Kris Jenkins Article In New York Post

[listopencil]

JENKINS' PRESENCE HAS JETS' D STRUTTING STUFF

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10142008/sports/jets/jenkins_presence_has_jets_d_strutting_st_133495.ht m


By MARK CANNIZZARO

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10142008/photos/sports073.jpg
A BIG HIT: Defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, hitting Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner on Sept. 28, is the biggest reason the Jets have gone from 29th in the league against the run last year to third so far this season.


Last updated: 9:25 am
October 14, 2008
Posted: 3:15 am
October 14, 2008

The Jets New York Jets ' run defense the last two seasons had been closer to the punch line of a joke than it has been to a unit that punches out opposing running backs.

In Eric Mangini's first season with the Jets, they ranked 24th in the league against the run, yielding an average of 130.3 rushing yards per game and an embarrassing 4.6-yards per carry.

Last season was worse as the Jets finished ranked 29th against the run, allowing 134.8 yards per game and 4.2-yards per carry.

Something had to give. Enter defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, who has proven to be the biggest (literally) offseason acquisition the Jets made - and that includes Brett Favre.

Of course, one smart, motivated 350-pound man, converting to a 3-4 nose tackle, cannot make an entire defense, but Jenkins is as close to the Jets' team MVP through the first five games of the season as anyone.

Devouring running backs like snacks despite being double-teamed on almost every play and, because of that, opening up lanes for the linebackers to make plays, Jenkins has helped the Jets' defense rank third in the NFL against the run so far - allowing only 69 yards per game and a stingy 2.9-yards per carry.

In the Jets' 26-14 win over the Bengals Sunday, they stifled the run, allowing 43 yards on 21 carries.

Making those statistics stand out even more, Bengals quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, running for his life, gained 23 of those yards on six scrambles. Cincinnati running backs Chris Perry (11 for 14) and Cedric Benson (4 for 6) combined to gain 20 yards on 15 carries.

Granted, this Bengals' rushing attack will never be confused with any of the NFL's great ones, but that is dominant defense.

When Jets linebacker Eric Barton Eric Barton was informed of the run defense statistics yesterday, he sounded unaware of just how good the Jets have been.

"Wow, that's pretty good," he said. "It's been a concentrated effort with guys taking it personally trying to get it done. We came into the season knowing we weren't that good at (stopping the run) the past two years and we wanted to get it done.

"It's a good feeling, but the season is just getting going."

From here, it goes Sunday to Oakland, where the 1-4 Raiders are ranked fourth in rushing offense with an average of 141 yards per game and a robust 4.6-yard average. The Raiders have lost a league high six fumbles in the running game, too.

That makes Jenkins, the Jets' force in the middle, a key to this game.

"What he's doing here, I've never seen anything like it before," Barton said of Jenkins, whom he roomed with in college at Maryland. "He came in here and has done some things that has had everyone saying, 'Wow.' He makes everyone's job on defense a little easier. It's like a domino effect. Everyone gets better from it."

Jenkins is sheepish about taking too much credit for the Jets' remarkable turnaround in run defense.

"It's just been a complete team effort," he said. "A lot of people have said to me, 'You came to New York and now they're stopping the run.' I can't take all the credit for that. I'm not making every single tackle."

Jenkins recalled his first interview with Mangini and GM Mike Tannenbaum when they were recruiting him this past offseason.

"It was explained to me that they were trying to tighten up (the run defense) and give their team the best chance to win," he said. "One of the things expressed to me was, 'If you do come here, this is what we're going to need to you to do.' And a big part of that was stopping the run.

"They told me, 'We think you can help us win and that's what we want to do.' "

Through five games and three wins, it's looking pretty good.

mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com

[listopencil]

"What he's doing here, I've never seen anything like it before," Barton said of Jenkins, whom he roomed with in college at Maryland. "He came in here and has done some things that has had everyone saying, 'Wow.' He makes everyone's job on defense a little easier. It's like a domino effect. Everyone gets better from it."




Imagine that.

[SoCalBronco]

BroncoBuff's rage coming in 3,2,1.....

[Br0nc0Buster]

How is talking about Jenkins going to help this team now?

We could of, but we didnt, I dont see the need to dwell on it.

