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As Aaron Rodgers has said, the Jets’ culture needs to improve.
One thing that needs to improve, if the Jets culture is going to get better, is more accountability.
Rodgers didn’t specifically say that, but it’s somewhat obvious.
You saw their 12-penalty performance in Cleveland.
There needs to be more focus on that, and less on what uniform combination they are wearing. Culture.
A perfect example is the Michael Clemons situation.
He seems to have a little bit of a temper issue, and has had three notable incidents in recent Jets losses.
In Buffalo, he got into a tussle with Buffalo Bills left tackle in the tunnel leaving the field after the game. Then a few days later on Black Friday, he was ejected from the Jets-Dolphins game when he made contact with an official during a fight with a Miami player leaving the official bloodied, and in Cleveland, video has surfaced of him cursing out fans, using the F-Bomb.
So what does Jets coach Robert Saleh think of Clemon’s behavior?
“I’ll say this about Micheal. Sometimes we take a small snippet of someone’s life and try to portray that person as that. He’d be one of the first ones I’d call to watch my kids and I mean that. I mean that sincerely. One, because I know they’ll be safe. He’s an incredibly thoughtful and kind person, believe it or not. Not to throw shade on his persona, but he’s an incredible person. So, while these snippets can get put out there, if you truly knew the man, you’d love to be around him.
“These guys, when they put uniforms on, they transform into something way different. It’s a very dangerous area to be in when you’re around him, but that man especially, he plays with a mean streak. Like I said, if you knew him, you wouldn’t have a problem with anything he did.”
That last line was somewhat shocking to hear from a coach.
“If you knew him, you wouldn’t have a problem with anything he did.”
How is that holding him accountable for his actions? He’s a little out of control right now, and by saying that if you knew him better you wouldn’t have a problem with is actions, seems a little reckless.
If I had family member or friend act this way, I’d have an issue with them. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t love them, but I would still have a problem with their actions.
Does the fact that Saleh would allow him to “watch his kids” exonerate him for his actions?
They guy gets into tight in the tunnel against the Bills, bloodied an official who tried to break up a brawl he was in against Miami, and then drops F-Bombs at fans and Saleh wants us to look the other way because he thinks Clemons is a great guy.
This is really dangerous from a culture and accountability standpoint.
And here is the other thing, this isn’t like Bill Parcells looking the other way with the mercurial Lawrence Taylor, one of the greatest pass rushers of all time.
Clemons isn’t playing that great. He hasn’t done a great job setting the edge against the run and has had some penalty issues.
This culture needs some work, and the coach defending Clemons the way he did, is not helpful from a culture standpoint.
One of the most important building blocks in a strong football culture is accountability.
January 5, 2024
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