During the Jets’ Thursday night win over the Texans in Week 9, Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit mentioned on multiple occasions the effort by quarterback Aaron Rodgers to persuade them that the Jets could get hot and make the playoffs.
Today, they were ice cold.
After a 31-6 loss to the Cardinals, interim Jets coach Jeff Ulbrich said of his team, “They were not prepared to play . . . and that falls on my shoulders.”
They had every reason to be prepared. They had three extra days to get ready. And they know their margin for error gets smaller and smaller with each loss.
Meanwhile, it’s easy for Ulbrich to take the blame. What’s owner Woody Johnson going to do, fire him?
Maybe he will. The dysfunction started when Johnson fired Robert Saleh after only five games, when the team was 2-3. They’re now 3-7.
Are the done? No. But they likely need to go 6-1 over the final seven to make it. The question is whether Rodgers can persuade himself or anyone else that it’s possible.
