarely comes up. It’s a shame when it does.”
Smith said there was miscommunication on the snap count. The fumble was credited to Smith even though he never touched the ball.
In the “shades of Sal Alosi’ department, the Jets bench was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after someone on the Jets bench impeded the official on the sideline trying to track a punt return. It was unclear if the person was a coach, but he got in the official’s way. It looked as if he was yelling about a block on the punt return and got too close to the field.
“It was not intentional, and you get caught up in the moment,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “We saw one of our players get hit. Those things happen. It’s unfortunate.”
Alosi, the Jets strength coach at the time, tripped a Dolphins player on a punt in 2010. He lost his job a few months later.
The Jets used the Wildcat effectively early in the game. Josh Cribbs even threw two passes out of the formation, one a completion to Smith for 13 yards. It was the first time a QB caught a pass for the Jets since Dec. 8, 1991, when Ken O’Brien caught a 27-yard pass from WR Al Toon at Detroit. … P Ryan Quigley hit a career-long 67-yard punt in the second quarter.