The Jets had all of their starters, except for rookie DE Muhammad Wilkerson, sit out tonight's game against the Philadelphia Eagles, as the coaching staff wanted to see their backups give it one last try to make the squad. QB Greg McElroy started the game and was expected to play at least three quarters but got sidelined with a thumb injury, which appeared to be rather serious. He will have an MRI tomorrow. While in the game, McElroy was just 3 of 6 for 29 yards.
Fourth stringer, QB Drew Willy, replaced McElroy and performed pretty well. He was 9 of 17 for 109 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT. Willy wasn't expected to make the team, but now his chances have considerably gone up, depending on the results of McElroy's MRI. QB Mark Brunell is expected to be back for the season opener against the Cowboys, but #3 QB spot may as well be up for grabs now.
With McElroy out and Willy seeing his first extensive NFL action, the offense struggled immensely, as they gained just 117 yards in the entire contest. RB Joe McKnight, who started at RB, gained only 6 yards on 4 carries and managed to lose a fumble in the process. Rookie RB Bilal Powell fared even worse - 4 yards on 7 carries.
The defense struggled as well, allowing 378 yards and 25 first downs. Although they did make some big plays, such as CB Ellis Lankster's interception return for a touchdown, Jets defensive backups looked absolutely helpless at times, giving up one long gain after another mostly on screen passes.
Stock Rising:
LB Aaron Maybin - he looked impressive again, adding 1.5 sacks to his total. He could have had another sack, but the QB managed to escape from his grasp.
P T.J. Conley - he has already won the punting job, but his performance tonight (averaged 48.1 yards on 8 attempts) only confirmed that the coaching staff made the right decision.
CB Ellis Lankster - besides the interception he also had a nice pass breakup early in the game.
Stock Falling:
DE Muhammad Wilkerson - he seemingly struggled against backups, being easily taken out of one play after another. There was absolutely no penetration from Wilkerson tonight, which is a bad sign, considering that he won't be facing backups in 10 days.
CB Kyle Wilson - is it too early to call him a bust yet? He gave up a 16-yard TD pass in the first quarter. Imagine if the Jets didn't re-sign Cromartie and had Wilson as their starting CB.
OL Vladimir Ducasse - Let's put it this way.. If the Jets hadn't drafted him in the 2nd round, he would have been gone a while ago.
Rookies:
DL Muhammad Wilkerson - he showed absolutely nothing. This is not what we should have expected from a 1st round pick against backups.
NT Kenrick Ellis - had 2 tackles, got banged up early in the game but returned.
RB Bilal Powell - 4 yards on 7 carries... need I say more?
WR Jeremy Kerley - 1 reception for 24 yards, this was the team's longest play of the game.
QB Greg McElroy - was sacked twice before going out with a thumb injury.
WR Scotty McKnight - finally was involved and caught a touchdown. This won't help him make the team though. Practice squad maybe...