Revis &...Muhammad Wilkerson ~ ~ ~

[kelly]

Emerging lineman Muhammad Wilkerson has logged four sack already this season.FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Muhammad Wilkerson was tending to something in his locker, paying no attention to what was happening behind him. When he turned around, the hulking defensive end was surprised to see about 10 media types, hovering.

"Whoa, what’s all of this?" he asked Wednesday in the New York Jets’ locker room.

This, Mo, is what happens when you’re a big man on the New York football stage.

Wilkerson is coming off one of his best games as a pro, a dominating Monday night performance that had ESPN analyst Jon Gruden gushing like a groupie. If America didn’t know about Wilkerson before then, it does now.
 

“

I think he's right there with the top defensive linemen in this league right now that aren't named J.J. Watt.

”

--

Rex Ryan

on Mo Wilkerson

Quite simply, Wilkerson has a chance to be the franchise’s next Darrelle Revis, sans the player-management acrimony. He’s a homegrown star, not an import, ascending to the upper tier of his position.

"I think he’s right there with the top defensive linemen in this league right now that aren’t named J.J. Watt," said Rex Ryan, praising Wilkerson with the effusiveness he once reserved for Revis.

Ryan talked up Revis so much in 2009 that his words, no doubt, were thrown back at management when the two sides went to the bargaining table in the summer of 2010 -- i.e. the long and nasty holdout. Ryan didn’t stop with the superlatives because, back in those days, he wasn’t shy about speaking his mind and he felt Revis was an all-timer.

In a few months, the Jets and Wilkerson will be talking contract. He has only one year remaining on his rookie deal, and the team almost certainly will try to lock him up next offseason with a long-term deal -- probably the first mega-contract of the John Idzik era. The franchise-tag amount this year for a defensive end is $11.2 million, so that should provide a basic idea of how much of a yearly average we’re talking about.

Wilkerson said he hasn’t given any thought to the pot of gold that awaits him. Not surprisingly, he said he doesn’t want to go anywhere.

"I’m from New Jersey and, just being here these three years, it’s been great for me," he said. "I’m happy here. I definitely plan on hopefully being a Jet for life."
 

Muhammad Wilkerson #96 DE
New York Jets

2013 STATS

• Tot19
• Solo12
• Ast7
• FF2
• Sack4.0
• Int0

Revis used to say the same thing, but it got complicated, as we all know. The Jets missed an opportunity to hammer out a long-term extension in 2010 and … well, there’s no point in retracing that chapter. Presumably, they learned a lesson and will take care of Wilkerson before there’s any tension.

He’s a monster, the kind of player who can anchor a defense for a decade. Wilkerson already has four sacks, one shy of last season’s total. Because he’s not exclusively an edge player -- he often lines up inside -- it’s not easy to pick up sacks. A double-digit total would be a ridiculous season.

"In my opinion, I’d say he’s the best [defensive lineman]," said linebacker Calvin Pace, the elder statesman of the defense.

Wilkerson was drafted 30th overall in 2011, so it wasn’t like he was a can’t-miss lottery pick. He went 19 spots after Watt, the Houston Texans stud. The Jets took some risk because Wilkerson didn’t play in a power conference. He attended Temple and left after his junior year.

"We just saw a guy we thought could be a truly dominant player," Ryan said.

At the time, Ryan compared him to former New England Patriots star Richard Seymour, a potential Hall of Famer. People snickered. On Wednesday, Ryan claimed, "He actually does some things better than Richard does."

The best thing about Wilkerson is there’s not an ounce of diva in him. If there were any more blue in his collar, he’d be playing in construction clothes. He stepped briefly out of character in an offseason interview, admitting he felt snubbed by not being selected to the Pro Bowl. That, he promised at the time, would motivate him.

Reminded of his Pro Bowl ambition, Wilkerson backed off.

"Some people say I’m going to make the Pro Bowl," he said, probably alluding to Gruden’s on-air hosanna. "I appreciate all the kind words, but at the end of the day, I have to play each game. Hopefully, we’ll see at the end of the year."

