- Banned
- #1
LickenKittens
Very Banned
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2009
- Messages
- 7,405
- Reaction score
- 6,537
Offline
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/po...-jenkins-exceding-safety-regulations#comments
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/po...-jenkins-exceding-safety-regulations#comments
“I don’t know if Malcolm is the second coming of Darren Sharper, but he’s going to be the first coming of Malcolm Jenkins,’’ Sharper told the New Orleans media this week.
Jenkins has become a play-making safety and a legitimate Pro Bowl candidate. When the Saints play the Ravens on Sunday, Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed will be the biggest-name defensive players on the field. But they might not be, at this moment, the best defensive players on the field.
That title might belong to Jenkins, who over the past month or so has played as well as any defensive player in the league. Jenkins' two interceptions against the Rams earned him a second NFC Defensive Player of the Week Award. He also won the award in Week 12, after stripping Dallas' Roy E. Williams of the ball, recovering the fumble and helping the Saints to a victory on Thanksgiving. It's rare for anyone to get an honor twice in a few weeks. The fact that Jenkins did is a sign that this guy can't be stopped right now.
"The ball seems to find him,'' New Orleans coach Sean Payton said Sunday.
There is something to be said for instincts or having a nose for the ball. Those are the traits of great safeties, but Payton was quick to add that there are a lot of other reasons why Jenkins has become a magnet for the football.
“He's tough,'' Payton said. "He’s intelligent. He’s a guy who has good instincts. That mental makeup, along with his skill set, serves him well.''
The physical skills were always there. Everybody knew that when Jenkins was a first-round pick out of Ohio State last year. But what you're seeing now is intelligence catching up to, maybe even surpassing, physical ability.
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/po...-jenkins-exceding-safety-regulations#comments