There are many culprits at play regarding the New York Jets‘ 0-2 start. Beginning the Aaron Glenn era with a winless pair of games isn’t the standard anyone wanted to set. Executives, coaches and players alike all deserve blame.
One particular member of the team, however, seems to be catching more heat than others. Due to his lack of production and discipline, defensive end Micheal Clemons is subject to hefty criticism. Some are even campaigning for him to be benched.
Will that clamoring become a reality for Gang Green? Don’t bank on it.
Jets’ Coaching Staff Defends Micheal Clemons Despite Lack of Discipline & Production
Speaking to the media on September 17, Glenn came to the defense of his polarizing player.
“Sometimes when people don’t see a stat, they feel like a player hasn’t done anything right,” Glenn said. “But there are other things that go on in a game that we ask players to do that, again, we ask players to do that people really don’t understand. I will say this: We know exactly what we’re trying to do as a staff. Listen, everybody has ups and downs when it comes to playing. The things that we’re asking Mike to do, he’s doing a good job at that. Does he need to improve? Absolutely, like everybody else. We know exactly what we’re doing with Mike.”
In addition to having limited output, Clemons made a brutal mistake in Week 2’s 30-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills. In the opening frame, he committed a roughing the passer penalty on an illegal hit to reigning MVP Josh Allen.
Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks doesn’t want Clemons to lose his edge, but mental mistakes like that are unacceptable.
“You know, the one thing that we’ve talked about from day one is understanding that we’ve got to surrender the individual me for the bigger we,” Wilks said. “It’s about the team, and I think Micheal is completely on board. Again, I think that was a situation that at the last second, he was there, he wishes he could’ve pulled up. But we don’t want to take his aggressive play away, we’ve just got to make sure that we’re smart.”
In two games thus far, Clemons has just a pair of tackles on 72 snaps. That won’t cut it, especially when paired with penalties like last Sunday’s. For now, though, his spot appears to be safe.
New York Defense Must Correct Early-Season Issues Quickly
It doesn’t help that Clemons is posting the 139th-ranked Pro Football Focus defense grade out of 147 defensive ends. His lack of quality run defense and pass-rushing chops rubs off on the rest of the defense. For someone who’s getting just over half the available number of reps, he must be better. Now in his age-28 campaign, he’s too old to not step up as a leading piece.
The Jets‘ problems are bigger than just Clemons, however. In Week 1’s showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers, they surrendered 34 points and allowed former starter Aaron Rodgers to throw 4 touchdowns. Last weekend featured a new problem: stopping the run. Buffalo amassed 224 yards on the ground, fueled by James Cook‘s 132-yard explosion. It’s something the defense is vowing to never allow to take place again.
Only time will tell if that rings true. Entering this weekend’s contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Wilks’ defense ranks 30th in scoring and 23rd in yards. Per SumerSports, their No. 28 ranking in EPA/play is one of the five worst marks in the sport. Facing the No. 6-ranked offense in that category will serve as a sink-or-swim scenario.
Only four teams since 1990 have rallied from an 0-3 start to make the postseason. Considering where the Jets are in their rebuild, you can kiss the playoffs goodbye with a lackluster defensive showing in Week 3. This is a must-win for Glenn, Wilks, Clemons and everyone else involved.
Jets’ Coaching Staff Clears Air on Controversial Defensive Player