When offenses kept attacking Kyle Wilson as the Jets' Achilles' heel, when the completions kept piling up against him so fast he almost started to expect them, the cornerback lost both his swagger and his playing time. But the rookie has regained both, working his way back into Gang Green's secondary.
Wilson, a first-round pick from Boise State, has fought through a crisis of confidence. The coaching staff said he will play more tomorrow in Cleveland -- likely at Drew Coleman's expense -- going from persona non grata to playing in the nickel and playing an integral role on the defense.
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‘WIL’ TO PLAY: Coach Rex Ryan said rookie cornerback Kyle Wilson (above) has regained his confidence and swagger, and will play more vs. Cleveland tomorrow.
"Steady progress. He's back to being the guy we drafted," coach Rex Ryan said. "You give up com pletions in this league, everybody does. I just felt like he was at a stage where he ex pected a guy to complete a ball on him, and it's like, 'Come on, kid.' [But] he kept getting better, now he's ready to play significantly for us."
With Darrelle Revis' absence and injury, Wilson started the first three games before struggling and yielding his spot. He saw time defensively off the bench in the next two games before being demoted to special teams vs. Denver and Green Bay. He earned his way back on the field defensively last Sunday in the Jets' victory over Detroit.
"Kyle's strung some good practices together. Does it mean we're benching Drew? No, but . . . Kyle has certainly played himself back into that position," said defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. "In the NFL it's hard to get experience when you're in a position you can't hide. Given how good our other corners are, whoever goes in is going to be an instant target. That's a tough thing for a rookie.
"His frustration was obvious. He's a competitor. He's a very high-character kid. You can tell it bothered him. So much of playing that position is confidence. He's covering some pretty good receivers in practice, and he was getting beat. It's great training for him, but it doesn't do much for your confidence."
No, that he had to find himself, by winning those battles with Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes and Jerricho Cotchery in practice and now trying to take that on the field on Sunday.
"Everybody wants to be out there. I just had to take it positively and do what I can; study and just continue to learn," Wilson said. "You just take a chance to step back. You can't wear your emotions on your sleeve. I've been playing a long time, so [sitting] was definitely new to me. I just had to learn quickly.
"Everybody just said this speaks on how you battle through adversity, just seeing how you're going to respond. I definitely took it as a challenge, came to work every day trying to get better, go out there and make plays. Just really try to be consistent, go out there and have fun and enjoy myself."
brian.lewis@nypost.com
Nypost.com
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