[2KBack]

The Jets are still giving up an average of 26 points per game, which is right behind Denver

[24champ]

BroncoBuff saying I told you so in 3...2...1....

[listopencil]

Nah. It's not like we've needed help at the DT position for 10 ****ing years or so. It's not like we could have had him for a third rounder or anything.

[listopencil]

How is talking about Jenkins going to help this team now?

We could of, but we didnt, I dont see the need to dwell on it.


It's a football board.


Don't worry, by tomorrow you can go back to whining about how much Cutler sucks or whatever it is you do here.

Carry on.

[listopencil]

The Jets are still giving up an average of 26 points per game, which is right behind Denver


I've got to wonder what our D, not the Jets D, would look like with Jenkins front and center.

[Br0nc0Buster]

It's a football board.


Don't worry, by tomorrow you can go back to whining about how much Cutler sucks or whatever it is you do here.

Carry on.

I am not a Cutler hater, but I dont see what you are getting out of bringing this up when Kris Jenkins is not going to have any impact on this team this year.

Talking about potential future FAs or future draft picks, yeah I get. But Jenkins is gone and that ship has sailed

[orange crusher]

Thanks for ruining my night with what could have been. :tearhair:

[listopencil]

I am not a Cutler hater, but I dont see what you are getting out of bringing this up when Kris Jenkins is not going to have any impact on this team this year.

Talking about potential future FAs or future draft picks, yeah I get. But Jenkins is gone and that ship has sailed

Every off season for years we have had a glaring weakness at the DT position. Every off season it doesn't get addressed. On the board I keep reading either that a drafted DT wouldn't help us quickly enough or a FA DT that was available wouldn't be good enough to have an impact anyway. I wanted the Broncos to do both. Draft a prospect (or two) and go after an impact FA. We'll have to wait and see what comes of our draft. But now is the time when you can start looking around to see if any of those FA's would have panned out. So...tell me, do you think Jenkins would have helped our D? I do.

[listopencil]

...and how good would this D be with Warren and Jenkins side by side at the DT position? With the best of what's left in the rotation?

[kappys]

If our offense gets back to scoring 30+ points a game we might also enjoy a strong run defense while we get shreded for 28 points/game through the air.

[2KBack]

I've got to wonder what our D, not the Jets D, would look like with Jenkins front and center.

with the chaos going on, probably not much better. I actually think tackle is the closest thing to a strength the defense has. Maybe he would have made a huge impact, maybe not. There are other things to consider as well. I know we don't have a lot of draft picks next year, but have a lot of holes. Plus I'm not sure how expensive Jenkins is.

I could be totally wrong, but lamenting players that didn't wind up on the Broncos seems like an unnecessarily depressing pastime.

[listopencil]

If our offense gets back to scoring 30+ points a game we might also enjoy a strong run defense while we get shredded for 28 points/game through the air.


Domino effect.

[listopencil]

with the chaos going on, probably not much better. I actually think tackle is the closest thing to a strength the defense has. Maybe he would have made a huge impact, maybe not. There are other things to consider as well. I know we don't have a lot of draft picks next year, but have a lot of holes. Plus I'm not sure how expensive Jenkins is.

I could be totally wrong, but lamenting players that didn't wind up on the Broncos seems like an unnecessarily depressing pastime.

It's as good a time as any to mull it over.

[2KBack]

It's as good a time as any to mull it over.

I guess.

I think it comes down to how much impact you think one guy can have, especially on this defense. The most solid positions on Denver's defense are one corner, WLB, and the DT's. So the question is, do you spend the resources to improve your glaring weakness, or to upgrade a solid position? Both are upgrades, but in one case you are trying to be solid everywhere, and in the other Great at one position.

[listopencil]

I guess.

I think it comes down to how much impact you think one guy can have, especially on this defense. The most solid positions on Denver's defense are one corner, WLB, and the DT's. So the question is, do you spend the resources to improve your glaring weakness, or to upgrade a solid position? Both are upgrades, but in one case you are trying to be solid everywhere, and in the other Great at one position.

I honestly don't think our DT's are all that solid. That one move would have made our DE's and MLB immediately more effective as well.

