It's only been 11 years. But for a certain New Jersey-based football team, they surely must seem like "Glory Days."

Back when, a decade-plus-one ago this Sunday, it seemed so easy for the New York football Jets.

It was Vinny Testaverde dropping back. Looking off Keyshawn Johnson. Passing to Wayne Chrebet. Or handing off to Curtis Martin. On that day - Nov. 29, 1998, to be exact - it was a 48-21 win for Gang Green the last time the Carolina Panthers made the trip north to face this weekend's AFC East foe.

And this time around, you can't blame the patrons at the Meadowlands for feeling sentimental.

Three sideline stand-ins - and one impromptu resignation (thank you, Bill Belichick) - removed from Bill Parcells and no fewer than seven starting signal-callers past the pre-Achilles days of Testaverde, the green-clad 2009 reality is about as comparable to that year's NFL "Final Four" team as Garden State icon Bruce Springsteen's latest recording efforts are to "Born to Run."

A 31-14 loss to New England at Gillette Stadium last week was another step into the Rex Ryan coaching abyss, which began with three season-opening wins before deteriorating into six losses in seven games and a series of since-failed motivational techniques by a seemingly overmatched first-year boss.

Similarly "Lost in the Flood" is rookie QB Mark Sanchez, who threw four interceptions against just eight completions against the Patriots to complete a plummet to his now-inglorious standing as the lowest-rated full-time starter in the NFL - 61.1 passer rating.

He has been picked off 16 times in 10 games and fumbled nine times, losing three.

The balky ball security prompted a shakeup early this week in Jetsville, with Ryan announcing he'll be assuming a more hands-on mentoring relationship with Sanchez, joining offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and position coach Matt Cavanaugh in the laboratory with the 23-year-old USC product.

Not a moment too soon for the team's veteran core.

"Is it tough right now for the veteran guys? Yeah, we want to win," tackle Damien Woody said. "We don't have many more opportunities. You're not going to yank Sanchez at this point. It makes no sense. It would be counter-productive. You just have to let the kid work through it.

"We like the kid. Is he making a ton of mistakes? Yeah, but we win as a team and we lose as a team."

That said, mistakes aren't the sole property of the weekend's northeast host.

The visiting Panthers have committed 25 turnovers of their own through just 10 games, racking up an ugly minus-8 ratio and once again prompting the vultures to circle above the head of long-time incumbent quarterback Jake Delhomme.

A Super Bowl a few years after the aforementioned run of success for the Jets, Delhomme has stumbled through injury and ineffectiveness nearly each season since, with his touchdown total in 2009 (8) barely more than half his interception count (14) heading into Week 12.

In a Thursday night loss to Miami last time out, Delhomme connected on just 19 of 42 passes for 227 yards and one INT.

Still, other matchups may be more ominous for the Panthers this week.

The Jets average a league-high 163.5 yards per game on the ground and boast the NFL's sixth-leading rusher in Thomas Jones, who has rushed for 884 yards and averaged 4.6 yards per carry.

Carolina gave up an average of 149.3 yards rushing in the first three games, then had an 85.8 average over its next five games following the arrival of defensive tackle Hollis Thomas.