With the benefit of a quiet week at 1 Jets Drive before the final six games of the regular season, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich on Monday spoke about a "productive bye week" as the Jets prepare to host Seattle at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
"So, we just got off the field from a really productive bonus Monday where the focus was still a little bit of self-scout and a little bit of a jump start on Seattle," he said. "We had not only an opportunity to get healthier, give guys an opportunity to get off their feet and some of the lingering injuries that we've been dealing with, but it was an awesome opportunity to deep dive on what we've done well, what we haven't done well, places where we need to improve, and got a really clear vision of where to take this particular team. So, I'm excited about the remaining football that we have."
He added: "So we decide how we finish the season."
When it comes to injuries, Ulbrich said that veteran left tackle Tyron Smith is dealing with a neck injury and his status remains up in the air. Smith was spelled by rookie Olu Fashanu against the Colts. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has also been dealing with leg issues.
"All I can say, and you'd have to ask Aaron if he's fully healthy, but he's better off today than he's been as of late," Ulbrich said. "So, he's definitely feeling healthier than he has for probably the past month, and a healthier Aaron Rogers is the Aaron Rodgers we all love, so excited about what that looks like."
With the recent changes in the organization, Ulbrich said that his singular focus is "finishing the season off the right way."
"So that's where our focus is, our attitude and our approach," he said.
C.J. Mosley: 'We Can't Really Make Any Excuses'
C.J. Mosley's season has been a mirror of the Jets' 2024 NFL season -- disappointing.
It's been especially frustrating for the team's defensive captain because he's been dealing with a painful neck injury that has limited him to four games, only one of which -- the opener at San Francisco on Sept. 9 -- has seen Mosley on the field for an extended period. In all, he's been inactive for 6 games and on Monday Mosley said he's not certain if he will be ready to face the Seahawks.
"Not 100 percent yet," he told reporters. "Today is my first time putting on the helmet, so I don't want to go too fast. So like I said, it's been progressing each day, each week. So just kind of staying positive with that. And you know, today I did some more striking and did some line tackling. So that's really where we are right now. So until I actually hit somebody and can kind of feel the impact of just having, not have my neck like just torquing around, all those different things. Until then, I can't really give you 100 percent, but definitely going in the right direction."
Now in his 11th season in the NFL, his fifth on the field for the Jets, Mosley played in all 17 games past two seasons, racking up more than 150 tackles in each of those seasons. Now 32 years old, the veteran middle linebacker is dealing with his most serious injury since his first season in green and white, 2019. This season, he sustained a toe injury against the 49ers in Week 1 and then a neck injury prior to the Jets' Week 8 loss at New England.
"Each week I've progressed," he said. He added: "I feel like I'm in the right position to be able to get back on the field, whether my team was winning or losing."
Asked for his take on the season and now the team's search for a new general manager and coach, Mosley said it was up to the players to concentrate on what happens on the field.
"We can only control what we do on the field and how we come to work each day," he said. He added: "And my biggest thing is we can't really make any excuses, whether it's changes in a locker room, whether it's changes upstairs, downstairs or around the corner. All the things we control are when we step in between the white lines."
O-Lineman Morgan Moses Focused on Finishing Strong
Morgan Moses has powered his way through the season, missing two games because of injury, but never yielding to negativity or doubt. Nothing has changed.
"You have an opportunity to play a child's game for king's ransom, and not a lot of people get the opportunity to go do that," Moses said. "So we're going to worry about what's in front of us. We have great veteran guys and a great veteran presence in the locker room that's going to control the variables of what we go through day in and day out. And that's the biggest part. When you have great people in the locker room that can bring the house together and move forward no matter what the circumstances are, it's going to gel. And so for us, we understand that."
