Last year’s blowout loss looms large
Someone check Jeff Ulbrich’s tongue for bite marks.
The Jets’ defensive coordinator did his best Thursday to avoid providing bulletin material for the game Sunday against the Patriots. He couldn’t, however, totally mask his anger at the way New England handled the fourth quarter of its 54-13 blowout win over the Jets last season.
“I remember the score. I remember a lot of things. I remember it being 40-plus [points scored] and shots still being taken on us,” Ulbrich said. “It is what it is. It’s our job as a coaching staff and a defense to stop that. It comes down to what we can control, and we allowed way too much last year. I’m looking forward to this one.”
It was the most points allowed by the Jets since 1978 and maybe part of the impetus for a near-complete overhaul of the secondary this offseason. None of the current four starters played that day. The injury-plagued Jets were down to their seventh or eighth linebacker by the end of that game, in which they allowed eight plays of at least 25 yards.
“Schematically, we’re not a whole lot different. Some wrinkles here and there that we added or have taken out,” Ulbrich said. “From a personnel standpoint, obviously a lot of guys that are starting for us, especially on the back end, weren’t here last year. But everyone is very aware of what went down last year.”
➤ Michael Carter appreciated that head coach Robert Saleh called him Monday just before the news broke that the Jets had acquired James Robinson from the Jaguars.
It had looked as if Carter would get a chance to be the undisputed lead back after rookie Breece Hall’s season-ending torn ACL. Saleh had just finished saying Carter “has proven he can carry the load” and that if “somebody [was to] go up to Michael Carter and say that he can’t do it” then Carter “is going to look at you sideways” when the trade happened.
Carter isn’t taking it personally that he will have to share carries again.
“James is a good player,” Carter said. “I’m happy we got him, especially the situation we’re in right now where we can go win a lot of games. My main thing is, ‘I can’t figure out why the hell Jacksonville traded him?’”
➤ Bill Belichick confirmed that the Patriots will start quarterback Mac Jones, who was benched on Monday and replaced by rookie Bailey Zappe in a planned rotation. Zappe had started the previous two games in Jones’ injury-related absence.
➤ LB Quincy Williams (ankle) and DL John Franklin-Myers (illness) were upgraded to full practice participants after they were listed as limited and unavailable, respectively, on the Wednesday injury report. WR Corey Davis (knee) did not practice for the second straight day, while LT Duane Brown (shoulder), S Ashtyn Davis (hamstring) and DE Jermaine Johnson (ankle) remain limited.