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Helmet Stickers: Detroit Lions 24-17 New York Jets

Another week and another tough loss for this Jets team. With some fallout after the game, are the wheels starting to fall off this cart?

Ron Antonelli

This article was much easier to write after week one, every week it gets tougher. After a loss to the Lions, we are sitting at 1-3 and our chances of making the post-season are getting slimmer and slimmer. We have problems, and I'll be hoping Antonio Allen's injury isn't serious. We played a strange offensive game against the Lions, the teams faith in Geno has obviously faltered as for much of the game he had training wheels on. Unfortunately by the time we started stretching the field, we were already 14 points down.

The fans became impatient in the 3rd quarter and rightfully so. The Jets were doing nothing on offense and drives were stalling before they even got started. Eric Decker and Sheldon Richardson have called out the fans who were chanting for Michael Vick and Geno had some choice words for a fan who was giving him some stick when he left the field. I'm sure people will make a lot of this, but when you're giving a player verbal abuse and he gives some back, I don't think you can complain. Geno shouldn't have done it, but it's not an issue for me.

The Defensive line for the most part was fantastic, the secondary was as expected. It did some things well and some other things not so well. Pryor really struggled, exposed in centre field once again for several big completions and a long touchdown where he came down on the play for some reason instead of covering over the top. One false step in the NFL and it's a touchdown, and I think he's starting to realise that.

We have some injuries to worry about as well. Allen, Nelson, Bohanon and Pryor are all banged up. Lets hope they can all go next week against San Diego.

Third Star: Chris Ivory, 17 rushes, 84 yards

I wasn't sure whether to give Ivory this start, based solely on the fact his brick hands cost us some very important yardage. I thought he was making strides catching out of the backfield, but today he showed why he is often taken off the field on 3rd down. Some of the throws were off the money, but there were a couple he probably could have caught.

Saying that, he put it all out there on the field today and his physical style of running just impresses me every single week. I was happy to see him get almost 3x the carries of Chris Johnson. I know Johnson had the TD, but he really doesn't have the play-making ability he once had. Ivory was really positive to start the game and he always falls forward gaining important yardage.

He showed some nifty feet to pick up an important first down and I thought he looked really impressive when he got the ball in his hands. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Ivory this season because if he stays healthy he can be very special. He doesn't always get help from the offensive line, but he makes the most of any gaps that are opened up for him.

In the end this start was between Ivory and Decker, and I went with Ivory.

Second Star: Sheldon Richardson, 8 tackles, 1 sack

I thought Sheldon had a really solid day, along with the rest of the offensive line. He was constantly around the ball, his pressure forced Stafford into a sack and he got one himself too. He just shows a lot of athletic ability and a non-stop motor. He works to the ball constantly and rarely loses outside containment. Detroit managed just 88 yards on the ground against the Jets and Stafford was constantly pressured.

I can only assume that if the Jets had a half decent secondary, our defensive line would absolutely maul nearly every single offensive line that comes into town. Unfortunately our defensive backs don't hold their coverage for half as long as a lot of teams, which means that guys like Stafford can get the ball out quickly to open receivers.

I can't see a lot wrong with Sheldon's game and if he can maintain his current career progression, he could be a very special player for a long time.

First Star: Muhammad Wilkerson, 8 tackles, 1.5 sacks

Wilkerson was constantly winning his match-up and collapsing the pocket forcing Stafford to throw early. Everything I said about Richardson above, you can put on Wilkerson and then some. His hands are active, he comes with several pass rushing moves, I saw him use a power, rip, speed and spin move at points during this game and no offensive tackle will want to face Mo.

His tackling is very secure and he doesn't often give up yardage. I don't know what else I can say about Wilkerson that hasn't already been said. He's a superb talent and I'm looking forward to us tying him up long term.

Week Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
First Star Chris Ivory Demario Davis Muhammad Wilkerson Muhammad Wilkerson
Second Star Antonio Allen Eric Decker Jeremy Kerley Sheldon Richardson
Third Star Chris Johnson Geno Smith Sheldon RIchardson Chris Ivory

Here is how the table stands, we have no new entrants this week.

First Star = 10 Points

Second Star = 5 Points

Third Star = 2 Points

Player Total Points
Muhammad Wilkerson 20
Chris Ivory 12
Demario Davis 10
Sheldon Richardson 7
Antonio Allen 5
Eric Decker 5
Jeremy Kerley 5
Geno Smith 2
Chris Johnson 2