A day after the Jets' 34-20 loss to the Raiders, members of the Green & White defense were left with a nasty taste in their mouths.
During a conference call on Monday, LB David Harris was forthright with Jets beatwriters concerning the lackluster performance on defense Sunday.
"Pretty much they did anything they wanted to do against us," said Harris. "Oakland came out yesterday and outplayed us in every aspect."
Coming into the game, the Jets were ranked first against the run in the NFL. However, RB Latavius Murray was able to gain 113 yards on 20 carries against this top-ranked unit.
But it would be two crucial plays by the Raiders offense that displayed an array of missed tackles from the Jets defense.
Midway through the second quarter, WR Michael Crabtree ran through three tackles on a Derek Carr 36- yard touchdown pass. Then early in the third quarter, RB Taiwan Jones blew through three more tackles in turning a short Carr pass into a 59-yard touchdown.
"We watched the film and it was disgusting to look at," said Harris. "Everybody in that room had the same feeling.
"We just did a poor job of tackling. The effort was poor all the way across the board. We had way too many guys not hustling on every play and it hurt us."
For a Jets defense that has had a knack for creating turnovers — a total of 15 through the first five games — the Green & White have come up short in the turnover margin the last two games.
"We haven't had our hands on too many balls," said Harris. "We have to do a better job of playing tight coverage."
With the Jets defense allowing a combine 64 points in two consecutive losses, the Green & White are eager to get back to work.
"We didn't play well this last game," said Harris. "It's unfortunate we lost two in a row but it's a lot of season left and it's not the end of the rainbow here. There is still time and we are going to get everything corrected."
Confident that Sunday's mistakes will be rectified, the ninth-year man in the middle knows his teammates want more than anything to redeem themselves.
"It alarms everybody," said Harris. "We know that we're not that defense. You can believe that we'll get it corrected this week in practice and I think everybody will come out with a new focus this week.
"I know what type of guys we have on this defense in the locker room," he concluded. "We take pride in being a good defense here in New York. I know these guys well. I've been around them. And I know it won't happen again."
