Trying too hard can be as dangerous as not trying hard enough. That’s the message New York Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich wants to reverberate in his locker room this week.
“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 to make things happen,” Ulbrich said Monday. “It’s coming from the absolute best place on Earth, guys wanting to do the best for their teammates, this fan base, this organization. We have all got to take a deep breath and just do our job, collectively.”
The Jets lost to the Steelers on Sunday night and at 2-5 are third in the AFC East and falling further behind the Buffalo Bills (5-2). They visit last-place New England this week. The Patriots are 1-6 and have been outscored by 76 points in seven games.
But Ulbrich doesn’t want the Jets to focus on the upcoming opponent just yet.
From his perspective, Ulbrich said the desire to deliver has become so strong that the Jets are “getting away from who we are.”
He said some of the implied or imagined pressure players are feeling has to do with expectations.
“It raises the level of expectation when you put an Aaron Rodgers into the fold,” Ulbrich said. “That need and want to sometimes do more than I need to do, that can get in our way sometimes. There’s an element of getting back to the basics. And just doing our job.”
Asked if Rodgers is pressing, Ulbrich said, “I think there’s an element to a good portion of the guys in this locker room. It’s not pressing from a selfish standpoint by any means. More just a byproduct of there’s a strong connection on this team, stronger than most that I’ve ever been around. They just want to do right by each other. I’ve got to do a better job of alleviating them of that pressure they’re putting on themselves.
“I think he’s such an amazing human being and teammate, he feels such a strong obligation to this team and locker room, that can get us all out of whack sometimes, myself included.”
Ulbrich met with Haason Reddick after he reported to the Jets for the first time Monday morning. Ulbrich said Reddick is raring to go but must get through medical protocols, including a routine physical. Ulbrich said the Jets won’t make a decision about Reddick playing this week until he gets on the field and they make a mutual assessment.
