Jets Jeff Ulbrich wants Sauce Gardner to improve his tackling

The scene from the locker room Sunday — with an upset and somber Sauce Gardner left to assess the latest areas that went awry in a Jets loss — has faded, in the eyes of Jeff Ulbrich.The response during practice this week was what he’d want.

There was focus.The right attitude.

All of it.But what remained was a challenge for Gardner from his interim head coach and the only NFL defensive coordinator he’s ever had: His tackling and physicality need to improve.Because through eight games, Gardner has collected the worst tackling grade and the highest missed tackling percentage of his career, according to Pro Football Focus.

The 23.3 missed tackle clip marks the eight-worst number among cornerbacks who’ve logged at least 50 percent of 565 snaps.Ulbrich thought the Patriots game showed flashes of improvement, but that doesn’t change the need for Gardner’s tackling growth entering the Thursday night game against the Texans.“In all honesty, and we’ve had this conversation, it needs to be better,” Ulbrich said Tuesday after practice.

“And he knows that.I really felt like there was an improvement this past game.

If you really watch this last game with a critical eye as far as his tackling is concerned, I felt like the intent to be physical was better than it’s been.”In the aftermath of Sunday’s game, Gardner, from his spot in the visiting locker room at Gillette Stadium, was still stuck on a late play that perhaps sealed the Jets’ fate as Jacoby Brissett drove the Patriots down the field for their eventual game-winning touchdown.With New England facing a third-and-10 from the Jets 43-yard line, wideout Kayshon Boutte faked outside — forcing movement toward the sideline from Gardner — before cutting back left into the middle of the play.

That separation in the 1-on-1 matchup left him open enough for a 34-yard connection.Four snaps later, the Patriots were in the end zone.Gardner’s PFF grade has plummeted from 87.9 and 88.6 his first tw...