Jets, Cowboys don't look like real contenders

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Rex Ryan stepped to the podium on Tuesday wearing his typical smile and playfully mocked the hyper-intense coverage of NFL training camps. The New York Jets coach had a scoop after all, so with a laugh he noted that defensive back Antonio Cromartie(notes) had suffered a "hip thing" and missed a whopping two plays of a team drill.

" 'Now we need Revis more than ever!' " Ryan said of star Darrelle Revis(notes), who's sitting out in a contract dispute. " 'Cromartie missed two plays at team period!' I know the way it is. 'Hold on, let me go report it, quick.' "

Ryan was having fun. He almost always is having fun, as viewers have seen on HBO's all-access "Hard Knocks" this season.

Somewhere inside the joke, though, was a nod to a difficult (at least for a coach) modern reality. Where training camps once were about building teams amid semi-tranquility and low expectations, they now are full-throttle marketing vehicles with expectations of their own.

Hence the reality show that has featured Ryan delivering monologues, Cromartie counting his children and anonymous rookies battling for roster slots (all set to soaring music and sweeping cinematography, of course).

Everything is big news now. And not just with the Jets.

Almost the entire league is into it, although New York's competition in conducting the most high-profile summer has been the Dallas Cowboys. They haven't been on "Hard Knocks" since 2008, but owner Jerry Jones showed up a couple of times on HBO anyway ("Entourage"). To keep up their visibility, the Cowboys held training camp in three different cities in two different states.

Dallas' theme of the summer is about becoming the first team in NFL history to play a "Home Super Bowl." Cowboys Stadium is set to host the big game in February. The Jets' plan is to meet them there – "Our goal is to win the Super Bowl," Ryan said. "We don't care if you like it or not."

Yet for all the open workouts and boom mics and look-at-us predictions, the preseason has revealed something less exciting for the Cowboys and Jets.

Neither team actually looks very good. It turns out that reality bites.

How confident can you be in the Cowboys when their first-team offense has produced just one touchdown drive in four preseason games – and that was a whopping 8-yard march? The offensive line is a mess (five sacks of Tony Romo(notes)) and the receiving corps a work in progress.

Then there are the Jets, who still are without Revis, keep racking up injuries (the latest: Calvin Pace(notes)) and have watched quarterback Mark Sanchez(notes) seemingly regress by the series from his decent rookie campaign?

The two offenses combined to score just three points in their respective first halves of last week's games (the most regular-season-like competition of the preseason). Both postgame locker rooms produced a lot of disappointed faces and "there's a lot to work on" quotes. But with this Thursday's contests mostly about filing the rosters (Ryan said he'll play just 35 position players), in terms of live action, the prep work is done.

In Dallas' case, it looks less like the team that earned its first playoff victory in 13 seasons by knocking off Philadelphia and more like the team that got humbled 34-3 by Minnesota the following week.

"Different teams approach preseason different ways," Cowboys coach Wade Phillips offered as a reason for the offensive struggles. "We're pretty vanilla in the preseason.

"We don't do some of the things we're going to do in the regular season."

That's a fair enough explanation. Phillips looks like a guy who would prefer the old days of training camp anonymity. And there's little question that preseason results can be worthless. In 2008, Detroit finished its preseason 4-0, which prompted then-coach Rod Marinelli to declare the record meant "nothing." He was right. The team proceeded to go 0-16 in the regular season.

Still, Romo and company have struggled to connect on even routine plays. Phillips and his players have had to spend time trying to explain the troubles. And all these fans that are encouraged to follow every snap certainly have noticed.

Then there is Sanchez, who has borne little resemblance to the confident rookie who put together some strong play down the stretch, particularly in leading the Jets to the AFC title game. The sophomore slump isn't a new phenomenon, and in reality, it's not like Sanchez was some wunderkind. He struggled at times last season, too.

Sanchez followed up a 5-of-10, 50-yard performance in the second preseason game by having his first-team offense rack up almost as many turnovers (two) as points (three) in the first half against Washington.

"Frustrating," Ryan said afterward. "When you turn the ball over like that, it kills you. There were some positive things, but you turn the ball over that much [four total], it's ugly."

Ryan never looks rattled and rarely stops laughing, no matter how his team is playing. After hosting the reigning New Jersey state high school champions from Summit (a team that features Rex's son), he noted that the Jets might look better if they could scrimmage Summit High.

"I wish we were playing them," he joked. "I thought the same thing last week when the little Pop Warner guys were on the sideline. 'How bad would the score be?' "

This preseason has made Rex Ryan a national star. And it has continued to extend the Cowboys' brand as "America's Team." There have been tens of thousands of fans pouring into open practices, hundreds of thousands watching video clips on the team website and millions of viewers for this colorful HBO series.

New York and Dallas wanted all eyes on them this summer – a bold stance that has produced training camps unlike they used to be.

The question is: Did it tell us these teams are more commotion than contender? Or is the preseason still the preseason, just a soon to be forgotten mirage of the August heat?