Muhammad Wilkerson: Wilkerson was solid again with pressures and hits to the quarterback. If the quarterback has a face, Mo Wilk is going to be all up in it. That’s one of the few guarantees the Jets have had all season. This guy’s only 23. How can you look at him and not expect great things to come of his time in green and white. Building around the youth on the defensive side of the ball will be an extremely smart thing for the Jets to do in the offseason. It seems as if that’s the strongest suit for the talent evaluators, which doesn’t make it right but it gives some hope that these picks weren’t a bust and they can be strong and scary contenders for opposing offenses to line up against. There’s still many issues when it comes to the defense being as good as Rex claims they are, but Wilkerson and Coples are nowhere in that conversation. They’re the lighthouses of that defense and need to be treated as such, not just buoys floating freely in the open seas.

Many have said Braylon Edwards never should have left. I’m just glad he came back and I want to keep him here in 2013.

Braylon Edwards: Many fans cried that Braylon Edwards was a huge missing piece of the Jets puzzle in the last two years. Some disagreed and said the ship had sailed but these last two games have shown that maybe, just maybe, some Jets fans had it right. Not only has Braylon re-energized the field when he’s on it, he does so even when he’s off. On twitter he’s engaging, he’s enthusiastic and most importantly, you can tell he’s where he always wanted to be. In today’s game he had just 3 receptions but netted 36 yards in that trifecta. Add to that what could’ve been a touchdown and instead drew an offensive PI call that eventually did lead to a rushing TD by Shonn Greene and you’d say Braylon had a pretty good game. But wait, I’m not finished. Let’s talk about the fact that he single handedly saved the Chargers from scoring a touchdown on a McElroy interception by throwing a nice shoulder block after giving chase. If Braylon is not signed to a deal to keep him in green and white for 2013, it’s not only a slap in the face to him but it’s a slap in the face to this fanbase and whomever the quarterback is. Braylon’s still got it; heart and soul as well as ability.

Honorable mentions:
Jeremy Kerley: In just one play, Kerley gained more passing yards than Tebow had all season thanks to a bomb thrown down the field out of the wildcat that went for 42 yards beautifully into Clyde Gates’ hands. Jeremy was a quarterback in his younger days and has stated he wants no part in the quarterback conundrum that has enveloped the 2012 season but it was nice to see the wildcat option carried out successfully. I won’t touch on what kind of message this sent to everyone in regards to who should have been running that kind of play all season long, but you know.

Bart Scott: There’s a few reasons I’m including him. He got a sack. He possibly pulled his sac (or at least that’s what I’m led to believe after seeing the other players on the sideline laughing before he went back into the game). And I just love his fire on the field and off. Yes, he’s aging and he could certainly stand to be a little more speedy, but he’s shown in recent games that there’s still something left in the tank.

✈ Sydney
Find me on Twitter at @SydneyKira1; email: confessionsofajetsfan@gmail.com

On Offense, the Chargers were 28th in yards, 23rd in points, 22nd in passing and 27th in rushing compared to the Jets stats of being 30th overall; 28th in points scored, 30th in passing and 10th in rushing due in large part to the running game finally clicking around game 11 and Bilal Powell being the kind of back that extends plays with his body and pushes heaps of men to travel with him for an extra yard or three.

On Defense, the Chargers were 16th in points allowed; 20th in passing yards allowed, 13th in total defense and 7th against the run to the Jets stats of 20th in points allowed, 8th in overall yards allowed, 2nd against the pass and 29th against the rush.

Looking at those, what it should have told you was that the game had the possibility of being a real barn burner. Well, at least we weren’t surprised by something today. What we were surprised by was that the fact that the Jets lost this one. The Chargers Defense brutalized the Jets Offense and completely wrecked the first time starting QB. 11 sacks. This isn’t even factoring in the hits and pressures Greg McElroy faced on that field in MetLife Stadium today. He seems to not have much in the way of pocket presence or arm strength but he does hold onto the ball well when going down to snack on some turf and can obviously take some hard hits. He will get the nod to start next week in Buffalo and rightfully so. At the same time, you have to wonder what exactly today’s game meant. The offensive line was invisible, the defense couldn’t even claim to be gassed. They were simply outplayed and out-coached. Despite some obvious blunders by the Chargers and possible new Jets Offensive Coordinator in 2013 Norv Turner (what went on with that punt/kick confusion, anyway?), Philip Rivers didn’t have a horrible game. How often can people say that?

Braylon Edwards was a rare bright spot on offense. Current Offensive Coordinator Tony Sparano looked to be opening up his obviously well hidden big bag of tricks at the beginning of the game, calling Wildcat plays with Kerley throwing a bomb 42 yards down the field to Clyde Gates (yes, I really typed this) and even a direct snap to Greene. By the way, Greene was on track to break ,000 yards rushing this season for the second year in a row, needing just 49 to do so. He finished 9 under. That should tell everyone all they need to know about the offense in this game against the Chargers that saw 3 QBs dressed but only 1 used and a slot receiver have more total passing yards earned in one play than the backup quarterback threw for all season.

Who makes it through this mess of a season?

On defense, Bart Scott proved he still can be a force on the field. Eric Smith probably signed his walking papers and after that game Calvin Pace should be filing in line behind him. The Jets as a whole just weren’t built well. They weren’t buiult to succeed and having 6 wins on the year is probably a blessing because today’s game was not a fluke. This is where they are, this is who they are. And hopefully this game was a gigantic wake up call to stop placing blame on certain players and look at the overall team. Start at the top in the big front offices and go from there.

✈ Sydney
Find me on Twitter at @SydneyKira1; email: confessionsofajetsfan@gmail.com

Muhammad Wilkerson: Ah, the trend. Yet again he shows up in this segment of mine and rightfully so. It’s hard to find bright spots on the Jets 2012 team but Big Mo is positively one of them. If he doesn’t get voted to the Pro Bowl then I don’t know what people are doing. It’s not to say I put much stock in the Pro Bowl in terms of talent but once in awhile a guy gets in based on production as opposed to popularity. This should be the case for Wilkerson this year. He didn’t add to his sack tally this year by putting any hurt on Jake Locker but he was fundamental in allowing the sacks Locker did take to actually happen. And let’s talk about that blocking! Not only can he block large men and shifty runners, he can block balls from being kicked as well. This New Jersey native needs to remain in green and white for a long time. He’s not only got a bright future ahead of him with the way he has played this season, but he’s helping to give the Jets D a glimmer of a bright future as well. Help us, Muhammad Wilkerson, you’re one of our only hopes.

The Big Guy that makes Big Plays.

Garrett McIntyre: Don’t adjust your screens or your glasses. This is really happening. Not only was Mr. mcIntyre actually in on positive plays yesterday, he contributed to them! No more did we hear that he missed this tackle or cause this penalty. No, we were hearing that he stopped this play, helped other players extend their own play to make an impact or kill a drive, but we heard that he, brace yourself, sacked the opposing quarterback! All in all McIntyre had a pretty solid game. On the season he’s actually had just one less sack than Big Mo Wilk, but overall he’s not been all that impressive to where he shines through in positive plays. Last night changed that.

No honorable mentions this week. I don’t have it in me and frankly there really wasn’t anyone I feel did enough to deserve it outside of Antonio Cromartie who should just get Wings every game because he’s an absolute soldier. I will say that outside of a couple of off plays, Calvin Pace had a surprisingly decent game. Finally.

✈ Sydney
Find me on Twitter at @SydneyKira1; email: confessionsofajetsfan@gmail.com