On the afternoon after his first game in charge, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich walked into a whirlwind of sorts when he arrived at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center on Tuesday morning with the news the team had acquired wide receiver Davante Adams in a trade with Las Vegas.
"I didn't find out until not too long ago, but I am ecstatic, super excited," Ulbrich told reporters. "Not only an elite player, as we all know, but the relationship with him and Aaron [Rodgers] just takes his value to a whole other space for us. So super excited and got an opportunity to actually meet him this morning, which was even better. You know, I knew him, obviously from tape and everything that we've seen as a football player, but to get to know the man a little bit this morning was special. You can just feel that on him, just not only that elite player, but an elite human being, and teammates are so excited to get him into the mix."
The addition of Adams provides Rodgers with one of his favorite receivers, the two were teammates in Green Bay in 2014 through 2021 where Adams had an eye-popping 669 receptions, 8,121 yards and grabbed 73 TDs over eight seasons.
"I was fortunate enough in San Francisco to be around Terrell Owens and Jerry Rice and to see firsthand all that Jerry taught T.O," said Ulbrich, who played linebacker for the Niners for 10 seasons. "Jerry, at the time, was in his 18th year, whatever it was, but so established and understood the game at the highest level. I think Davante is going to provide that same thing for Garrett [Wilson] and for all of our receivers. You know, he's done this at an elite level for a long time and on top of all of it, you're just, you're going to see exactly that the reflection of a relationship with Aaron, how the synergy that they've had for so long. So, it's an exciting time to be a Jet."
Adams comes to a Jets (2-4) team that has lost three straight games ahead of Sunday night's visit to Pittsburgh (4-2), Though Monday night's 23-20 loss to AFC rival Buffalo left a sour taste for all concerned, the offense did show signs of finding its footing. RB Breece Hall broke out, gobbling up 113 yards on 18 carries, which enabled Rodgers to work the passing game and connect with Wilson and Allen Lazard, with each surpassing 100 receiving yards and catching TD passes.
"I thought our running backs, especially Breece, ran as hard as they ran," Ulbrich said. "In my opinion, probably the best game Breece has had here as a Jet. From a pass game perspective, Aaron did an excellent job of taking what they gave him, and the play pass opened up with the run game going as it did. And you saw some of that special stuff that Aaron always brings to the party."
Rodgers connected on TD passes with Wilson and completed the fourth Hail Mary pass of his 20-year NFL career when Lazard hauled in a 52-yard bomb on the final play of the first half. The Jets had a late opportunity to either tie the game with a field goal or win it, but Rodgers' pass intended for Mike Williams was intercepted. Williams sustained a head injury on the play, but Ulbrich said that he passed the concussion protocol.
"We'll figure out the next couple days how all these pieces kind of fit together," Ulbrich said. "It's an exciting and a good problem to have, because we've got a lot of different guys with a lot of different skill sets that can do a lot of different things. So [play-caller] Todd [Downing] and his staff will have some sleepless nights with some good problems."
Though the run game got going and Rodgers (25 of 35 for 294 yards) had a strong game, the Jets converted on only 1 of 4 trips inside the Bills' 20-yard line. Add to the mix a spotty first half and the team's inability to avoid penalties (11 for 110 yards, one of which nullified Braelon Allen's TD run) ultimately left Ulbrich and his players unsatisfied.
"From an intense standpoint, strain standpoint, physicality standpoint, even execution standpoint, we just, we got to put four quarters together, and when we do that, we're going to be a problem," he said.
