Jets Take 'Hard Knocks' Jab at Patriots?

Some have viewed a firey rant from New York Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich in the "Hard Knocks" season premiere as a not-so-respectful tribute to the New England Patriots' famous three-word mantra.

Imitation is the finest form of flattery ... or irritability.

The New York Jets made their highly-anticipated debut on "Hard Knocks" this week as one of the most intriguing seasons in the downtrodden franchise's history looms this fall. A good amount of attention and screentime obviously centers around incoming quarterback Aaron Rodgers but other New Yorkers are already making their case to become HBO's newest stars, following previous Jets reps like Antonio Cromartie and Rex Ryan from a prior visit in 2010.

Among that new group is defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, set to enter his third season at the helm. During a montage of meetings, perhaps a staple of the long-running docuseries, Ulbrich takes full advantage of his premium cable settings with a profanity-laced diatribe that informs his disciples that going the extra mile will be the bare minimum.

"It's the mantra of our defense: Make a motherf***er earn every yard," Ulbrich told his team. “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."

The ears of any New England Patriots fan that dared to take in Tuesday's proceedings likely perked up, as the three-word pairing that Ulbrich recites in derogatory fashion has been a vocal mainstay among both New England fans and personnel. Former linebacker Willie McGinest disclosed to Boston.com that the slogan originated with the Kraft family in the early days of their ownership but it has mostly been linked to head coach Bill Belichick, who has used the power of the words to six Super Bowl titles in Foxborough. The phrase later appeared as the title of a book by Jackson Carter, documenting the philosophies that Belichick used to build "the best dynasty in the NFL."

When Rodgers finally takes the field alongside elite young talents like Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson, each of whom fully justified their rookie hype and then some, one of the first things on the New York checklist will be to end the Patriots' monopoly in the long-standing AFC East rival, having dropped 14 consecutive meetings to the Flying Elvises. So mocking any part of the New England culture that they reasonably can wouldn't be fully out of the question.

Though relatively new to the metropolitan settings and holding no prior connections to the Patriots franchise, Ulbrich also has his reasons for taking things personally: going into last year's meetings, Ulbrich was quick to recall his first rodeos in the long-standing divisional tradition, one of which included a 54-13 shellacking at Gillette Stadium. The metropolitan defensive boss made it clear he hadn't forgotten his maiden voyage to Patriot Place, one that saw the hosts score their final 20 points in the final frame when the outcome was hardly in doubt.

"I remember it being 40-plus and shots still being taken on us," Ulbrich said before the team's first 2022 last October. "It's our job as a defense to stop that. I've been looking forward to this one."

The Jets kept things closer last time around but nonetheless saw their futility continue, falling 22-17 at home before dropping the matchup in Foxborough 10-3 thanks to an 84-yard punt return score for Marcus Jones with mere seconds left in regulation. On the upcoming slate, the Patriots travel to MetLife Stadium on Sept. 24 before hosting the regular season finale for each side come January. 

New episodes of "Hard Knocks" air on Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. ET on HBO and are available to stream on Max. 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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