[Bob's your Information Minister]

I'll eat the crow. Man was I wrong about Jenkins.

[2KBack]

I honestly don't think our DT's.

Then our discussion won't get too far.
I was preaching DT over DE the last couple seasons, but I've been pleased with how Thomas and Robertson have looked. Even more pleased by Clemons, who has made the most of his opportunities.

[Los Broncos]

My roomie is going to the Jet v Raider game this weekend.

I cant believe I'm going to say this, go Brett's!

[kappys]

I honestly don't think our DT's are all that solid. That one move would have made our DE's and MLB immediately more effective as well.

The DT's are solid compared to the paper towel that is the rest of the defense.

Our DT's right now aren't dominant, but are good enough to be part of a very good defense if the other pieces were present

[colonelbeef]

The DT's aren't/weren't the problem with the D.

The awful scheme and poor tackling by the LB's and S' were/are.

[Beantown Bronco]

Guys, this study is flawed big time.

The fact that the Jets are actually scoring points on offense this year has FAR more to do with the better ranking vs the run than anything Kris Jenkins has done out there. Look at the numbers:

2008 - Jets are averaging 28 pts per game
2007 - Jets averaged 16 pts per game

2008 - the Jets defense faces 24 rushing attempts per game
2007 - the Jets defense faced 32 rushing attempts per game

Teams can't afford to take their time and run against them anymore because they are often playing from behind and have to put up 30+ pts to beat them. It's common sense.

[HorseHead]

...and we should have signed Tim Brown, Rodney Harrison, Kearney...etc....

[bronco militia]

but, but , but .....................Ed Reed!

[bowtown]

Nah. It's not like we've needed help at the DT position for 10 ****ing years or so. It's not like we could have had him for a third rounder or anything.

It's not like we didn't have a third rounder or anything.

[theAPAOps5]

I've got to wonder what our D, not the Jets D, would look like with Jenkins front and center.

IT would look good in the center but its on the edge where this team needs more help.

[BroncoBuff]

BroncoBuff's rage coming in 3,2,1.....
BroncoBuff saying I told you so in 3...2...1....
ZERO!!! :moody: :hitself: thwack :chairhit: :holyguac! :bash: :cuss:


I would definitely have given up the 3rd and 5th the Jets gave up, but that contract was a scary thing. To be honest, I might've balked at that contract. But a 3rd and 5th would've been great. In fact, I would have given up the 2nd rounder in the 2007 free-agency period too. In a heartbeat. That pick turned out to be Tim Crowder, so I guess there's a double "I told you so" there.

At that same time, I wanted to give up two #1's to move up for Patrick Willis. One of those picks turned out to be Jarvis Moss, which is fine. But the other #1 turned out to be Ryan Clady, so I dunno there.

What do you call a guy who loves to second-guess all the time? hmmm...

[bowtown]

ZERO!!! :moody: :hitself: thwack :chairhit: :holyguac! :bash: :cuss:


I would definitely have given up the 3rd and 5th the Jets gave up, but that contract was a scary thing. To be honest, I might've balked at that contract. But a 3rd and 5th would've been great. In fact, I would have given up the 2nd rounder in the 2007 free-agency period too. In a heartbeat. That pick turned out to be Tim Crowder, so I guess there's a double "I told you so" there.

At that same time, I wanted to give up two #1's to move up for Patrick Willis. One of those picks turned out to be Jarvis Moss, which is fine. But the other #1 turned out to be Ryan Clady, so I dunno there.

What do you call a guy who loves to second-guess all the time? hmmm...


Okay but if you are going to second guess you have to do it with all the facts. We didn't have a 3rd round pick to trade away. So then where do we get it? Trade down our 1st or 2nd? No more Clady or Royal. Trade up? Would you give up our whole second day of picks for Jenkins? Or at least our current starting nickle back, fullback and backup center. With his new contract ($35 million over the next 5 years), which of our young players do we have to saccrafice to pay that? DJ Williams? Doom?

There is just a lot more that goes into than patting yourself on the back and saying, "yeah I would have done that."

edit: didn't see your discussion of the contract above. I still don't know where we get the 3rd round pick from though.

