West Atlanta News

Throughout the past three seasons, the New York Jets have consistently ranked among the top defenses in the NFL. Their defensive unit was unique in maintaining a position within the top five for total yards allowed each year, even securing the No. 1 overall rank from 2022 to 2024.

Additionally, according to TruMedia, New York led the league in defensive EPA, held the second-best defensive success rate, and was tied for ninth in points allowed since 2022.

In 2025, Jeff Ulbrich, who guided these successful defenses with the Jets, has taken on the role of defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons. However, Ulbrich is not solely focused on replicating statistical success with his new team.

"Well, see, I get very twisted up sometimes with statistics because I really believe when you chase stats, you're not chasing winning sometimes," Ulbrich explained to AtlantaFalcons.com. "I know that sounds funny, and it sounds weird, but there's some truth in it. I think at the end of the day you got to find a way to win every single game."

Despite their strong defense under Ulbrich's guidance, the Jets' best record was only 7-10 during his tenure. This performance underscores why Ulbrich hesitates to focus solely on transferring statistical achievements from one team to another.

Ulbrich referred to an earlier press conference by Falcons head coach Raheem Morris as an example of this mindset. When Morris became defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams in 2021 after they had topped defensive rankings in 2020, he emphasized winning over merely repeating past successes.

"Ultimately nobody's really going to be happy with being the No. 1 defense," Morris stated. "We are here to win a championship. I wasn't brought here to try to duplicate what they did last year. We were brought here to win and we were brought here to win a championship."

The Rams' journey highlighted this philosophy: despite losing in their divisional round when they had a top-ranked defense in 2020, they secured a Super Bowl victory in 2021 with a defense ranked seventeenth.

Ulbrich resonated with Morris' perspective: "I think there's so much power in that," he noted. "I thought it was such a poignant statement because we do live in a day and age where everybody knows the stats and analytics and all stuff with numbers. But we can't lose focus that winning is the No. 1 thing we have to accomplish here."