Pace said it best: "I don’t think he knows how good he is."

The Jets know. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll get it right this time and make sure he sticks around for a long time.

 

> http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/28857/wilkerson-can-be-jets-next-revis

[kelly]

more re our D dept.  :

 

The youth movement was underway in Florham Park, and at 32, Calvin Pace had been left behind.

After 10 seasons in the NFL, the outside linebacker wasn't surprised when the Jets released him and his hefty contract in February, nor was Pace caught off guard when the team parted ways with three other members of its front seven and lost another, Mike DeVito, to free agency.

With the April selection of first-rounder Sheldon Richardson and the promotions of former backups Damon Harrison and Demario Davis, the average age of the Jets' front seven is 25.3, down from 29.7 in 2012. And except for Pace and David Harris, 29, the unit's other starters are 24 or younger.

Not surprisingly, the 6-4, 265-pound Pace knows he's on borrowed time. In April, he agreed to a significant pay cut and a one-year, $1.005-million deal.

"When you're sitting around jobless, you have to be real with yourself and kind of get on their level," he said after the Jets' Week 3 win over the Bills.

Pace -- a man of few words on the field and even fewer with the media -- said he has no choice but to keep up with the young bucks on the defense. And he's been doing just that, his teammates said.

He's second on the team with 21/2 sacks in four games (Muhammad Wilkerson has three), and Pace also has 14 tackles. Last season, Pace mustered only three sacks and 55 total tackles.

"Any time you're looked at as the old guy or veteran, there's always pressure for you to go out there and want to prove yourself," Harris said of Pace, who turns 33 in two weeks. "I feel like Calvin is walking around with that chip on his shoulder. He's been playing lights out for us, and you can really tell by the way he plays on Sunday -- even in practice."

Said Pace: "There's such a youth movement in the NFL, so I guess that will make you faster. A lot of these guys are 21, 22 years old. They're supposed to be fast at that age. I had to keep up with them, man."

He has, however, been criticized over the years for his lack of production since recording eight sacks in his suspension-shortened 2009 season. Since then, Pace's highest sack total was 51/2. And in Week 3 against Buffalo, his failure to wrap up Fred Jackson led to a 59-yard run.

Despite the occasional misstep this season, fellow defensive players rave about Pace's work ethic and his rare longevity in an injury-plagued profession.

"I don't see a change in his game," fellow outside linebacker Garrett McIntyre said. "The way he approaches the game, every year, is like a true professional. He comes in every day. He's seen a lot, too. There's not much the dude hasn't seen in 11 years. You can throw anything you want at him.

"I admire him because he never really panics, he's always under control, he knows what he's doing.

"I think he still comes to work the same way he's probably done the last 10 years, and that's the reason he's been playing so long -- the way he comes to work."

Richardson said of the Jackson play: "That missed tackle was the first one I've seen him miss since I've been here, from OTAs until now."

That's why the rookie lineman isn't tempted to crack old-guy jokes at Pace's expense.

"He's an O.G.," Richardson said with a smile, playfully using the acronym for "original gangster" to explain Pace's long tenure in the NFL. "Give him crap? Not at all. It's more respect. He's been in the game a long time and he's had a lot of success. And he's still in the game. And it shows."

Like Pace, Harris has an eye on Father Time.

The seven-year veteran, who signed a four-year, $36-million deal in 2011, was the highest-rated inside linebacker for the month of September on ProFootballFocus.com, a statistical website. But Harris said he's always mindful of the age factor.

"I'm old compared to most of them, too," he said with a laugh.

 

> http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/11-year-veteran-calvin-pace-keeps-up-with-jets-youth-movement-1.6216215

[kelly]

Wilkerson After ATL: Mo-mentum's Building

 

Randy Lange Editor-in-Chief, newyorkjets.com 

Calvin Pace says Muhammad Wilkerson is "a quiet guy."

"He goes about his business in a very professional manner," Pace said. "And he listens. He takes coaching very well."

But Wilkerson is learning to crow just a little on the pro stage. And his play is paving his way, which means the Pro Bowl voters — his fellow NFL players, the league's coaches and the fans — are now listening.

