Hempstead, N.Y. ? Herman Edwards stood on the auditorium stage and raised his voice. He pounded his chest. He slammed his fist into a projector.

And he got the New York Jets’ attention.

Did he ever.

The normally even-tempered coach let his players have it Wednesday morning in the team meeting. He emphasized how poorly the Jets played in their 44-7 home loss to New England last Sunday. He used the word embarrassed at least a dozen times.

“This was the first time since he’s been here I’ve seem him that upset,” center Kevin Mawae said. “He was a little bit louder than he normally is. There was a little more anger in his voice.

“He made guys take notice he is not going to stand for it.”

What Edwards won’t stand for is the way his players performed against the Super Bowl champions: missed assignments galore; turnovers; mental errors.

So the second-year coach, known for his communication skills with players, turned up the volume and delivered a message.

“I don’t mix words,” Edwards said. “They know exactly where I’m coming from.

“I know when I address certain things, I know how I’m going to address it. It was the way it needed to be addressed.”

Perhaps Edwards sensed a lack of commitment among his players. Or a lack of focus. Certainly he was furious about the way the Jets were blown out in every phase of the game by the Patriots.

And while Edwards also was planning strategic changes in order to establish an offensive and defensive identity for the Jets, he was reminding the players they need to shake off any lingering effects from Sunday.

But all is not bleak, which was another part of Edwards’ message to his team.

“I just think we’ve got good character players,” he said. “That’s what is great about football. You get your face knocked in and, hey, next week hopefully you can play another game. It would be a shame if it was the last game. But we’ve got 14 games left.”