Jermaine Johnson scoffs at Aaron Glenn's take after embarrassing Patriots loss

Culture. It's arguably been the most used word by New York Jets coaches, players, media, and fans alike since Aaron Glenn was brought in as head coach. Culture was sorely lacking under Robert Saleh, and following Aaron Rodgers' departure, new faces had every opportunity to develop their own.

Throughout the season, the culture has experienced extraordinary low points. Conversely, there have been times when it appeared Glenn's vision was clear, and his words resonated. For the most part, I'd say his player relationship development has been positive overall.

But after a pitiful display in a loss to the New England Patriots, and after he called out his squad for a lack of effort, one of the core members of the defense didn't take too kindly to the head coach's sentiment.

And here we are, again, questioning everything about that one crucial word for the Jets — culture.

Jermaine Johnson's reaction says all you need to know

Aaron Glenn made his comments about effort after the 32-point loss, and he didn’t merely raise the issue; he emphasized it. He went as far as to say it was the first time all season he’d felt that way, framing the performance as a new low in his eyes. His message was unmistakable. Glenn was disappointed, and he wanted it known.

"(I'm) highly, highly disappointed at the way we came out... Our effort wasn't as good as I'd want it to be."

Aaron Glenn

Given the results, how could you blame him for feeling like this? I get that the Patriots are a significantly better team, but that doesn't excuse just how bad things got at MetLife on Sunday. Drake Maye walked away with five touchdowns on 256 yards passing. He did so, while only throwing two incompletions out of his 21 passes.

It wasn't simply Maye's arm slicing and dicing the secondary. The Patriots rushed for 155 yards, averaging 4.4 yards per play. Overall, they averaged 7.1 yards per play. They finished 5-for-5 in the red zone and 2-for-2 on fourth down.

The Jets finished the day with a Pro Football Focus (PFF) defensive grade of 44.9, easily their lowest of the season.

On the other side of the ball, the Jets offense looked like a junior varsity unit. Despite running more total plays and holding the ball for nearly the same amount of time, they managed just 307 yards compared to New England’s 440.

Even with some success on the ground, the passing game was a disaster, finishing with a PFF passing grade of 36.3 and an overall offensive grade of 51.9, among the unit’s worst performances of the season.

So, for Glenn to call out the team's collective effort, I understand. But Jermaine Johnson certainly didn't. To be fair, he didn't go out of his way to be bombastic. He simply couldn't contain his initial dismay at the sentiment.

While Glenn felt that he didn't get the heart he wanted from his guys, one of his defensive leaders disagrees entirely. And his scoff, which you could hear all the way from midtown, speaks volumes about his general feeling about his head coach at the moment.

What made things far more confusing is that Glenn has already walked back these comments. So it's hard to say exactly how he feels, and perhaps he didn't receive a warm reception from the vets on Monday morning following this fiasco.

Whatever the case, the Jets’ culture is once again under the microscope. With just one game remaining, attention is already shifting to who will still be here next season, and that will largely come down to who’s truly bought in.

Johnson’s postgame reaction only raises a bigger question. How many players actually are bought in?