AFC Notes: Odell Beckham Jr., Jeff Ulbrich, Bills, Dolphins, Jets

Bills

Bills TE Dawson Knox wishes he had a few plays back in Week 5’s loss to the Texans and praised Josh Allen for taking the brunt of the blame. 

“There are plays I wish I had back blocking-wise. There are routes I could have done better. I guarantee you, everybody on this team would say there’s stuff they regret,” Knox said, via John Wawrow of the Associated Press. “That’s what makes him such a great leader. He does take responsibility for the loss. But it’s definitely not just on him.”

Patriots OC Joe Brady said their confidence hasn’t shaken after its 3-2 start to the season.  

“When you lose two games, there’s always going to be a concern, but inside this building, there’s not. Inside this building, we believe in who we have,” Brady said. “The sky hasn’t fallen.”

Allen notably recorded three straight incompletions with just 32 seconds left in Week 5’s loss, which set up Houston’s game-winning field goal. Allen said he has “supreme trust” in HC Sean McDermott and needed to execute better in that situation. 

“I’ve got supreme trust (in McDermott),” Allen said. “And it says a lot of how much trust he has in me down there in that situation, and I’ve got to find a way to convert.”

Dolphins

Dolphins WR Odell Beckham Jr. only appeared in 11 snaps in Miami’s Week 5 win over the Patriots. The veteran receiver admitted he expected more snaps but pointed out they needed the running game to beat New England. 

“Not as many snaps as I thought were going to happen, just kind of the way that practice went,” Beckham said, via Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post. “But it really was a point in the season where we were 1-3, like we needed to do whatever it was to win that game. Just being able to run the ball the way that we did (193 rushing yards), to be able to just stay resilient and find a way to win, that was the only thing that really mattered going into the bye week.”

Beckham Jr. feels like he has “less pressure” than ever at this point in his career. 

“I think I was definitely grateful and blessed to be out there, but for me it felt like less pressure than it ever felt in my entire life,” Beckham said. “Let’s just go play football and have fun, which is a good feeling, you know, instead of feeling super worried about something else or whatever the case may be. I was definitely excited to be able to be back on the football field.”

Beckham understands there are a lot of playmakers in Miami’s offense and is fine with any kind of role. 

“You’ve got guys who can line up anywhere and make plays with so many different options and weapons and all that,” Beckham said. “It’s just finding ways to get people’s touches and get those playmakers in the best position to make plays.”

Jets

Jets’ new interim HC Jeff Ulbrich said he has a good relationship with Aaron Rodgers and praised the veteran quarterback’s presence around the organization. 

“I have a good relationship with Aaron,” Ulbrich said, via Jack Bell of the team’s site. “He is, he’s one of those guys that has … he has just unbelievable experience and he’s seen this game at the highest level for a long time. So he’s a guy with a lot of ideas and really positive feedback about a lot of different things, whether it be meetings, practice, game-planning, scheduling, all of it. So, he will be a vital resource for me in that way, for sure.”

Ulbrich expects Rodgers to be a part of “a lot of conversations” about the direction of the team following Robert Saleh‘s dismissal.

“I think Aaron’s going to be a part of a lot of conversations,” Ulbrich said. “Obviously, [he] has a lot of insight regarding this offensive system and he’s been a part of it when it’s been operating at the highest level, so responsibilities and roles and all that, we’re going to take a hard look at all the process included. Again, this is four hours ago I was told this, so still processing all this information.”

Ulbrich added that he spoke with Rodgers about their need for an “element of change” around the team going forward. 

“I think the biggest thing, and actually, Aaron and I spoke about this earlier today, about there has to be an element of change. The players have to feel that, whether that’s our process, whether that’s scheduling meetings, practice, night before games, whatever that is, there has to be, there has to be a change bigger than just me now assuming the head coaching role. So, we’re going to take a hard look at all that we do and the process in which we get to Monday night and make the changes we think are necessary.”