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Philadelphia Eagles’ Malcolm Jenkins Speaks

By Bret Stuter

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Nov 8, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys tight end

Jason Witten

(82) makes the catch in front of Philadelphia Eagles free safety

Malcolm Jenkins

(27) during a game at AT&T Stadium. Eagles won 33-27 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports

Malcolm Jenkins Speaks

The fans wanted Jairus Byrd. The Eagles wanted the more versatile and affordable Malcolm Jenkins. The Eagles won, and the fans have been excited ever since.  Malcolm Jenkins has been the voice of truth, calm during a storm but passionate when many wax numb.  It’s the arrival of Jenkins that became the catalyst for the Eagles defense: whether by good or not.  The team used the template of Jenkins conversion from cornerback to safety as the model to attempt the same with former cornerback and currently safety Walter Thurmond IV.

Still, his was not the most heralded of arrivals.  He did make his presence known as he quickly placed quarterbacks on notice with interceptions on a defense that generated too few turnovers. And despite the struggles of the new defense in the new 3-4 configuration, Malcolm Jenkins was always upbeat and supportive.

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But the past several weeks of getting trashed on both sides of the ball have pushed Jenkins over the edge.  He had enough, and allowed an interview on 97.5 WIP to become a forum for sharing his thought about the recent Eagles collapse.

"“The one area on our team where we don’t do a good job is holding guys accountable for what they do on the field,” Jenkins said. “We’ll talk about it in our group specific units, in the defensive back room, d-line room, o-line room … but as a team, we never really hold anybody accountable for what they do on the field. I think sometimes we get a little bit too caught up in not trying to point fingers. But at the end of the day there’s a job to get done and I think everybody needs to own whether they’re sign their job or not. And I think that makes it hard on leaders to call somebody out or have that voice where you can try to get somebody to light a fire under them because at the end of the day the coaches are the ones who own that. They set the bar and the leaders kind of follow suit. It’s a little hard with what we’ve got going on to call anybody out because that’s just not what happens.”“I think our red zone defense has become a little bit too predictable,” Jenkins said. “Teams are scheming us up. It was the same thing with Tampa Bay. They had specific schemes to beat what we’ve been in. So I think we could be a little bit more versatile down there. We’re very heavy in our blitzes. Teams are taking advantage of that. It just comes down to a combination of doing a good job of putting us in the best positions that we can be in, but as players doing your job because a lot of guys are just simply not doing that. And it’s hurting us when it comes to big plays and it’s hurting us when in key situations like third downs.” –"

As a result of the conversation, Howard Eskin updated fans with the aftermath of the insightful interview.

As a result, both defensive coordinator Billy Davis and head coach Chip Kelly have spoken with Jenkins.   The concept of “keep it inhouse” is a universal law in the National Football League.  But this was not some ‘anonymous source” quoting “Chip Kelly has lost the locker room” high school stuff.   This was a passionate, intelligent football player giving his honest and harmless assessment to the media and fans who have suffered in a vacuum.

Next: Is There Any Way To Beat The Patriots?

Perhaps the team will continue to falter and end up with a high draft choice.  Perhaps this team will turn it around and may compete for the division title in a year when 7-9 may be enough to earn a playoff spot.  But perhaps it’s time for players to be heard.  Right now, we aren’t hearing much.  And in Philly, if we don’t hear from you, it doesn’t take us long to start booing you.

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