[jonny1]

Every off season for years we have had a glaring weakness at the DT position. Every off season it doesn't get addressed. On the board I keep reading either that a drafted DT wouldn't help us quickly enough or a FA DT that was available wouldn't be good enough to have an impact anyway. I wanted the Broncos to do both. Draft a prospect (or two) and go after an impact FA. We'll have to wait and see what comes of our draft. But now is the time when you can start looking around to see if any of those FA's would have panned out. So...tell me, do you think Jenkins would have helped our D? I do.

Umm, do mind my saying, WTF?

Last year, drafted Thomas, signed Steven Harris, this year got Robertson, drafted Powell.

So they did exactly what you stated above, but you are saying it's not addressed?

You can argue about who they got, but you can't say they haven't tried.

[BroncoBuff]

Okay but if you are going to second guess you have to do it with all the facts. We didn't have a 3rd round pick to trade away. So then where do we get it? Trade down our 1st or 2nd? No more Clady or Royal. Trade up? Would you give up our whole second day of picks for Jenkins? Or at least our current starting nickle back, fullback and backup center. With his new contract ($35 million over the next 5 years), which of our young players do we have to saccrafice to pay that? DJ Williams? Doom?

There is just a lot more that goes into than patting yourself on the back and saying, "yeah I would have done that."

edit: didn't see your discussion of the contract above. I still don't know where we get the 3rd round pick from though.
Patting myself on the back? You might be new here since then, but the reason everybody said "Here comes BroncoBuff, 3...2...1..." is because I was LOUDLY in favor of acquiring Jenkins starting in February '07 when John Fox first announced he might be avalailable (as a corollary to my Jenkins-man-crush, I was became a renowned, world-class Amon Gordon hater)

But you're right in the sense that you can't just say "3rd and 5th" the same as the Jets gave up, because every pick in every round is valued differently. Of course I meant I would have given up "equal value" ... there's a points chart to value each draft slot, I know you know that.


I don't think you can reasonably talk about the cap hit as though Doom or DJ would be sacrificed to sign Jenkins. For proof, just watch .... B-Marsh is gonna get PAID next year or the year after (lots more than Jenkins), and we won't lose Doom or DJ.

[bowtown]

Patting myself on the back? You might be new here since then, but the reason everybody said "Here comes BroncoBuff, 3...2...1..." is because I was LOUDLY in favor of acquiring Jenkins starting in February '07 when John Fox first announced he might be avalailable (as a corollary to my Jenkins-man-crush, I was became a renowned, world-class Amon Gordon hater)

But you're right in the sense that you can't just say "3rd and 5th" the same as the Jets gave up, because every pick in every round is valued differently. Of course I meant I would have given up "equal value" ... there's a points chart to value each draft slot, I know you know that.


I don't think you can reasonably talk about the cap hit as though Doom or DJ would be sacrificed to sign Jenkins. For proof, just watch .... B-Marsh is gonna get PAID next year or the year after (lots more than Jenkins), and we won't lose Doom or DJ.

Yeah, I probably should have made clear that I really wasn't completely trying to sigle you out in that post, even though I used your post as my quote. It was more directed towards some of the other posters who just blindly make 20/20 hind sight statements without putting too much thought into what exactly some of these moves would have actually meant.

As far as the cap hit goes... you are right that Marshall, DJ, and Doom are probably all going to get paid, but that's a probablility without Jenkins... with his $35 mil. contract, I'm not so sure anymore.

[BroncoBuff]

As far as the cap hit goes... you are right that Marshall, DJ, and Doom are probably all going to get paid, but that's a probablility without Jenkins... with his $35 mil. contract, I'm not so sure anymore.
The worst cap situation is the stupid Raiders....

Jamarcus Russell
Darren McFadden
Tommy Kelly
Javon Walker
Michael Huff
Nmandi Asomugha
Deangelo Hall

Those 7 are supposedly half their entire cap this year.

Sign up for college level credit: "Salary Cap Mismanagement: 101" Your proseffor, Mr. Al Davis

[epicSocialism4tw]

Kris Jenkins was there for the taking.

Another glaring example of our front offices ineptitude at bringing in quality defensive line talent.

[BroncoBuff]

Kris Jenkins was there for the taking.

