Jets defense making some tweaks but won't scrap system

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said it’s been "painful" to watch how his group has been playing, but there’s been no conversations about scrapping the system. The Jets are building a foundation and they don’t want to stray from that.

It’s unheard of to do that during the season anyway, especially since the players have been learning it since OTAs. But Ulbrich acknowledged they have to keep tweaking and making changes because the results have been embarrassing.

The Jets are last in the points allowed per game and yardage. Over the last four games, they’ve given up 1,890 yards of offense and 175 points total.

"The results have been painful," Ulbrich said Thursday. "Believe me, they’ve been painful for me too, for all of us. But we’re working our [expletive] off."

The Jets are running Robert Saleh’s 4-3 system from San Francisco, where he was the defensive coordinator the previous four years. It’s predicated on the front four attacking the quarterback and making his life miserable. That hasn’t happened much this season.

In Week 4, the Jets sacked Ryan Tannehill seven times. They have had seven sacks in the five games since then.

Things might be different if the Jets had edge rusher Carl Lawson, who they expected to dominate and disrupt in their system. They lost him in the preseason to a ruptured Achilles.

Injuries have impacted the Jets’ defense. Safeties Marcus Maye and LaMarcus Joyner also suffered season-ending injuries. The Jets are employing some players who weren’t in OTAs or camp.

But Ulbrich wouldn’t use that or the youth and inexperience of many players as excuses. He’s focused on working with the players the Jets have and getting them to the point where they master the defense.

"It’s a delicate process because we can flip this entire system upside down and try to create something different to help mitigate some of this damage that we’re taking," Ulbrich said. "Or you tweak. That’s what we always do. We tweak within what we’re doing.

"You try not to abandon the foundation that we’re trying to create. When we do get all those pieces in place, if we had abandoned the system to go try and find something to be a band-aid, I think we’re kind of spinning our wheels."

Ulbrich said the Jets haven’t seriously considered flipping it because they believe in the system.

"You’ve got to have the stuff that you can lean on and that you know inside and out," Ulbrich said. "If you start just hocus-pocus, and start to put band-aids on everything we’re getting good at nothing.

"We’re not going to make huge, fundamental changes," Ulbrich added. "And I know that might [tick] some people off because they’re like, ‘Change it, it’s just all [expletive].’ But there are some base fundamentals we’re getting better at. Is that reflected on Sundays? No, not right now."

The Jets have allowed 45 points in back-to-back games to Indianapolis and Buffalo. On Sunday, they face the Dolphins, a bottom-5 offense. But the Run Pass Option (RPO) they use with Tua Tagovailoa presents a challenge. Ulbrich said they spent all of Wednesday’s walk-through defending the RPO.

The players also haven’t lost faith in the system or each other.

The defense meets every Tuesday, and they held a players’ only meeting this week. They didn’t just talk football. Captain C.J. Mosley said they talked about life and anything they wanted to express.

"It’s just a time to get to know your brother, know your teammates and to grow with each other," Mosley said. "I think that was beneficial for us in the long run."

Mosley spoke to the group. He said his message was that they can overcome their issues if the young players learn from their mistakes and don’t repeat them, and the veterans teach and lead the young players the right way.

"I feel like we’re getting to the point where we really understand what we have to do," Mosley said. "It’s a new system for everybody. First year of everybody working together. There’s going to be tough times. You have to look at your film and really get to the details on what makes the defense work. Once we collectively get that figured out, I feel like whoever’s in there will be able to do a great job."