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It’s time for Website Whispers from Jets Confidential Publisher Dan Leberfeld. The Jets enter the bye-week with a 5-4 record, but they have a lot of work to do . . .
It’s amazing how misleading stats can be sometimes.
Did you know, that according to the stats from the Jets-New Orleans game, Mo Wilkerson finished with one tackle.
But boy was his impact way beyond that number.
Obviously, he had a sack to go along with that, beating Ben Grubbs, a very good guard, in the fourth quarter. He also drew a holding call on Grubbs in the second half.
Wilkerson also had numerous quarterback pressures, and did a nice job of drawing double teams, and this freed up other defenders to make plays (David Harris led the Jets with 10 tackles, playing behind Wilkerson).
Wilkerson is dominating, week-in, week-out . . .
I don’t mean this to be insensitive, because that isn’t the intent, but a key play for the Jets in their win on Sunday, was Antonio Allen’s big hit on Darren Sproles on a pass to the short right side, early in the game, that knocked the player out of the contest with a head injury.
With that hit, the Saints lost their kick returner, their punt returner, and important offensive weapon who is does a lot of nice work as a receiver out of the backfield.
That injury was a very tough one for the Saints.
And let’s not forget, they were without wide receiver Marques Colston in this game, so when you add Sproles, that is a lot to overcome . . .
This might sound strange, but the Bills getting back E.J. Manuel back from a knee injury, which they expect this week, isn’t a bad thing for the Jets.
Manuel wasn’t very good in the first Jets-Bills game. He’s a raw, rookie quarterback. So it’s not like the Green Bay Packers getting back Aaron Rogers. Right now, Manuel isn’t better than Thad Lewis, who replaced him. Actually, Lewis has more experience. So the Bills getting back Manuel for the Jets’ game, isn’t a trump card for them. For the most part, the Jets dominated Manuel in the first encounter . . .
You see these unfortunate situations with John Fox and Gary Kubiak, both hospitalized right now, and it illuminates the physical and mental toll of being an NFL coach.
It made me think about Marty Mornhinweg.
I’m not saying he has any health issues.
But when he comes into his Thursday pressers, he looks worn out. He’s it putting in unbelievable hours, trying to come up with game plans to succeed with a rookie quarterback.
A reporter asked Mornhinweg how he was doing a few weeks ago, and he responded, “Sleep deprivation.”
In these pressers, not only does he look very, very tired, but he often rambles in his answers, like he’s mentally tired.
Like I said, I’m not saying there is anything wrong with Marty health-wise (except for a bad knee from his playing days), but you hear about what is going on with Kubiak and Fox, those are cautionary tales for coaches around the league to not overdue it.
November 4, 2013
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