Getty New York Jets defensive lineman Micheal Clemons getting ready ahead of a snap during an NFL game.
The New York Jets are legit playoff contenders.
It is a strange but very true statement after the first six weeks of the 2022 NFL season.
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic said on Twitter that if the season ended today, Gang Green would be the No. 5 seed in the playoffs.
The Jets are one of only three AFC teams that have four wins or more this season with the others being the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Micheal Clemons Delivers a Strong and Clear Message From the Jets
After the game rookie defensive lineman Micheal Clemons was asked what kind of statement did the Jets make with their 27-10 blowout upset win over the Green Bay Packers?
After a five-second pause from when the question was asked to Clemons eventually responding, he simply stated, “the Jets is coming to play, you know what I’m saying? Period.”
#Jets DL Micheal Clemons (@MichealClemonss) was asked what kind of statement did the team make by blowing out the #Packers at @LambeauField? After a 5 second pause he said, ‘the Jets is coming to play, you know what I’m saying? Period’ 😳: 🎥 @nyjets #TakeFlight #GoPackGo
It was short, sweet, and very to the point.
Clemons was a key part of the Jets’ victory and was forced to step up to the plate due to Jermaine Johnson’s ankle injury.
The former Florida State product was ruled out for this Packers game and will be very much TBD moving forward.
Gang Green led 10-3 with 5:51 remaining in the third quarter. The defense had just forced a stop and the Jets offense was set to get the ball back after a Packers punt, although we never got there.
On fourth and 21, a 6-foot-5, 270-pound defensive lineman came sprinting through the middle of the protection and blocked Green Bay’s punt.
The ball perfectly bounced right into the waiting arms of veteran safety Will Parks who scooped and scored the ball 39 yards to the house.
THE JETS BLOCK THE PUNT TO EXTEND THEIR LEAD 😳
It changed the dynamic of the game and with the Jets, up 17-3, it proved to be the final kill shot that put the Packers down.
Micheal Clemons Has so Much More to Offer the Jets
If you look at the box score, beyond the blocked punt there isn’t much there for Clemons. According to ESPN’s stats, he only had one total tackle throughout the entire contest.
However, after the game head coach Robert Saleh said they love what Clemons brings to the table as a selfless guy who is willing to do the dirty work. So in other words sometimes his work won’t be truly appreciated in the stats, but his impact will certainly be felt.
Back on September 23, Jets special teams coordinator Brant Boyer was asked about his thinking behind putting Clemons on special teams.
“Well uhm the thinking is I wouldn’t want to block him, if I had to block him. That is kind of the thinking there. You put him in positions where he is going to have little guys trying to block him and that’s not a very good matchup. So that is kind of why I put him there.”
#Jets ST coordinator Brant Boyer was asked his thinking behind putting DL Micheal Clemons (@MichealClemonss) on kickoff coverage, ‘well the thinking is I wouldn’t want to block him if I had to block him’ 🤣 + called him the ‘enforcer’ at 6-foot-5, 270 😳: 🎥 @nyjets #TakeFlight
While for this particular question Boyer was asked about Clemons’ role on kickoff coverage as opposed to punt coverage, the point still remains.
This is a very strong individual who brings a level of intensity that you can’t teach. He is a bad man and the more you can get him on the field, the better off you will probably be.