Jets Coach's Trip of Dolphin Spurs League, Team to Investigate

After embarrassing themselves with a 45-3 loss against division rival New England Patriots on Monday Night Football last week, the New York Jets outdid themselves during Sunday's matchup with the Dolphins.

Yes, the 10-6 loss was bad enough. But taste of humble pie is even more bitter given the antics of strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi.

During a 3rd-quarter punt return, Alosi stuck his knee out as Nolan Carroll ran up the sideline, tripping up the Dolphins' rookie cornerback, who went down hard and appeared to hurt his knee on the play.

Not surprisingly, both the NFL and Jets announced Monday morning that they were reviewing the incident, which was caught on tape for all to see.

For his part, Alosi apologized in a statement released hours after the game:

"I made a mistake that showed a total lapse in judgment. My conduct was inexcusable and unsportsmanlike and does not reflect what this organization stands for. I spoke to coach (Tony) Sparano and Nolan Carroll to apologize before they took off."

He also apologized to Jets owner Woody Johnson, GM Mike Tannenbaum and head coach Rex Ryan.

"I accept responsibility for my actions as well as any punishment that follows," he added.

Some form of punishment is likely, whether it's in the form of a fine, suspension or even a firing.

But it provides Jet-haters, eager to take down a notch a team that's seen by many as more bluster and braggadocio than true championship material, even more ammunition.

The Dolphins' Channing Crowder summed up that feeling of resentment for the Jets after the game.

"They do what they do," he said. "They cheat and they talk junk and do all that stuff, but we beat the hell out of them today, so they can trip all the people they want to. I'll tell 'em to trip me. I would have broken that old man's leg."

What will be truly interesting is whether the Jets and Ryan, who have cultivated an "us against the world" mentality, will actually come down hard on Alosi.

This is the same franchise, after all, that decided Braylon Edwards' drunk-driving arrestcould be remedied by benching the wide receiver for all of one quarter (ironically, against the same Miami Dolphins).

Their stance will likely speak to Alosi's value to the team. If he's expendable, it would be easy to just cut him loose. But if he's got enough friends in high places, the incident may well provide the franchise with another opportunity to close ranks and use the latest criticism as fuel.

But whatever they'll decide, they've given their opponents more than enough fuel of their own.