Throughout the regular season, NewYorkJets.com reporters Eric Allen, Ethan Greenberg, Randy Lange, Caroline Hendershot and John Pullano will give their responses to a series of questions regarding this year's Jets.
Today's question: What do you expect from the Jets in their first game under interim HC Jeff Ulbrich?
EA: It's status quo on defense. Jeff Ulbrich remains the coordinator and expect his unit to continue to play at an elite level. While Josh Allen remains a unicorn, the Bills' offense has scuffled the past two weeks, playmakers James Cook (toe) and Khali Shakir (ankle) are banged up and might not play, and the Bills lack a big-time threat at receiver as they adjust to life without Stefon Diggs. But on offense, Ulbrich changed play-callers this week, promoting Todd Downing. The Bills have been gashed for some big plays on the ground and they rank No. 32 in yards yielded/rush (5.22). Conversely, the Jets need to wake up a dormant rush attack and there is too much talent here to be kept down for long. When Downing was the OC in Tennessee (2021-22), Ulbrich said the Titans were "tough" and "ruthless" and they "finished" and ran the ball and "played on their terms.". That's a style that appealed to Ulbrich and I believe the Jets are going to show a commitment to the run Monday.
EG: I expect the Jets to play a more complete game than they have the last two weeks, not because of the coaching change but because you can sense the players want to maximize the potential of the roster. The Jets have a good team that hasn't found its footing yet. For reference, the 2012 Broncos, Peyton Manning's first year with Denver, started the season 2-3 and finished 13-3. The 2020 Buccaneers, Tom Brady's first year with Tampa Bay, started 3-2 and finished 11-5. I'm not saying the Jets will turn their season around as dramatically as either of those teams, but they absolutely have the talent to win the division. I expect the defense to execute at the same level Green & White fans are accustomed to. The offense, however, will look different with Todd Downing as the team's new play-caller. Expect Downing to instill a similar style of offense to when he was the Titans OC in 2021-22, which appealed to Ulbrich. Look for the Jets to try and mitigate their rushing woes against the Bills Monday night.
RL: On offense, it's easy to expect an emphasis on an improved running game. Breece Hall is a better bellcow back than his 3.0 yards/carry would indicate. Couple that with Buffalo's 32nd ranking with 5.22 yards/rush allowed and I can see a much more balanced and productive offense than last week's 14 carries and 57 Aaron Rodgers dropbacks vs. the Vikings. Defensively, this is a risky proposition considering the Jets have only 2 interceptions all season, both by Brandin Echols, while the Bills have thrown no interceptions and have only 2 giveaways. But we know Josh Allen a wee bit and so do the Jets defenders under Jeff Ulbrich's coordination. Since 2018, Allen's rookie season, he leads all NFL QBs in a lot of things, but for the purposes here he's No. 1 in most INTs thrown (78), most fumbles (62) and most giveaways (104). And the Jets have sacked Allen 25 times, more than any other Buffalo opponent. So I may not expect it but I'd like to see Allen turn the ball over one or more times, with one of them a pick for Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed and the Jets' theft-thirsty secondary.
CH: I expect the Jets to rally behind Jeff Ulbrich against the Bills on Monday night. While Ulbrich will still be calling plays for the defense, the offense will look a bit different with Todd Downing now in charge of offensive game planning and play calling. More than that, I expect the players' attitude and approach to have a higher sense of urgency considering LB C.J. Mosley said the coaching change was a wakeup call and an eye-opener for a lot of players in the locker room. The team had a player-led meeting Tuesday and Mosley said the main message was taking accountability. "We all have to be accountable every single day that we come to the building, every single day that we wake up and every decision that's made within our organization, especially with our team," Mosley said. With first place in the AFC East at stake on Monday night, I expect the Jets to play one of their best games of the season in all three phases.
JP: In fear of quoting interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich word for word from his Thursday press conference, I expect the Jets to "start fast" and play "aggressive" and "assertive." Dating to the start of last season, the Jets have averaged 2.8 points per game in the first quarter, the sixth-fewest in the NFL. After making QBs coach and passing game coordinator Todd Downing the offensive play-caller, I expect the Jets' offense to be infused with new energy and it to result in better effort early against Buffalo on Monday night. More specifically, with the return of RT Morgan Moses from a knee injury, I expect the offense to establish the running game early. When Moses was on the field the first three games, the Jets averaged 4.2 yard per carry and found the endzone three times rushing. Since Moses' injury at the end of third quarter of Week 3, the Jets have averaged 2.6 yards and have been unable to find the endzone on the ground. In addition, when Downing was the offensive coordinator for the Titans in 2021, Tennessee finished 12-5 (the No. 1 seed in the AFC), No. 1 in rush attempts, No. 5 in rushing yards (141.1 per game) and No. 3 in rushing scores (23). I expect Ulbrich's squad to come out motivated and play old-fashioned ground-and-pound football.
