Jeff Ulbrich, the Jets interim head coach, put the outcome of Sunday's game against Indianapolis in the hands of his defense. He acknowledged on Monday, fewer than 24 hours after the 28-27 defeat, that his defense was not up to expectations.
"That last drive ... we gotta finish with the ball in our hands defensively," Ulbrich told reporters. "Just not clean football, especially down the stretch there. We had moments of playing to our standard, but those critical moments, the winning moments, especially that last drive there, we got to be on our details, and it wasn't good enough."
A group that has been one of the team's towers of power for the past three seasons failed to corral the Colts when it counted the most, in the final 2:41 of the game. The Jets (3-8) allowed the Colts (5-6) to drive 70 yards in 6 plays for the winning TD -- a 4-yard run by QB Anthony Richardson with 46 seconds left in the game. It was the Colts' second consecutive 70-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter. The loss sent the Green & White to a seventh defeat in the past eight games.
Ulbrich said the bye week offers an opportunity to take a deep dive and honestly assess the good and the not so good with 6 games left on the schedule.
"The time for taking a deep breath is not yet, we got to take a deep dive into who we are, just be completely honest and hear the criticisms and grow from the criticisms," he said. "And that's not just players. That's coaches as well. You know, not being stubborn to the point where anybody's pointing the finger at anybody else, other than themselves. Obviously, like I said today, it will be about this game [vs. the Colts], and then we'll go into all that we've done this season, both good and bad and I'm hopeful that the players will really come away from these next couple days with a clear idea of the plan to get better and become the team we need to become."
Chuck Clark: 'Anything Can Happen'
After missing a month as he recovered from an ankle injury, safety Chuck Clark was activated from injured reserve on Saturday in time to face the Colts. In the game, Clark took 99% of the 70 snaps on defense and was credited with 6 total tackles.
With the Jets starting their bye week, before returning to host Seattle on Dec. 1, Clark said his focus is constant and he's ready for whatever the next 6 games bring.
"If I take the football field, you get my everything," he said on Monday. "So I personally don't think it's gonna be hard. If I strap up and I put my uniform on and I get the opportunity to invest with the opportunity on the field. I'm giving everything. I'm not thinking about if we got the opportunity to get in the playoffs or not. You know, however it's gonna settle, it's gonna settle. And I think that should be the mentality with the rest of this team."
And he said he's not prepared to concede anything to anyone.
"I've been on teams with less talent and have gotten in the playoffs and had a shot," he said. "With this team, we got a lot of talent, and so it's tough from that standpoint. Y'all wouldn't say we out, anything could happen. It's still six more games, other teams got to play, we still got to play so who knows what could happen."
Morgan Moses: 'Just Be the Answer'
Through his 11 seasons in the NFL -- with Washington, Baltimore and the Jets -- Morgan Moses has been a steely warrior in the trenches of the offensive line. As the Jets' right tackle this season, he has continued to set a standard of professionalism, win or lose.
"We have to look forward to these next six games and putting the best football that we can, not just for ourselves, but for everyone in this building, because everybody sacrifices when they come in this building," he said. "It's a level of respect, right? As a football player when you have coaches, you know here all night, dialing up stuff and missing time with their family, players in here until late night, getting their bodies ready to go out there to be able to operate on Sunday.
"So that's not the issue there. That's not the issue of the sacrifice, the sacrifice and the other guys on his team. It's just about going out here and execute, man. Going out there and just continue being selfless, and not looking around for an answer and just being the answer. And that's what we got to get to."