Another glaring example of our front offices ineptitude at bringing in quality defensive line talent.
Whoa there, Cowboy. You DO realize that the 2nd round pick we kept turned out to be one Mr. Tim Crowder, don't you?

[listopencil]

Then our discussion won't get too far.
I was preaching DT over DE the last couple seasons, but I've been pleased with how Thomas and Robertson have looked. Even more pleased by Clemons, who has made the most of his opportunities.



Oh by the way- our DT's suck ass. They get pushed around and driven out of the play. They expose our weak Middle Linebacker and our crap Safeties. My Grandma could rush for 100 yards against these fools.

[Popps]

Whoa there, Cowboy. You DO realize that the 2nd round pick we kept turned out to be one Mr. Tim Crowder, don't you?

:spit:

[listopencil]

Umm, do mind my saying, WTF?

Last year, drafted Thomas, signed Steven Harris, this year got Robertson,
drafted Powell.


Yeah, they drafted Thomas in the fourth round, after two DE's and an OT. Harris- you mean the guy they just cut? And Robertson when Jenkins was available? Give me a freaking break


So they did exactly what you stated above, but you are saying it's not addressed?

You can argue about who they got, but you can't say they haven't tried.

No, they've done the same half assed job they always do when it comes to the D, especially the D Line. That's OK. We can always fire another DC.

[listopencil]

And Powell? Who the **** is Powell. If he can't break this line up he sucks too.

[2KBack]

And Powell? Who the **** is Powell. If he can't break this line up he sucks too.

Rookie from VT, injured his Achilles in the OTAs

[listopencil]

Rookie from VT, injured his Achilles in the OTAs

Well trot his ass out there. He can't be much worse.

[Popps]

Yeah, they drafted Thomas in the fourth round, after two DE's and an OT. Harris- you mean the guy they just cut? And Robertson when Jenkins was available? Give me a freaking break

No, they've done the same half assed job they always do when it comes to the D, especially the D Line. That's OK. We can always fire another DC.

Same crap I've been saying for years.

The only problem seems to be that when we DO draft D-line high, we get Moss and Crowder. When we go big in free agency, we get pancake-boy.

How ****ing hard is it to just identify some ****ing guys that can play these positions? It's incredible how BAD we are at filling these jobs.

[2KBack]

Oh by the way- our DT's suck ass. They get pushed around and driven out of the play. They expose our weak Middle Linebacker and our crap Safeties. My Grandma could rush for 100 yards against these fools.

I still disagree, the vast majority of the rushing yards against Denver were runs to the outside. Also the Line actually managed to keep blockers off the LB's and Safeties, but they couldn't tackle.

[listopencil]

Same crap I've been saying for years.

The only problem seems to be that when we DO draft D-line high, we get Moss and Crowder. When we go big in free agency, we get pancake-boy.

How ****ing hard is it to just identify some ****ing guys that can play these positions? It's incredible how BAD we are at filling these jobs.


I don't know man. It's just sad.

[listopencil]

I still disagree, the vast majority of the rushing yards against Denver were runs to the outside. Also the Line actually managed to keep blockers off the LB's and Safeties, but they couldn't tackle.

There were gaping holes up the middle all night.

[2KBack]

There were gaping holes up the middle all night.

Can't say i remember that. What I remember is thinking that they were only running to the left every time and it always worked. It was almost comedic, but the defense never seemed to adjust to it.

Out of curiosity, when there were these holes in the middle, where were the linebackers that were supposed to fill them? Holes happen, that's why linebackers have a job.

[Bob's your Information Minister]

Kris Jenkins is going to maul the **** out of KC's OL.

[Popps]

Kris Jenkins is going to maul the **** out of KC's OL.

Hey Bob.... Popps, here. Hey listen, I was wondering if you could do me a favor and not post here again? (Ever.)

Get back to me and let me know.

Or, I guess don't get back to me if you're going to take me up on the whole not posting thing. In that case you would just cease posting from this point out.

Thanks,

Popps

[Bob's your Information Minister]

Hey Popps...Bob, here. Hey listen, probably not.

Get back to me and let me know if you're disappointed.

Thanks,

Bob!

[Mediator12]

Guys, this study is flawed big time.

