Injuries, fatigue, trauma, and locker room unrest all have worked to depreciate the New York Jets defense led by All-Pro Sauce Gardner.
After building rapport under Jeff Ulbrich as the former defensive coordinator in 2022, Gardner and company were forced to compromise Ulbrich’s leadership due to his transition over to interim head coach just weeks ago.
“I think this team is capable of doing so much.” pic.twitter.com/RwA49rMQQR
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 25, 2024
Countless Jets players suffered injuries on defense this season including defensive end Jermaine Johnson, defensive back D.J Reed, safety Chuck Clark, and linebacker C.J Mosley who missed three of the Jets’ seven games this season.
Gardner hasn’t missed any games this season however, and him and all-pro linebacker Quincy Williams have done everything in their power to maintain Ulbrich’s standard. Thanks to Gardner and others, the Jets still rank No. 2 in the NFL in opponent pass yards allowed per game and rank No. 16 in opponent rush yards per game.
It doesn’t end there. What about the excessive offensive turnovers yielded by quarterback Aaron Rodgers? Those Jets’ turnovers have a trickle-down effect, playing against both the attrition and morale of the team defense. Since Gardner’s youth doesn’t merit him the vocal platform to scorn a teammate of Rodgers’ magnitude, he and others have been forced to suffer in silence internally.
Onto the next one. pic.twitter.com/rL9H0ORV3U
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 23, 2024
Whether Gardner, Ulbrich , or Jets fans admit it or not, Rodgers’ inflated ego has fully consumed the Jets’ locker room. With a offensive third-down conversion rate of 31% over the last three games, Gardner and the defense haven’t really gotten much from their hall of fame quarterback, one they believed would take them to the next level.
Offensive struggles have only perpetuated a undertone of pessimism and if the Jets’ defense doesn’t get a tangible (not vocal) contribution from Rodgers in week 8, their jet lag may continue.
