Jets' Jeff Ulbrich wants Sauce Gardner to improve his tackling

The scene from the locker room on Sunday — when Sauce Gardner, upset and somber, left to survey the latest areas that went wrong in a Jets loss — has faded in the eyes of Jeff Ulbrich.

The reaction during training this week was exactly what he wanted.

There was concentration. The right attitude. All of it.

What remained, however, was a challenge for Gardner from his interim coach and only NFL defensive coordinator he ever had: His tackling and physicality need improvement.

Because in eight games, Gardner has amassed the worst tackling rating and highest missed tackle percentage of his career, according to Pro Football Focus.

The 23.3 missed tackles mark represents the eighth-worst number among cornerbacks who logged at least 50 percent of 565 snaps.

Ulbrich felt there were flashes of improvement in the Patriots' game, but that doesn't change the need for Gardner to gain offensive power ahead of Thursday night's game against the Texans.

“Honestly, and we’ve had this conversation, it has to get better,” Ulbrich said Tuesday after practice. “And he knows that. I really felt like there was an improvement in the last game. If you really look critically at the last game in terms of his tackling, I felt like the intent to be physical was better than ever.”

After Sunday's game, from his seat in the visiting locker room at Gillette Stadium, Gardner was still hanging on to a late play that perhaps sealed the Jets' fate, as Jacoby Brissett drove the Patriots down the field and ultimately gave them the winning touchdown.

As New England faced a third-and-10 from the Jets' 43-yard line, wideout Kayshon Boutte faked the outside line, forcing Gardner to move toward the sideline before scoring midway through the play retreated to the left.

This 1-on-1 separation gave him enough room for a 34-yard connection.

Four snaps later, the Patriots were in the end zone.

Gardner's PFF grade has dropped from 87.9 and 88.6 in his first two seasons to 65.6 entering Week 9, and while he's still only allowed 14 balls on 29 targets, that reflects a decline from that Reflects the standard that Gardner set early in his NFL career.

It started with the Defensive Rookie of the Year award when the decision to take him No. 4 overall seemed like the right decision.

This meant that opponents were hardly able to harm him in his second season, which lasted largely into his third year.

And it has positioned Gardner for a massive extension considering what other top cornerbacks received after the 2024 season.

According to veteran defensive back Jalen Mills, what has developed can be more closely compared to that of Lakers star LeBron James.

During James's first few years in the league with the Cavaliers, the standard continued to rise, and as he grew older, the performance and consistency continued, even if the hype didn't necessarily follow suit.

“He averaged 30 points and people were like, 'Ah yeah, that's whatever,'” Mills told The Post. “But the guy is 40. You know what I mean? You’re no longer impressed by it, but he actually does impressive things.”

Despite the challenge from Ulbrich and despite the statistical decline in stats, Gardner remains an important part of the Jets secondary.

He is only 24 years old, far from any legitimate concerns that age is overshadowing him, as was the case with James.

He played in every game this year while DJ Reed, Michael Carter II and other defensive backs were sidelined by injuries.

Gardner will continue to compete against some of the league's best wideouts, and his 2024 roster already includes showdowns with the 49ers' Brandon Aiyuk and the Vikings' Justin Jefferson.

So the Jets aren't worried.

He was “ready to come clean,” Mills said.

He faces another difficult task on Thursday, even though the Texans are missing two of their top wideouts in Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins. Now he also has to deal with a physical challenge and a tackle challenge from Ulbrich.

“He set the bar so high as a first- and second-year rookie that, you know, everyone expects nothing to happen there, no one to catch the ball,” Mills said. “But at the end of the day, this is the NFL. Teams plan and it will happen. Next to quarterback, we play the toughest position in the league. We do everything backwards.

“Just keep going, he’s learning, he’s coming out, working hard. He’ll be good.”