Sauce Gardner acknowledged on Wednesday that he "went down the rabbit hole" in some comments on social media earlier this week. The question now is how can Gardner and the Jets claw their collective way out of their 3-7 hole? Quickly and with a dwindling margin of error.
"Me being a leader of the team, of the defense, I can't be on social media with my emotions, saying certain stuff, and I know better," Gardner told reporters after practice as the Jets prepare to host the Indianapolis Colts and quarterback Anthony Richardson at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. "My coaches know that I know better. My teammates know that I know better, and I just got to be better.
"Obviously, things are not going how we expected them to go. But what I can say is I'm gonna do everything in my power to change that. I'm gonna do everything in my power me preparing, me being the best teammate that I could be, me bringing energy, everything that I could do to turn this around."
Last Sunday, Cardinals tight end Trey McBride caught a short pass on third down in the second quarter and powered his way through Gardner's grasp for a first down. Arizona went on to score on the drive, building a 21-6 lead.
"I missed the tackle," he said. "So obviously, in tackling, just being the best teammate that I could be, just being positive. You know, there's adversity going on. Sometimes everybody is not gonna be positive, but me, knowing where I am and the role that I have on this team, I gotta make sure I'm being positive."
Gardner, 24, was the No. 4 pick by the Jets in the 2022 NFL Draft. In his first two seasons, he used his height (6-3), wingspan and speed to stymie opposing wide receivers and build his island at cornerback. He won the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award; and was also named a first-team All-Pro, becoming the first rookie cornerback since Ronnie Lott in 1981 to do it.
Targeted 32 times this season, Gardner has allowed 19 receptions and has not made an interception. He has been credited with 32 tackles and 5 PDs.
On Wednesday, interim HC Jeff Ulbrich said he delivered a tackling presentation to his team and changed the practice schedule to emphasize fundamentals and basics.
"We know how to tackle," Gardner said. "We got to make the tackles. That's really it. We really don't need no presentation. I know where he's [Ulbrich] coming from, but us as professional athletes, we got to be able to make tackles. Me included, for sure."
As the Jets have been challenged this season, one of the talking points of late has centered on a perceived absence of energy. Again, Gardner's take was a bit more nuanced.
"People can say we need to bring the energy, we need to bring the energy," he said. "But it's like, it's not really the energy. Energy is something that you have leading up to the game. When you get in that game, it's execution. You're gonna fall back to your level of training, gonna fall back to your level of practice and the plays that you make. That's what creates energy. That's what really creates energy. So I'll be seeing certain stuff and hearing stuff, 'we got to bring the energy.' It's not about that. Ballers gonna ball. When you get on the field you're going to ball. That's what we get paid for. That's what everybody expects."
