Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich played 10 seasons at linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers partly because of his grit and willingness to give his all … always.
His approach now to leading his team is not different, even after his second loss in charge and even after the Jets’ fourth-straight defeat, this one Sunday night at Pittsburgh. After the game, despite a pair of interceptions thrown by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Ulbrich said he thought his veteran quarterback “played well enough to win.”
On Monday afternoon Ulbrich, in response to a reporter’s question if he still felt that way, was unequivocal.
“I think there’s an element right now because of the high character of our locker room and this team, that there’s a bit of pressing, a little bit to make things happen,” Ulbrich said. “It’s coming from the absolute best place on earth, guys wanting to do the best and provide the best for their teammates in this organization, this fan base, and we have all got to take a deep breath and just do our job and collectively. And that’s not that I’m referring to Aaron, but everybody on this team, including coaches.”
Whether there was a “bit of pressing” or not, the notion that Rodgers’ mere presence alone would bring success is misguided, according to D-lineman Solomon Thomas.
“It’s not basketball, it’s not another one of these games, where one player can take over and wins the game,” Thomas said. “Everyone has to execute. So we have Aaron Rodgers, just because we have Tryon Smith, Davante Adams, is not when we’re going to show up and win these games. Everyone has to execute, and that has to be the standard, and that has to be the way we go forward if we’re going to go where we want to go. And that’s just point blank, point blank simple how it has to be.”
The second interception, after the ball bounced off Garrett Wilson‘s chest to Bishop who returned it to the Jets’ 1-yard line, was certainly a negative in the second half. But for Ulbrich, the way newly acquired WR Davante Adams responded was an example of the grit and determination needed for 60 minutes every time out.
“I think one of the favorite snaps of this game, though, was the interception that was thrown,” Ulbrich said. “And at the time of the interception, he [Adams] was the farthest human being from that ball, and he ultimately is the one that tackled him at the 1-yard line. So what an amazing demonstration of how connected he already is to this locker room and what he’s willing to do.”
In his first game in green and white, Adams played 95% of the snaps on offense and had 3 catches for 30 yards, all in the first half.