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Malcolm Jenkins came under fire last week from an unlikely source after a former teammate attacked his leadership.
It was a surprising critique considering the Eagles’ safety has been one of the most respected players in the locker room during his six seasons in Philadelphia. Jenkins, who emphatically responded to those comments in his own way, seemed to let his play on the field prove his point. He finished with six total tackles, including one tackle for loss and a pass deflection against Buffalo.
Jenkins got a resounding vote of confidence from the Eagles’ organization on social media, then another one from defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
“We have a lot of confidence in Malcolm. Malcolm’s played a lot of games for us,” Schwartz told reporters. “Criticism comes with this job … whether you play, whether you’re a coach, personnel, everybody. You get wins and everything’s great and you lose and people are going to look at a lot of different reasons that you’re losing.”
Schwartz has been under intense scrutiny himself this season for a defense ranked 14th overall, but a sagging 21st versus the pass while struggling early in the year to get to the quarterback and pile up sacks. No one is letting any negativity seep into the room as they remain a confident group.
“We have confidence in all the guys in our locker room,” Schwartz said. “I’ve said a million times, if you’re on our 53 we have confidence in you. If you’re on our 46 we have confidence in you. And we just try to treat ourselves or act accordingly and go from there.”
Genard Avery Draws Comparison to Brandon Graham
The newest pass-rusher in Philadelphia has been drawing lofty reviews already. On Tuesday, Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz mentioned that Genard Avery remains him of a little bit of Brandon Graham.
It’s an easy side-by-side comparison to make based on physical attributes since they are both undersized for defensive ends at around 6-foot and 250 pounds. But Schwartz pointed to another reason: their similarly aggressive style of play.
“He’s not quite as heavy as Brandon, but the way we play those edges I think he can be successful in our run defense as well as pass,” Schwartz said, “but all that’s just — we’ll get him in here, get him up to speed as quick as we can and then best decide how to use him after that and excited to have him though.”
Eagles Have Seven Defensive Ends on Roster
The Eagles are carrying seven defensive ends on their roster. That’s an extremely inflated number of players at one position, even if it has been one of need for this team.
The prevailing thought has been that the Eagles will eventually cut one, maybe Shareef Miller or Daeshon Hall, to make room for another defensive tackle or linebacker. For now, they are content to see how it all plays out.
“I mean it’s just the way numbers work out sometimes,” defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “Just is what it is.”
The Eagles have Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Genard Avery, Vinny Curry, Josh Sweat, Daeshon Hall and Shareef Miller holding down the position. Miller would be tough to give up on since the team invested a fourth-round draft pick in him.
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