Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich is trying to tackle the team’s biggest defensive problem: tackling.

Ulbrich saw his team miss 20 tackles in 31-6 loss Sunday against the Cardinals.

He’s trying to fix things with some training changes this week.

The team wore pads during their positional drills at Wednesday’s practice and will wear pads throughout Thursday’s practice.

Teams have a limited number of practices during the season in which they are allowed to wear full pads, per the collective bargaining agreement.

“If there’s 15 minutes (of positional drills), that’s going to be 14 ½ minutes of tackling,” Ulbrich said. “We are going to get back to the fundamentals and the basics. I did a tackling walkthrough for the team today, not just the defense, so everyone knows exactly what we do, how we attack it, how we’re going to fix it.

Ulbrich said that while it can be difficult to teach tackling without actually tackling, they can go over technique with players and fundamentals.

Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner, who missed a critical tackle against the Cardinalssaid he appreciated Ulbrich’s presentation but it’s up to the players to make the tackles.

“We know how to approach,” Gardner said. “We have to make tackles. That’s really it. We really don’t need any introduction. I know where he was coming from when he did it, but we as professional athletes have to be able to make tackles, myself included of course.

LT Tyron Smith missed Wednesday’s practice due to a neck injury he suffered in Sunday’s loss.

It appears Smith could miss Sunday’s game against the Colts.

“They are still evaluating,” Ulbrich said. “They’re gathering information and getting more images and more processing. Hopefully by the end of the week we will have a better idea of ​​his situation going forward.

Rookie Olu Fashanu replaced Smith in the second half against the Cardinals and would start if Smith was out.

“I thought he played well,” Ulbrich said. “He had his rookie moments, that’s for sure. There’s going to be a few bumps in the road here and there. I thought he showed a lot of promise. He’s a guy that, thank God, we had because we knew we would potentially need him this year. The way he filled in was incredible for a rookie. The more he plays, the better he will be.

WR Davante Adams did not practice due to illness.

He also has a wrist injury, but Ulbrich said it’s just soreness.

The other Jets who did not practice were G Jake Hanson (hamstring), LB CJ Mosley (neck), DT Solomon Thomas (knee) and CB Brandin Echols (concussion).

The following players were limited: RG Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle), RT Morgan Moses (knee), CB DJ Reed (hip), LB Chazz Surratt (heel) and CB Michael Carter (back).

Safety Chuck Clark had his practice window open and is eligible to return from injured reserve.