The Jets have not met their expectations in the 2024 season. Coming off a 31-6 loss in Week 10 to the Cardinals, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich is focused on keeping his team's spirit up with seven games remaining.
"Hopefully they would say I'm unwavering in that way and a consistent source of positivity and energy," he said. "Hopefully a light when the darkness is hitting us. I think that's the only way to respond to these moments and I think these moments are great opportunities to demonstrate exactly who you are in the face of adversity. I'll continue to be that.
"I think everyone in this building needs to play at a higher level, coach at a higher level and have more accountability. We all need to improve in that way."
The Jets (3-7) and the Colts (4-6), who will play Sunday at MetLife Stadium, are on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture. Both teams, however, are still alive as the Green & White is two games out of the final wild card spot (Broncos, 5-5) and the Colts one game back.
There have been two teams in NFL history to make the playoffs after starting 3-7 or worse. The most recent one is the 2022 Jaguars, who started 3-7 and won six of their final seven games to clinch a playoff berth. While it's certainly a tall mountain to climb, if the Jets want to make a run down the stretch, they'll have to start by tuning out the outside noise.
"I tried to address that with the team [Wednesday]," Ulbrich said. "Really getting reconnected from why you play this game. This game is not easy from any standpoint – physically, mentally, emotionally – so what is your why to come into this building every day, be the best version of yourself and work your butt off and sacrifice like they do on a daily basis? Get reconnected to that because if you're trying to please the outside world, that'll never happen."
The Jets must do a better job stopping the run for them to have a chance Sunday. They allowed 147 rushing yards against the Cardinals and Colts RB Jonathan Taylor is coming off a season-high 114 yards on the ground against the Bills. Taylor, however, faced a light box on a season-high 76.2% of his rushes, according to Next Gen Stats, and gained 85 yards on 16 such carries.
After missing 20 tackles in the desert, Ulbrich has tweaked the Jets' practice schedule. The team will be in pads Wednesday for individual drills and the entirety of Thursday's session.
"There are 15 minutes in [individual drills], it's going to be 14 and a half minutes of tackling," he said. "We're going to get back to fundamentals and basics. I did a tackling presentation for the team [Wednesday], not just the defense. So everybody knows exactly what we're doing, how we're attacking it and how we're going to get it fixed."
From an injury standpoint, S Chuck Clark returned to practice after he was placed on Injured Reserve Oct. 15 with an ankle injury. The team has 21 days to activate him. WR Davante Adams (illness) and LT Tyron Smith (neck) won't practice Wednesday as Smith undergoes more tests. Rookie Olu Fashanu, who took 33 snaps at LT Sunday, would start if Smith can't go.
"He's going to have some bumps in road here and there, but I thought he showed a ton of promise," Ulbrich said of the No. 11 overall pick in April. "He's a guy that thank God we got him because we knew we were going to potentially need him this year. The way he's filled in has been amazing for a rookie and the more he gets to play the better he'll be."
