Tag: Jeff Ulbrich

Robert Saleh won’t get more involved with Jets’ disastrous defense

Robert Saleh has a defensive background, but he won’t take a larger role in the Jets’ defense after some disastrous performances.

The Jets defense has struggled mightily this season.

New York ranks 32nd in points and yards allowed and is on pace to set the franchise record for points allowed. The Jets have given up more than 500 offensive yards twice this season and more than 30 points in three consecutive games.

But Robert Saleh, who coached some of the NFL’s best defenses over four years with the 49ers, isn’t looking to disrupt defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich and his staff. Despite his own defensive background, Saleh won’t take on a bigger role running the Gang Green’s defense.

“I think [Ulbrich] and the staff is doing a really nice job,” Saleh said Monday. “Are there things we need to get better at? Absolutely. Does our youth show up on tape? Absolutely. Are there things we are improving on? For sure.”

There are plenty of reasons for the Jets’ defensive woes, and not all of them are on Ulbrich. Saleh touched on some, specifically New York’s youth and ever-changing personnel due to injuries.

“There’s a lot of different things that go into play other than just scheme and players and all that stuff,” Saleh said. “There’s a lot of guys fighting play-in and play-out. The biggest thing is, we just got to get things tighter.”

The most worrisome stat from the Jets’ Week 9 loss to the Colts came on the ground, where New York gave up 260 rushing yards and 7.0 yards per rush before contact. Saleh pointed out that stat specifically as an area to correct, but also an area for the Jets young defense to learn.

“That’s not just on players, that’s on us, too. And those are things we have to fix,” he said. “But at the same time, players need to understand how that space was being created so we can close it faster.”

At the end of the day, this is still a young roster with a lot of first-time coaches. It’s a major reason why Saleh won’t interject himself into the defense. The Jets wanted a CEO-type of coach who wouldn’t muddle his daily operations.

Saleh is doing just that by deferring to the staff he brought in.

“The staff is doing a really nice job. The players are doing a really nice job,” Saleh concluded. “We just had two bad games against two pretty good offenses.”

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7 reasons why the Jets defense is playing so poorly

The Jets’ defensive issues are plentiful, from inexperience to injuries to lack of a pass rush. Let’s break down why the unit has played far below expectations:

The Jets defense entered the 2021 season with promise with Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich at the helm, but the unit hasn’t lived up to expectations.

Most recently, New York’s defense decided to skip Thursday’s 45-30 loss to the Colts, or so it seemed. It was the second time in three games that a team embarrassed the Jets defense, and it’s not like the unit has been much better in most of New York’s other outings.

There are a lot of reasons for the defensive struggles, but the Jets have been beaten all over the field. Teams have crushed them through the air and on the ground, and the defense is on pace to allow the most points in franchise history.

Here, we’ll dive into why the defense has played so poorly during the Jets’ 2-6 start.

Entire defense, Elijah Moore among Jets’ Studs & Duds in Week 9 loss to Colts

New York’s defense never showed for the Jets’ loss to the Colts. Jeff Ulbrich’s entire unit headlines our list of Studs & Duds.

Week 9 proved to be a major letdown for Gang Green.

Not only was the Jets’ 45-30 loss to the Colts a devastating blow to the team’s morale, but the defense played just as badly as it did against the Patriots and the offense lost Mike White early in the contest.

There were some solid performances, though. Elijah Moore continued his recent surge, Josh Johnson played admirably in place of White, and the Jets only lost by 15 points — though the score wasn’t indicative of how badly New York played.

Here, we’ll take a look at the studs and duds from the Jets’ loss to the Colts.

The pros and cons of trading S Marcus Maye

The Jets could trade Marcus Maye. But that doesn’t mean they should. Here are the pros and cons of dealing the safety:

Marcus Maye is the hottest name on the list of potential players the Jets could trade this week.

The safety is playing on his franchise tag after failing to come to a long-term extension with the team and has been the subject to plenty of trade rumors over the past few weeks. Though Maye said he wants to stay with the Jets long-term, there have been reports he would “welcome” a trade and the Jets are looking for at least a third-round pick for him.

Trades don’t exist in a vacuum, though. While trading Maye could help the team in the long run, there are short-term consequences to consider.

Here are the biggest pros and cons for trading the safety.

4 things to know about new Jets LB LaRoy Reynolds

Get to know new Jets linebacker LaRoy Reynolds.

With linebacker depth an issue for the Jets after a number of injuries, the team signed journeyman LaRoy Reynolds to the practice squad this week.

Reynolds, who turns 31 on Nov. 3, was a 2013 undrafted free agent out of Virginia. He’s seen action in 117 games over eight seasons, playing mostly on special teams. The 6-foot-1, 240-pound linebacker has 117 combined tackles, three quarterback hits, three tackles for a loss and one forced fumbled to his name.

