Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes wasn’t saying anything too different than any observer of the Panthers defense would say when he pointed out that the Carolina secondary was their weak link in the days leading up to Sunday’s game, but that didn’t mean that the defensive backs enjoyed hearing it.
They were angry about it last week and they were angry about it during the game. Jets wideout David Nelson said, via ESPNNewYork.com, that the Panthers “made a point” of letting the Jets know they were peeved by Holmes’ assessment and that they would make the Jets pay for Holmes’ transgression. Cornerback Captain Munnerlyn, who intercepted a pass intended for Holmes and returned it for a touchdown, said he took it personally. So did safety Quintin Mikell.
“With what Santonio said earlier in the week, we had to come out and shut him up. I think we did a good job of that,” Mikell said, via the team’s website. “Our thing all year has been that people point the finger at the secondary, and that’s fine. We drive the bus from the back. We’ve had some good games and we’ve had some bad games. Tonight we had a good one and just shut them down.”
Holmes finished with two catches and said after the game that he didn’t regret his earlier comments. He also said that he still felt the Panthers secondary was the defense’s weak link, but the Carolina group showed Sunday that such things are relative when facing a passing attack piloted by Geno Smith.