Sauce Gardner has heard the criticism of his tackling this season, which included some from Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich, who said before the win against Houston that the cornerback’s tackling “needs to be better.”
On Thursday, Gardner was asked about how his season has gone with the Jets just past the halfway mark.
“I felt I’ve had a pretty decent year,” he said. “Obviously, the defense is a little different. Teams try to attack us differently, like running the ball to my side. I’ve got a few missed tackles, but it happens.”
Overall, though, there’s no denying Gardner’s performance has fallen off in his third year after Pro Bowl appearances in each of his first two years.
But Gardner defended his play.
“I feel like what people don’t understand is I’ve had more tackle attempts than in my past years,’’ Gardner said. “I feel like I’m doing pretty well in coverage. I’m always trying to get better at everything. That’s me.”
Last week, Ulbrich said he noticed some improvement in Gardner’s tackling and he made five tackles against Houston, tying a season high.
His job won’t get easier Sunday, when the Jets have to face Kyler Murray of the Cardinals.
Defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton said Thursday that while Haason Reddick hasn’t put up many numbers since finally arriving to the Jets after a lengthy holdout, his impact has been felt.
Whitecotton said Reddick has been “great” since stepping on the field.
“Everybody was probably hoping he’d come in here and get 10 sacks in two games,’’ Whitecotton said. “That’s not realistic.”
Whitecotton added he’s been impressed at how Reddick hasn’t just been a pass rusher, but he’s also focused his attention on stopping the run.
“He is a complete player,” Whitecotton said. “And he continues to work at being a better complete player and learning our system and our scheme every day.”
Of the run defense as a whole, which has allowed more rushing touchdowns (11) than all but four teams this season, Whitecotton said it hasn’t been bad overall, but they’ve made mistakes “at inopportune times” that have been costly.
“In those critical moments, you can’t have that and that’s on all 11,” Whitecotton said.
Malachi Corley, who had a touchdown run overturned when he dropped the ball before he reached the goal line, will be used in injured Allen Lazard’s role this week, according to wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson.
Jefferson is confident Corley is up to the task, even after the costly mental error.
“This week in practice, he’s been on the details,’’ Jefferson said. “I’m excited to see him play Sunday.”
Passing game coordinator Todd Downing, who is calling plays, said he was disappointed in how the offense reacted initially to Corley’s miscue that opened the second quarter.
“I’d like to see us respond offensively a little bit better,’’ Downing said. “It seemed to zap our energy a bit. It felt like we were out there celebrating, we had guys all over the place celebrating together, and then when it got called back or when it got turned over, we kind of lost that juice.’’
The unit eventually recovered and scored all 21 of its points in the second half.