He spent two months with the Patriots this past offseason but was released with an injury settlement in May. Reynolds has also spent time with the Jaguars, Bears, Falcons, Bengals, Eagles and 49ers.

Here are four things to know about the Jets’ newest linebacker.

Subtle changes weren’t nearly enough for Jets

It’s going to take a whole lot more than a few small changes for Robert Saleh to get the Jets back on track.

Robert Saleh went back to the drawing board during the Jets’ bye week. New York’s rookie head coach dug deep to diagnose the root of his team’s first-half struggles and altered small parts of his weekly plan to try and reinvigorate the group coming out of its bye week.

Whatever changes Saleh made need to be thrown away and buried somewhere they can never be found again.

New England rolled over the Jets on Sunday afternoon in the most embarrassing fashion possible. The Patriots’ mediocre offense hung 31 points and 300 yards on New York in the first half and did not let up over the final 30 minutes of play, finishing with 54 points — their highest total since scoring 51 against the Jaguars in 2015.

“Every once in a while, you get your [expletive] teeth kicked in,” Saleh said postgame.

The Jets seem to get their teeth kicked in more than any other team in football. They have been defeated by an average of 19.2 points per game so far this season and have lost by double digits 12 times in their last 22 games.

Those statistics don’t indicate all the Jets need is a few subtle changes to get back to winning consistently.

To be fair to Saleh, he did not inherit a sleeping giant. The Jets have been lacking the necessary talent in all three phases of the game to win for years now and that wasn’t going to change overnight. There was only so much Saleh could have done this season.

But 2021 was supposed to be about progress and almost none has been exhibited. Zach Wilson has been inconsistent at best and he might be in line to miss time after injuring his knee against the Patriots. Mike LaFleur’s offense has yet to score a single point in the first quarter and has scored just 20 points in the first half. Jeff Ulbrich’s defense has been rock solid at times, but has yet to register an interception and has played as soft as Charmin on multiple occasions.

It’s tough to do in the middle of a season, but Saleh needs to take a step back and reevaluate his big-picture plan. Does his vision for the Jets’ offense align with the way LaFleur calls a game? How can he and Ulbrich figure out a way to maximize the limited talent they have to work with on defense?

All of these questions are key to the way New York’s season goes from here on out.

Saleh is taking accountability for the Jets’ struggles. That’s a step in the right direction after Adam Gase spent the last two years placing the blame on everyone but himself. Saleh’s bar should be much higher than simply being better than his predecessor, though. His ability to make real adjustments, not minimal ones, will determine New York’s immediate and distant future.

Let’s hope he’s worlds better in that regard. Otherwise, it’ll be more of the same at One Jets Drive.

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Tevin Coleman’s kick return cameo was years in the making

Jeff Ulbrich used to pester Tevin Coleman about returning kicks. Robert Saleh joined the bandwagon recently. Finally, the Jets RB caved.

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When Jeff Ulbrich and Tevin Coleman were together in Atlanta, the coach would constantly pester the running back.

“Why aren’t you returning kicks?” Ulbrich would ask. “You’d be a Pro Bowl kick returner.”

Coleman shrugged the idea off, though. He never filled that special teams role during his four seasons with the Falcons. He moved on to the 49ers; the idea never occurred to them during Coleman’s two seasons by The Bay.

But when Coleman joined the Jets this past offseason, he was reunited with Ulbrich and Robert Saleh, who was with him in San Francisco. Ulbrich began pushing his theory on Saleh and special teams coach Brant Boyer. Once again, the idea was presented to Coleman.

Finally, he caved.

“I said, ‘Teco, why don’t you just go back there, man?'” Saleh said Friday, recounting the years-long effort to convince Coleman. “He went back there during practice, fielded a couple kicks, looked natural.”

Coleman continued to look comfortable in the Jets’ Week 5 loss to the Falcons. With New York playing in London, the 28-year-old returned the first two kicks of his seven-year NFL career. He totaled 92 return yards with a long of 65.

It was his first time returning kicks since his sophomore year of college at Indiana. That was in 2013.

“Credit to Teco,” Saleh said. “It shows that no matter how late you are in your career, it’s never too late to put another tool in your toolbox.”

Coleman’s main responsibility is to rush out of New York’s backfield, though the veteran has not received a ton of carries while the Jets focus on younger backs like Michael Carter and Ty Johnson. Coleman has only rushed 21 times for 73 yards over four games this season.

Returning kicks will give him more opportunities to contribute. Braxton Berrios has been the team’s go-to return man, and Johnson has fielded a few kicks as well. But Saleh said “the more the merrier” when asked if Coleman will remain part of new York’s kick return contingent moving forward.

Coleman (hamstring) was a late addition to New York’s injury report on Friday and is questionable for Week 7 against the Patriots, but he should expect more return chances whenever he gets back on the field.

“Those opportunities to stack those up will definitely keep coming,” Saleh said.