"I feel like there’s always room for improvement," Wilkerson said. "I feel like Monday was one of my best games that I put on tape, but I still have plenty more to play. It’s a long season. People say I’m going to make the Pro Bowl and I appreciate the kind words, but at the end of the day I have to play each game and hopefully we’ll see at the end of the season."

No better game than Monday night's 30-28 comeback win over Matt Ryan and the Falcons to win the voters over.

The third-year DE had seven tackles on the night. One was a strip sack of Ryan, his third in two years and fourth as a pro, with Leger Douzable recovering the fumble to set up the second of Nick Folk's three field goals.

Two more were tackles for loss as he remains one of the leaders of the Jets run defense that has now risen to No. 2 in the NFL in yards allowed per game — Rex's highest-ranking run defense since his Ravens D was No. 1 after 10 weeks in 2008 and the Jets' highest since at least 1995 — and to No. 1 in yards allowed per carry.

Did we mention he also drew a holding penalty on Falcons C Peter Konz? Tack 10 more yards onto the Mo-mentum toward Hawaii in February.

Wilkerson declines to take much credit, deflecting it to his teammates, who he said are every bit as confident today as they were before their big W in the ATL.

"We always had confidence in each other and we’re going to keep believing in each other and playing good ball like we’re capable of doing," he said, "and that’s playing Jets football."

Short Season for Antwan Barnes

There was 10:53 left in the game and Antwan Barnes was on the field for his 18th defensive snap of the night. It would be his last for the season.

The play started fairly normal as Barnes shot out of his three-point stance, locked up with Atlanta LT Lamar Holmes, and tried to use his lightning-quick duck-under move to get to Matt Ryan.

But Ryan got rid of the ball quicker, as he often does. And Barnes, still engaged with Holmes and after planting his right leg, went down to the Georgia Dome turf. He was helped off the field and didn't return.

Today we learned the severity of that play. Barnes suffered a knee injury that will require surgery. He has been placed on Injured Reserve.

"That’s a tough loss," head coach Rex Ryan said at his news conference following today's practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. "Talk about an underrated player. It wasn’t just the production that he had but the production that he caused. He' s a guy that can run a 4.4 and has some physical gifts. I love his mentality, too. We’re certainly going to miss him."

That production was limited to two sacks, one against Tampa Bay and one at Tennessee. But as Rex argued, he caused a little bit of production for others on his 146 plays in five games. A healthy percentage of the Jets' 16 sacks — their most after five games since 2008 — were from No. 95's presence at the end of the line.

And from his time in San Diego after the start of the '10 season through Atlanta on Monday night, Barnes had rung up 22.5 sacks in 45 games, exactly one sack every two games. Not bad for a part-timer, even a relentless one like AB.

"Antwan's a special guy, a special player," said Ryan, who coached him with the Ravens in 2007-08. "He's a great teammate here and he'll continue to be that."

LB Ricky Sapp, who was released last week, returns to replace Barnes on the active roster.

Rex Cetera

Besides Barnes, the Jets had eight players not participating in today's practice, but most were there with existing injuries coming off the Monday night game. New to the DNP list: RB Mike Goodson (illness), S Jaiquawn Jarrett (knee) and DT Kenrick Ellis (not injury-related). Rookie T Oday Aboushi (knee) moved up to limited participation along with RB Chris Ivory (hamstring) and CB Darrin Walls (shoulder).

The Steelers, after their London game and their bye week, are listing only four players on their report: Out (Definitely Will Not Play) — WR Markus Wheaton (finger). Limited — S Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith (hip). Full — G Ramon Foster (pectoral), QB Ben Roethlisberger (right finger).

The Jets also made a practice squad transaction today, signing 6'7", 364-pound DT Terence "T.J." Barnes (a Georgia Tech teammate of WR Stephen Hill) and releasing DT Junior Aumavae.

 

> http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/article-randylangeblogfb/Wilkerson-After-ATL-Mo-mentums-Building/300819a1-2f2f-4637-8db5-7ed3bbeba053