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East Rutherford – JC publisher Dan Leberfeld checks in from MetLife post Jets-Patriots with some Jets Whispers. Check it out . . .
Another dominating game by Mo Wilkerson.
Here is some of the dominance . . .
In the middle of the second quarter, Wilkerson shot into the backfield, with the quickness of a linebacker, and stopped tailback Brandon Bolden for no gain.
Late in the first half, Wilkerson while being held by center Turk Wendell, he stopped tailback Stevan Ridley on the line. The penalty was declined, but it was pretty impressive that he made the tackle while being held.
Late in the third quarter, Wilkerson displayed amazingly quick hands and great technique, shed LT Nate Solder, and sacked Tom Brady almost immediately after the snap. Then on the very next play, he moved to the nose tackle, lining up over the center, and jammed up a running attempt by Ridley, and DeMario Davis and David Harris made the stop, after just a gain of one.
In then, in the middle of the fourth quarter, he stopped Ridley for no gain.
Late in the fourth quarter, he hit Tom Brady as he threw, causing an incompletion.
Wilkerson is playing on a very high level . . .
I’m not throwing any cold water on the Jets big win today, but you know I like to keep it real.
The Patriots were without their top three players on all three levels – top defensive back (Aqib Talib), top linebacker (Jarod Mayo) and top defensive lineman (Vince Wilfork).
Imagine the Jets without Antonio Cromartie, David Harris and Mo Wilkerson?
I’m not making any excuses, just keeping it real.
And the Jets did a heck of job taking advantage of the Pats’ injury issues on defense, and that is what you need to do in this league . . .
Not to make a big deal over a team’s third quarterback, but tomorrow is the day of reckoning for the David Garrard decision.
That is when his roster exemption ends.
I asked him how his problematic knee has responded the last two weeks of practice.
“Knee has responded well,” Garrard told Jets Confidential. “No swelling or anything.”
Garrard was walking around the locker room with his young son helping him get a helmet autographed by Jets players.
I’m not sure what John Idzik is going to do here.
What the Jets should probably do is keep both of them until the trade deadline (October 27) and see if a team needs a veteran backup. Maybe you can get a draft pick.
Perhaps move Troy Davis back to the practice squad.
You know Idzik isn’t going to move Oday Aboushi or Will Campbell to the practice squad. He loves those two players . . .
Idzik hugged Mark Sanchez in the post-game celebratory locker room.
I’m not so sure how into that Sanchez was. It kind of seemed like a one-way hug.
Remember, the New York Post reported Sanchez screamed at Idzik after the Giants’ game when he got hurt playing behind a backup offensive line in the fourth quarter.
Sanchez has his right arm in a sling . . .
A couple of the players heading to the X-Ray room after the game – Nick Mangold and Dee Milliner. This doesn’t mean they are seriously hurt, it just means the doctors wanted to check something . . .
The player who was penalized in overtime for the Patriots on the field goal, Chris Jones had a heck of game.
The defensive tackle had 10 tackles, two sacks, three tackles for losses, and two quarterback hits.
He beat Brian Winters on both sacks.
Winters is an upgrade over Vlad Ducasse in the penalty department – big-time. However, from a blocking standpoint, he’s not a better player yet . . .
Woody Johnson had a special guest at the game.
It was a man in a cowboy hat.
For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out who it was before the game through my binoculars from the press box.
Then I passed Johnson and the mystery man outside the locker room after the game, and I realized who it was.
It was Dick Cheney.
Now you can understand why he was wearing sunglasses and a cowboy hat. He’s certainly a lightening rod, and he probably didn’t want to be recognized . . .
October 20, 2013
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