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Jets trust Jamien Sherwood to fill MIKE role with C.J. Mosley doubtful vs. Patriots

The Jets have confidence that Jamien Sherwood can get the job done at the MIKE if C.J. Mosley can’t play on Sunday.

It looks like Jamien Sherwood is going to have a lot on his plate against the Patriots on Sunday afternoon.

C.J. Mosley is doubtful against New England due to a hamstring injury suffered at the end of the Jets’ Week 5 loss to the Falcons. Assuming Mosley does not play, Sherwood will shift to the MIKE linebacker role and handle all of Mosley’s play-calling duties from the middle of Jeff Ulbrich’s defense.

Sherwood is inexperienced — Robert Saleh conceded as much earlier this week — but New York still trusts him to get the job done if Mosley cannot play. The rookie garnered praise from Ulbrich for his high football I.Q. during the summer. That intelligence and Sherwood’s natural playmaking ability has Gang Green’s defensive coordinator comfortable seeing what Sherwood can accomplish in a key role.

“Jamien, he’s an unusual rookie because, you know, rookies, they’re so known for not necessarily having the awareness, the ability to communicate, all those things, whereas Jamien is not that at all,” Ulbrich said Thursday. “He carries himself like a vet. He communicates like a vet. Although he doesn’t have the experience that a C.J. has, he’s a guy that we have a lot of trust in. So, if C.J. can’t go, Jamien will be our guy.”

Sherwood battled an ankle injury at the beginning of the season but has slowly started to take on a more prominent role in the Jets’ defense — especially since Hamsah Nasirildeen landed on injured reserve. The Auburn product played nearly half of New York’s defensive snaps in London and took advantage of the uptick in playing time to make his fair share of plays.

Could starting at the MIKE take Sherwood’s production up another notch? It won’t be easy for him to go up a Patriots offense that is led by Josh McDaniels, who is notorious for exposing young defenders, but the Jets are hopeful the 21-year-old can slot in for Mosley if needed.

“He studies his butt off,” Saleh said of Sherwood before praising the fifth-round pick’s tackling skills. “He belongs.”

At the very least, the Jets trust Sherwood. That speaks volumes about where he is at so early in his career.

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Why Jets DC Jeff Ulbrich thinks interceptions are coming

The Jets have yet to pick off a pass this season. Jeff Ulbrich has a feeling that is going to change sooner than later.

Jeff Ulbrich’s defense has been lacking in the turnover department so far this season.

The Jets have a -5 turnover ratio through their first five games. New York has forced four fumbles and has recovered three of them, but it has yet to come down with an interception — a maddening fact for Ulbrich.

Despite his frustration, Ulbrich has maintained the belief that it is only a matter of time before the Jets start picking off passes. Scheme comfort usually plays a role in a defense’s ability to generate turnovers and New York is still getting used to Ulbrich’s 4-3 system.

With five games plus the bye week in the books, Ulbrich is hopeful that his unit is on the verge of turning the corner with plenty of reps now under their belt.

“It’s for sure frustrating because I feel as though we really went back and tore the tape apart and we averaged about four opportunities per game where we should have picked that ball off and we should have finished and should’ve got it done,” Ulbrich said Thursday. “I think as we get more familiar with this defense, it just goes from doing my job to actually applying the information I learned during the week regarding my opponent.

“There comes that level of anticipation and really understanding where to take my shots and the spots within the game to make those plays. I think that will start to come. I’m not saying this as an excuse in any way, but we’re younger and the system is new. So, as these guys get more time on task for them and more experience, I think we’ll see a natural uptick in that.”

Mac Jones has thrown six interceptions in his first six games, making the Jets’ Week 7 trip to New England a prime opportunity for Ulbrich’s unit to break into the interception column. Pats OC Josh McDaniels usually calls a simplified game to keep things easy on his rookie quarterback, but if New York puts itself in the right position to anticipate plays, Sunday might be the day Gang Green’s secondary celebrates a pick.

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4 cornerbacks the Jets could trade for before the deadline

If the Jets are truly monitoring the cornerback market, these four players are likely the team’s best options.

The Jets haven’t been buyers at the trade deadline recently, and they don’t look like they should be this year. But one particular position could entice Joe Douglas.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported last week that the Jets have “actively monitored” the cornerback market over the past few months. Whether this was classic “due diligence,” which Douglas has been known to do, or serious interest remains to be seen, but it’s telling that this news came out after the Jets were lit up by Matt Ryan in London in Week 5.

Thirteen cornerbacks have already been traded this season – two of which went to the Panthers. Carolina traded for C.J. Henderson and Stephon Gilmore to shore up their secondary for a playoff push. The Jets aren’t in the same position as the Panthers, but nevertheless, appear could bolster their young secondary.

If the Jets really are checking out the cornerback market, here are four players they could target before the Nov. 2 deadline.