Post Snap With Malcolm Jenkins: 'We All Have to Share The Leadership Now'
Malcolm Jenkins is a Super Bowl champion and veteran NFL safety. He sits down with CBS Philly's Joe Santoliquito every week. Listen to Malcom live each Tuesday at 5 with Ant & Rob on 94WIP. All of Jenkins' Post Snap interviews are archived at CBSPhilly.com/Jenkins.
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Malcolm Jenkins is in his first year with the Eagles, but all ready, the safety has carved out a sagacious presence among his new Eagle teammates. And if there is anyone who could step up and fill the void left by the DeMeco Ryans injury, it's the 26-year-old, six-year veteran.
"You don't replace a guy like DeMeco Ryans," Jenkins said. "We have a lot of faith in Casey Matthews and Emmanuel Acho, but they're not DeMeco. I think that's apparent when you saw the response when DeMeco went down. Not only did you see our whole bench leave, but you his former Houston teammates come over, too, which just shows you the impact DeMeco has.
"His impact on and off the field will be something that will be missed. His leadership will be spread among all of us. We don't expect Casey and Emmanuel to play like DeMeco, but give us the best that they have in order for us to continue and improve as a defense and as a team. He's obviously a big loss, but I don't think it's the end for us. We all have to share in the leadership now."
Jenkins carries an old-school way about him. He is only 26, but being around him, talking to him, he carries the wisdom and patience of someone in their 40s. He's putting more onto himself in the wake of the Ryans injury.
"I'll let it grow organically, I'm not the type to climb on top of a hill and declare myself king, that's not me," Jenkins said. "I think guys will gravitate toward the leaders on this team. But there are a lot of guys here who players can gravitate toward, like Connor Barwin, myself, Cedric Thornton. I know I have the respect of my teammates, but I'll be willing to step up and be that voice, if guys want me to be that voice. I don't fall completely on my shoulders. There were guys that helped DeMeco, like Connor Barwin, Cedric, myself, and our roles will be magnified now that DeMeco is out. We have to spread that burden and we have guys who are buying in."
Mychal Kendricks worked in deference to Ryans, as did Jenkins, Barwin and Thornton. But the Ryans injury may flesh out a different side of Kendricks. Jenkins brought up a very interesting point that it was Ryans who was the settling influence of the defense, when the offense comes out in a formation that the Eagles haven't seen before, it was Ryans knew the call to prepare for it.
"It does put more on Mychal's plate, and I think it's going to be good for him," Jenkins said. "Mychal worked very closely with DeMeco, and he's learning a lot and how DeMeco sees things. It will stretch Mychal and make him an even better player. I'm sure I'm going to help out, we're all going to help and work out that communication in practice.
"There is a lot of football to be played. If you watched the Houston game, Nick [Foles] goes down, Mark [Sanchez] comes in and we don't miss a beat. Guys have confidence in each other. DeMeco went down and we adjusted with some different packages. But we made stops in the fourth quarter, which we didn't do the previous week. We'll be fine. Nick and DeMeco are great players. They will be missed. But we're going to continue working to be the team that we think we can be."
The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation has launched an exclusive apparel campaign kicking off with Malcolm's "NoPhlyZone." Purchases will support the Foundation's programs supporting youth and families in under-served communities. Visit www.themalcolmjenkinsfoundation.org.
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