New York Jets' Muhammad Wilkerson blames secondary for woes
Oct 17, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; New York Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson (96) against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Jets 28-3. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Jets season continues to spiral out of control and now it seems players are turning on each other.

The New York Jets’ biggest strength heading into this season was their defensive line. It was a positional group that was fortified with three former first-round picks.

Well, that unit has gone from a strength to an utter disappointment. That disappointment has led to a less than stellar 20 sacks as a team, which ranks second to last in the NFL.

So, when asked about the lack of production, Muhammad Wilkerson seemingly took a shot at his secondary — via NJ.com:

“Maybe a little tighter coverage and we get those sacks,” he said.

Although the comments may sting, there may be some scents of truth within it. The beleaguered secondary has given up multiple chunk plays. They rank in the bottom half of the league in terms of passing yards allowed and yards given up per attempt.

Darrelle Revis has been hindered by offseason wrist surgery, Marcus Williams has been injured, and Buster Skrine has been routinely penalized for something that plagued him in Cleveland.

In a follow up piece on NJ.com, Skrine was asked about Wilkerson’s comments and agreed with the notion:

“I mean, we could have more sacks if our coverage was tighter,” Skrine said. “You’d probably have to go ask Mo why he said that. But it could be tighter on the back end. It’s the truth. We should have tighter coverage on the back end. It hasn’t been the best year for the secondary.”

Overall, this has been an unfortunate series of events that has led to the Jets towards having inevitably another top-five pick in the NFL Draft. Wilkerson has been invisible for the majority of this season. Some have blamed a hangover from the contract he just received, while others have indicated that he’s still suffering from lingering effects following his leg surgery.

On the other side, Sheldon Richardson barely played in the blowout loss to the Indianapolis Colts. The lone player who has performed at or near expectations on the defensive line is Leonard Williams, who’s nearly tripled his sack production from last season while also being an enforcer in the running game.

I’m glad Wilkerson’s comments weren’t taken personally by Skrine. Hopefully this unit can start looking as dominant as they did Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

People call me Boy Green for my unwavering dedication to all things New York Jets. I work at The Score 1260 in Syracuse and I'm extremely passionate about sports. I aspire to continue my rise through the business and hopefully I'll end up working for the New York Jets in some capacity.