Getty New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick reacting after an NFL game.
Things got a little spicy on the first episode of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” on Tuesday August 8.
During a meeting, New York Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich was poking fun at a famous New England Patriots mantra from Bill Belichick, “Do Your Job.”
“It is the mantra of our defense, make a motherf***** earn every yard,” Ulbrich said on the first episode of “Hard Knocks.” “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 and now what? If we all do our job and a f****** little bit more, that’s 22 playing. Do you guys feel it? Guys think about this, that’s 22 f****** on the field.”
WOAH: did #Jets DC Jeff Ulbrich just take a shot at #Patriots HC Bill Belichick on #HardKnocks? 👀 ‘Do my job, is that good enough? F*** no, that’s the rest of the #NFL. Do your job, do your job, f*** that‘ + ‘if we all do our job & a f****** little bit more that’s 22 playing’ 🎥…
Rich Cimini of ESPN also noted the Patriots connection in his recap of episode one for “Hard Knocks”:
“Belichick dig? Ulbrich, in the defensive meeting, appears to mock the “Do your job” line made famous by New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. “F— that,” says Ulbrich, imploring his players to do their job and a little bit more.”
Jets Have Some Patriots Demons to Exorcise in 2023
This offseason much of the chatter around the Jets has been about ending the 12-year playoff drought and potentially making a trip to the Super Bowl.
Before we start setting up parade plans, the Jets have some skeletons in their closet they need to address. The biggest of which is the big bad Patriots that have haunted the Gang Green franchise for over 20 years.
New England has won 14 straight contests against their AFC East rivals, if you even want to call them that anymore. That is seven consecutive sweeps in the regular season.
The Patriots have won 22 of the last 24 matchups between these two squads. The Jets haven’t beaten the Patriots without the assistance of overtime since January 16, 2011. That was also the last time New York was in the playoffs.
The first scheduled matchup between these two teams in 2023 is a Week 3 Jets home game at MetLife Stadium. If New York wants to live up to all of its hopes and dreams that starts and ends with exorcising their Patriots demons.
As soon as the Jets get that monkey off of their backs they can focus on the task at hand. Until that feat is complete, Belichick will continue to have a stranglehold over this starved franchise.
Best Moments From Jets on ‘Hard Knocks’ in Episode 1
“Hard Knocks” provided a fly on the wall lens so we could observe the relationship between Aaron Rodgers and Zach Wilson.
The former BYU product appears to be a studious pupil constantly badgering the 19-year NFL veteran with questions. Gang Green traded for Rodgers because he gives the team the best chance to win a title. However, a bonus benefit is Rodgers voluntarily taking Wilson under his wing to show him everything he knows.
That certainly doesn’t guarantee a remarkable football comeback for Wilson in the future, but it can’t hurt.
You love to see it: #HardKnocks has provided a unique lens into the relationship between @AaronRodgers12 & @ZachWilson. Constant teaching, learning, & absorbing from one of the best to ever do it. Amazing. 🎥 @NFLFilms #TakeFlight
It is still hard to believe that the Jets selected both the offensive and defensive rookie of the years respectively in the same draft. That feat has only been accomplished three times in NFL history.
Even more exciting than that is the potential for Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson to get even better in 2023.
There were a few different clips of these two youngsters going at it in practice from “Hard Knocks” but the best one came after a play. Gardner and Wilson were revealing how they tried to attack each other which is making everyone better.
One of my favorite scenes from #HardKnocks is Sauce Gardner (@iamSauceGardner) competing w/ Garrett Wilson (@GarrettWilson_V) & then after the play they spill their trade secrets to make each other better. So freaking cool! More of this please! 🎥 @NFLFilms #TakeFlight #Jets