Jermaine Johnson injury could expose Jets' terrifying DL problem

The New York Jets were thoroughly humiliated by their division rival, the Buffalo Bills, this past Sunday. They struggled every which way. You name it, and they struggled.

They were never going to win that game, but what certainly didn't help was the lack of poise and awareness by Micheal Clemons, a concern that continues to grow.

Another concern to add on top of it is the health of the man who sits just ahead of Clemons on the depth chart, Jermaine Johnson. Johnson missed practice on both Wednesday and Thursday with an ankle injury he sustained in Week 2.

If Johnson is unable to play on Sunday, that means Clemons' snaps will significantly increase. The Jets can't afford another defensive stinker this Sunday in Tampa Bay. Baker Mayfield and company will pick them apart if they aren't ready to play. Unfortunately, no one has looked less ready to play this season than Micheal Clemons.

The Jets cannot withstand much more of Michael Clemons

Everyone will point to Clemons' late hit on Josh Allen in the first quarter on Sunday. That was, indeed, a massive disaster. It allowed for seven Bills points when the Jets were about to have Buffalo dead-to-rights on 4th and 19.

After Allen released the football, Clemons counted way too many "Mississippis" before absolutely leveling the star quarterback. Yellow laundry flew immediately.

While that was the most obvious gripe one can claim with the fourth-year defensive end, it was far from the only thing to shake your head at. Before we even get back to the field, his comments regarding the crucial penalty after the game didn't exactly inspire confidence in his self-reflection and awareness.

"I did my best to hit him clean. I have to look at it and observe it."

Micheal Clemons

I'm not sure what he has to observe. A clock? I would hope he already knows he can't just molly-wop one of the two best quarterbacks in the league, five minutes after they've gotten rid of the football.

I do not know why he feels the need to watch the tape to acknowledge his mistake (apparently, everyone on the Jets' payroll has to watch tape before speaking these days). In fairness (I guess?), he did go on to add, "but they threw the flag at the end of the day."

Yes, they certainly did.

Getting away from Clemons' brain lapses and rhetoric, he has performed just as poorly on the field as he has off it. The gap in performance between him and Jermaine Johnson has been staggering.

When you look at their PRP numbers (a Pro Football Focus formula that combines sacks, hits, and hurries relative to how many times they rush the passer) on true pass-sets (taking out screens, RPO's, play action, etc), Johnson cleared him by a mile in Week 1 with a score of 12.5 on nine such plays, to Clemons' 0.0 on seven.

This past week, Johnson put up another 12.5 PRP on true-pass sets with an impressive 37.5 win rate as well (the percentage of wins vs. blockers on non-penalty pass rush snaps). Clemons, for the second consecutive week, put up another whopping 0.0 in both categories.

In simple terms, when Josh Allen and Aaron Rodgers have dropped back on real passing plays against the Jets this season, Clemons has produced virtually no pressure whatsoever. It's that bad.

If you replace all of Johnson's snaps with Clemons, a defense that was already bad immediately gets immeasurably worse. If Johnson is out, Tyler Baron is going to need to be considered at a certain point. Outside of providing other teams' yards, I don't know what Clemons brings to the football field right now.

So, get ready, Jets fans. Keep a close eye on the injury report throughout the week and into Sunday. Because with no Jermaine Johnson, and a whole lot of Micheal Clemons, the Jets are staring down the barrel of an 0-3 gun that Aaron Glenn wants no part of.

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