Jenkins' presence key to upset of Saints

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Maybe the Rams’ big upset over New Orleans would’ve happened anyway. But it would’ve been much tougher had Janoris Jenkins not been able to play Sunday.

After missing practice all week with a back problem, Jenkins tested out the injury a couple of hours before kickoff against the Saints and got the thumbs’ up from the team medical staff.

“We watched ‘Jenks’ warm up well before pre-game warmups, and were pleased with where he was and felt like he could play,” coach Jeff Fisher said after the Rams’ 27-16 upset victory. “We backed him off of special teams — his assignments off special teams. But he felt good enough. It was very, very impressive for him to come out and play.”

Had Jenkins been a no-go, either Brandon McGee or Quinton Pointer would’ve have started, neither of whom have much experience on defense.

Jenkins came up with one of his best performances of the seasons, and after reviewing game film Monday, Fisher all but gushed about Jenkins’ play. Keep in mind, Fisher’s not the type to gush.

“ ‘Jenks’ effort was outstanding,” Fisher said. “Outstanding effort coming back off his little issue that he had.”

Perhaps fitting for a season that has seen its share of frustration, Jenkins suffered the injury while getting flagged for pass interference in the Rams’ Dec. 8 loss to Arizona.


“That first pass interference they gave me (against Arizona), I tried to stop my head from snapping back and I landed on my butt,” Jenkins said.

That play came late in the second quarter on a third-and-9 pass intended for Cardinals wide receiver Michael Floyd. It looked like pretty good coverage, but all Jenkins got for his troubles was a 15-yard penalty and a sore fanny.

(Jenkins’ second penalty against the Big Red actually was for illegal contact, not pass interference.)

As the practice week progressed for the New Orleans game, Jenkins felt confident he would be good to go.

“I knew I was gonna play,” he said. “I was just resting (the back), taking it cautious and being smart about my decision.”

On a day when the Saints ran 86 offensive plays and threw 56 passes, Jenkins was on the field for 83 plays from scrimmage.

He finished with six tackles and matched his career high with four pass breakups. Two of those breakups came late in the fourth quarter when Saints quarterback Drew Brees went after Jenkins on back-to-back fade patterns in the back left corner of the end zone.

The first one was intended for the 6-foot-4 Marques Colston; the second for 6-7 Jimmy Graham. Both were well defended by the 5-10 Jenkins and fell incomplete.

“I was looking for them to come back my way, because they put two receivers over there back to back — a 6-4 and 6-7 guy,” Jenkins said. “So I had a feeling it was coming my way, back shoulder.”

For Jenkins it was an eye-opening reversal of fortunate after struggling in back-to-back weeks against the likes of Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald of the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals, respectively.

On such days, you wonder if the starting cornerback tandem of Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson is up to snuff. And then comes a day such as New Orleans, where Jenkins and Johnson sparkle.

That week-to-week variation is a microcosm of the up-and-down nature of this Rams season.

When asked Sunday if the New Orleans game marked one of the secondary’s best outings of the year, Jenkins shrugged and replied: “I don’t know. I’ll leave it up to you guys. We just play football on the back end. Whatever’s called, we just play the call.”

Despite some of his on-the-field antics, such as emphatically signaling “incomplete” on a pass, or peppering opposing receivers with trash talk, Jenkins doesn’t seem to get too high when things go well or too low when they don’t.

“He’s got a very short-term memory, which you have to have at the corner spot,” Fisher said.

That mentality certainly has been tested because Jenkins has had his share of ups and downs this season. Against Seattle, for example, he miss-timed his jump on a deep ball to Golden Taint, who came down with the football and raced 80 yards for the game-winning touchdown in 14-9 Seahawks victory.

Jenkins was criticized by some for the play, but other than the matter of the miss-timed jump, the criticism was uninformed. For one, Jenkins was in zone coverage and Taint was not his responsibility.

But with a blown coverage taking place behind him, Jenkins tried to compensate by running to that area and just missed pulling off a key interception.

His aggressive style of play has resulted in him being one of the most penalized players in the league. He is tied for eighth in the NFL in both times penalized, with 10 accepted penalties, and penalty yards assessed (86).

Be that as it may, Fisher loves Jenkins’ competitiveness.

“Yeah, that’s one of the reasons we drafted him because he just battles,” Fisher said. “He loves the game. He pays attention to the game. He learns the game. It’s important to him. He’s a great practice player, prepares, and there’s nothing on the field that he doesn’t think he can do.”

Some may think Jenkins’ play has regressed this season, but don’t include Fisher in that group.

“He’s definitely improving, no doubt,” Fisher said. “Now, he doesn’t have the four interception returns for touchdowns that he had last year. But play-in and play-out, week-in and week-out, he’s definitely improved significantly over last year.”

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_e985ea04-a1ca-5efe-ad63-d6bcf08fac57.html
 

iBruce

Pro Bowler
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Aug 4, 2010
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1,152
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Cory
Nice article singing Jenkin's praises. He's no doubt struggled this year, but that's also because he's had much more responsibility this year with Finnegan injured/decline.
 

Zaphod

Hall of Fame
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Jul 5, 2013
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2,217
I love it. To me there's no doubt that he's improved.

He's a coverage guy first and he's better playing man, but I really think we'll all see a noticeable improvement in his zone coverage next year.

I don't know why people knock his size, really the best corners in this draft are all about the same size. He fights for it on every single play.

The secondary had a good game, but nickel and FS are still their most pressing needs.
 

A55VA6

Legend
Joined
Mar 9, 2013
Messages
8,208
Crazy that Jenkins had an outpatient procedure for something with his spine on Thursday morning at 6:30 AM and ended up playing Sunday and played pretty damn well. He deserves some credit.