In two of their past three games, the Jets have gotten rocked defensively.
But coach Robert Saleh, even with his defensive background, said he won’t be taking on a bigger role than usual with that unit this week ahead of another challenging matchup against the Bills.
“No, [defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbirch] and the staff are doing a really nice job,” Saleh said Monday. “Are there things we gotta get better at? Absolutely. Does our youth show up on tape sometimes? Absolutely. Are there things we are improving on? For sure.”
The Colts gashed the Jets for 532 yards in Thursday’s 45-30 loss, including giving up a season-high 260 rushing yards. It came two weeks after they gave up 54 points and 551 total yards in a loss to the Patriots.
Overall, the Jets rank last in the NFL in points (31.4) and yards (408.1) allowed per game. But Saleh pointed to injuries and inexperience on the defense playing a role instead of having a bigger issue at hand.
“The biggest thing is we just got to get things tighter,” Saleh said. “The staff is doing a really nice job. The players are doing a really nice job. We just had two bad games against two pretty good offenses.”
The most alarming issue on Thursday against the Colts was that the Jets allowed 7 yards per carry before contact — the second-best figure by any team with at least 30 rushes since 2009, according to ESPN.
“That’s an eye-opening number,” defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins said. “To a man, in the D-line room, we all feel like individually we’re good enough to be able to create havoc and wreck games. So for us to allow 7 yards before contact, that’s not us.”
Receiver Corey Davis (hip) and running back Tevin Coleman (hamstring) are expected to be back at practice this week, according to Saleh. Davis has missed the last two games while Coleman has missed the last three.
“Really excited for Corey to get back in because I do feel like the offense is starting to hum a little bit in terms of the route running, the protection,” Saleh said.
The Jets are thin at safety and tight end after Thursday’s loss, with Marcus Maye (torn Achilles) lost for the season and Tyler Kroft (chest) headed to injured reserve.
Saleh pointed to practice-squad tight end Kenny Yeboah being able to help behind Trevon Wesco and Ryan Griffin, and also said the Jets had a tight end and safety coming in for workouts.
The Jets released veteran punter Thomas Morstead on Monday with Braden Mann set to return from injured reserve this week. Mann has been out since suffering a knee injury in Week 1. Morstead, 35, provided a steady replacement, averaging 48.2 yards per punt.