It took all of one episode of HBO's "Hard Knocks" for the New York Jets to supply the New England Patriots with bulletin board material.
The Jets' "Hard Knocks" debut Tuesday night featured defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich making a passionate speech to his defense during a film session. And in that speech, Ulbrich revealed he isn't much of a fan of the "Do Your Job" philosophy that Bill Belichick emphasizes in New England.
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"It's the mantra of our defense: Make a motherf---er earn every yard," Ulbrich told his team, as transcribed by NESN's Zack Cox. "Do my job -- is that good enough? F--- no. That's the rest of the NFL, isn't it? 'Do your job. Do your job.' F--- that. Do your job, then now what? If we all do our job and a f---ing little bit more, that's 22 (players) playing."
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No NFL coach stresses the "Do Your Job" philosophy more than Belichick -- there are multiple documentaries about the Patriots bearing that mantra as their title -- so this certainly seems like a shot at the longtime Patriots coach.
Belichick would tell you that "Do Your Job" works just fine for his club: It stresses the importance of individual accountability, attention to detail and execution, with each player hyper-focused on carrying out their assignment as consistently as possible for the betterment of the team. While the Patriots are known for their complex playbooks, "Do Your Job" is meant to simplify the task at hand for players and keep them locked in on the field.
Ulbrich apparently believes that slogan isn't inspiring enough, however. The Jets' second-year coordinator, who played 10 NFL seasons as a linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers before beginning his coaching career in 2010, wants his players to go above and beyond just "doing their job" to make a difference on defense.
Perhaps Ulbrich's gung-ho mantra will work for his players, and the Jets certainly have the talent to succeed on defense after allowing the fourth-fewest yards in the NFL last season. But if you're in the Patriots' locker room, you can certainly use Ulbrich's comments as motivation on Sunday, Sept. 24 when the AFC East rivals meet for the first time.
