McShay Has Us Taking Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio St.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by dalemurphy

I'd rather trade down and get Sean Smith (6' 4" and 220 lbs). He also has better speed and was a productive college CB.

Not according to the measurables.

Jenkins: 4.51 - 40, 15 - reps, 33" - Vert, 2.62 - 20, 1.47 -10, 10'04" - Jump, 4.08 - Shuttle, 6.59 - Cone

Smith: 4.50 - 40, 10 - reps, 34" - Vert, 2.59 - 20, 1.53 - 10, 09'11" - Jump, 4.15 - Shuttle, 6.92 - Cone.

Now, I don't have a horse in this race, because I don't really like either. I'd like to see some more upper body strength in a FS than 10 reps on the bench. When discussing speed, take a look at the 10, 20, Shuttle, and Cone and add those up. Jenkins clocks in with 14.76 seconds compared to Smith's 15.19.

I don't think either has the tackling ability to play FS, so we are really just comparing CBs. Jenkins is a better Cover-2 player than somebody who should be asked to play press man. Smith is a bit of a gambler who will get eaten alive as a rookie until he learns to play the WR and quit looking into the backfield. He is a bit of a project for a 1st round pick.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by Roy P

I don't think either has the tackling ability to play FS, so we are really just comparing CBs. Jenkins is a better Cover-2 player than somebody who should be asked to play press man. Smith is a bit of a gambler who will get eaten alive as a rookie until he learns to play the WR and quit looking into the backfield. He is a bit of a project for a 1st round pick.

When are people going to learn the type of CB we are looking at? We are not a Tampa 2 team. Jenkins is a fit for a one of the teams that runs that defense.

I see Jenkins being like Marlon Jackson a few years ago. A very good cover 2 CB.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by painekiller

When are people going to learn the type of CB we are looking at? We are not a Tampa 2 team. Jenkins is a fit for a one of the teams that runs that defense.

I see Jenkins being like Marlon Jackson a few years ago. A very good cover 2 CB.

I realize that the Bucs have a new coach, but I wonder if they would be willing to trade up for Jenkins. They would have Taqib Alib and Jenkins as a pretty good combo for that defense.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by painekiller

When are people going to learn the type of CB we are looking at? We are not a Tampa 2 team. Jenkins is a fit for a one of the teams that runs that defense.

You're right of course, up to now we've been primarily a team that used man-coverage but new DC Bush is on record as saying we're going to mix it up more with him calling the shots on D.
So I take that to mean we will be employing some Cover-2 and therefor also less Man in the future ?

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

DC Bush is on record as saying we're going to mix it up more with him calling the shots on D.
So I take that to mean we will be employing some Cover-2 and therefor also less Man in the future ?

I take it to mean we'll be doing less off-man and more press-man. But I see that when I look at ink blots too.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

You're right of course, up to now we've been primarily a team that used man-coverage but new DC Bush is on record as saying we're going to mix it up more with him calling the shots on D.
So I take that to mean we will be employing some Cover-2 and therefor also less Man in the future ?

Everyone uses a cover 2 at some point in a game. It is part of the reason for interchangeable safeties. But when I am talking about a cover 2 CB, it means the guy is more of a zone guy play off the receiver type. That is type coverage Dallas runs, it is not a Tampa 2, but it is cover 2 type defense. Reeves failed in this defense, and Roy Williams was exposed for his lack of cover skills.

We are going to ask our CBs to press more often then play off based on the comments of Bush, Jenkins is not a good press guy and would be a 1st round nickle guy at best. As for safety, there are no 1st safeties in the this draft, IMO.

I would rather take Alphonso Smith for his cover and ball skills then Jenkins.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by painekiller

I would rather take Alphonso Smith for his cover and ball skills then Jenkins.

I keep thinking about that little guy for my draft board. He's not as fast as he looks on the field, but he's a playmaker. As for shadowing those little jitterbugs, he's got those skills and would be a very good nickle CB covering the slot. My biggest problem is that for somebody that short, he's not a lightning fast guy and he's not going to remind anybody of Antoine Winfield with his tackling.

[Keith]

DGDB&D has had some entertaining anti-Jenkins commentary and analysis on their site, most recently in this post.

Teams went at Jenkins, with success, throughout his career. In the early days, this was because Ashton Youbouty was opposite him. In 2006-2008, however, teams still didn’t really shy away from him. ESPECIALLY not the teams OSU faced outside the Big 10. I’m going to come back to this specific point in a bit, but briefly consider: Jenkins had primary responsibility for Quan Cosby in this year’s Fiesta Bowl, and that ended with Cosby putting up 14 catches for 171 yards and 2 TDs while Jenkins… well… watched ...

[HPF Bob]

Actually, the Buckeyes had a young corner (name escapes me) that the Longhorns picked on in the Fiesta Bowl who was not Jenkins. The Longhorns looked at Shipley and Cosby and decided who they were going to based on how they were covered. Jenkins was matched against Shipley most of the day which was why Cosby had the big day and not Shipley. Tressel mixed coverages but I think McCoy was aware of where Jenkins was and picked on the young corner instead.

On the game-winning TD, the Longhorns went four wide and put Cosby in the slot. The Buckeyes tried to match him with a safety whom the Longhorn coaches knew was inclined to cheat up towards the line. So they watched the safety cheat up and realized they could beat him to the point of the throw. Boom-boom. Slip the tackle...touchdown. McCoy and Cosby saw the key and must have been licking their chops when they saw the safety move up. Both said they KNEW they had that play as soon as they saw the safety cheat up.

So, whether Jenkins is first-round quality can be debated but I don't think you can fault Jenkins for Cosby's performance or the Fiesta Bowl loss.