Three consecutive losses have brought the Jets back to earth and the loss of NT Kris Jenkins will severely hinder the team's chances of sustained recovery going forward. Jenkins, who was arguably the MVP of the Jets' defense, tore his ACL in a Week Six loss to the Bills, and will be out for the rest of the campaign.

Head coach Rex Ryan offered a typically candid evaluation of the situation on the defensive line in the immediate aftermath of the injury. He acknowledged that Jenkins is an irreplaceable piece on “D,” when discussing the players — a rotation led by Sione Pouha and including Howard Green, Mike DeVito and Marques Douglas — who will be asked to step in for him.

“To think they’re going to come in and play like Kris, that’s not realistic,” Ryan said. “We’re all going to have to step up our game to make up for his loss.”

Pouha, who has five career starts, including four at defensive end this season, is taking Jenkins’ spot in the starting lineup. The fifth-year veteran said transitioning to nose tackle full-time six weeks into the season shouldn’t be an overwhelming task, since he has played on the interior D-line at times in 2009 and in the past.

"In terms of this being foreign or anything like that, nothing has really changed," Pouha told PFW. "There really hasn't been any extra emphasis or pressure, just coaches continuing to tell me to continue playing the way that I can play."

At 6-3, 325 pounds, Pouha isn't as bulky as the 360-pound Jenkins and he isn't as well equipped as Jenkins to hold the point vs. the run. The loss of the dominant widebody up front has the potential to derail the "D," but Pouha says his teammates aren't ducking for cover.

"Everybody's sad," he said. "We lost a big-time player. We lost a four-time Pro Bowl player. A guy who's reckless, a guy who's a force, a guy who's pretty much the pinnacle up front, but when it comes time to transition into somebody (else's position) because one soldier's gone, nobody really flinches because everybody knows the preparation that every single individual has put into this team. Everybody just gathers together and does their job."

Jenkins, whom Pouha called a "mentor" and "big brother," was placed on injured reserve and is expected to undergo surgery in a few weeks.

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