The fact that the Jets are actually scoring points on offense this year has FAR more to do with the better ranking vs the run than anything Kris Jenkins has done out there. Look at the numbers:

2008 - Jets are averaging 28 pts per game
2007 - Jets averaged 16 pts per game

2008 - the Jets defense faces 24 rushing attempts per game
2007 - the Jets defense faced 32 rushing attempts per game

Teams can't afford to take their time and run against them anymore because they are often playing from behind and have to put up 30+ pts to beat them. It's common sense.

No, its not BB. I have seen all the Jets Games and Jenkins is absolutely dominant in the Middle and the New LB's are filling the holes at and Behind the POA. Their run defense is night and day better this year.

As far as the points thing goes, that has been skewed big time by several games. The first was the ARI game where Favre threw for 6 TD's and ARI did not show up until the game was over in the second half. The other was when SD got up huge on them and LT still only managed 67 yards on 25 carries trying to run the clock out. That and CIN were the only games the Jets scored 25 points this year. And in one of those, they were trailing Big instead of winning big.

As for Jenkins, this was another big Miss By the FO. No one was a bigger fan of Jenkins here than me when he was ready to leave CAR. The guy always came to play and he aways produced when on the field. Teams always had to account for him and he freed up others to make plays. He made the players around him better there and Now at the Jets.

And yes, I do remember all the naysayers here on this board talking about his alcoholism and attitude off the field. He has been a guy who is so competitive, it never mattered mentally to him when he was on the field playing. He just kicked ass and took names every game. That is different than the loafing DL DEN has acquired in the meantime.

The DT position for DEN is still bottom 5 in the league in performance. The difference the last few years is they do not have a quality MLB to make up for their suckitude and the overall performance of the front seven has matched their ineptitude. Anyone who thinks the DL and the DT's are a strength needs to watch the games more closely. The only teams surrendering more yards right up the middle are GB, DET, and CLE. And the whole front seven is allowing more plays to go untouched into the secondary than any other team in the league. That starts with not getting the DT's blown off the ball. KC is the only team that allows more runs over 10+ yards.

It all starts with stopping the run from the inside out in this scheme that Slowik uses. You either play outside in or inside out. DEN plays inside out the majority of the time and when you are allowing over 5+ yards a carry inside you see the results of playing that way every SUN. I was especially pleased to See NE use the exact same play on 4th and 1 to score a TD and pick up the second 4th and 1 later to run for a 29 yard gain. DEN so did not trust the interior DL that they overstacked the inside gaps and failed to account for a weakside outside run. NE did not miss this and when they saw DEN line up exactly the same way as the first time, they ran the exact same play that led to the TD to put the game out of reach.

So, Having a dominant NT like Jenkins would possibly allow the defense to play the run Straight up instead of overcompensating inside. That might actually make the Pass rush mean something again now that they are getting to the QB much better. Who knows, maybe they could be just below average with Jenkins and allow the team to have hope instead of panicking every time the Defense is on the field.

[Beantown Bronco]

No, its not BB. I have seen all the Jets Games and Jenkins is absolutely dominant in the Middle and the New LB's are filling the holes at and Behind the POA. Their run defense is night and day better this year.

I'm not saying their run defense isn't better. It obviously is. I was discrediting the notion from many on page one that stated Jenkins was the sole reason for it.

As you mentioned, the new LBs helped quite a bit.

And as I mentioned, the fact that teams are running on average 8 fewer times per game helps quite a bit.

Would Jenkins help us? Sure. But he would not take the Broncos from #29 in the league to #3 in the league all by himself, as the article and some of the posters originally claimed.

[Beantown Bronco]

Mediator:

Take this into consideration as well.....the Jets prior to this article faced the following teams:

Cincy: ranked 31st in the league in rushing
Arizona: 28th in the league
SD: 26th
Miami: 17th
NE: 6th

Only one team in the top half of the league in rushing offenses. It seems to me that schedule + the fact that teams are rushing 8 fewer times per game are looking just as responsible for their turnaround.....wouldn't you say?

[WolfpackGuy]

The Broncos defense needs a lot more than a Kris Jenkins.

[BabyTO]

This has nothing to do with who plays NT on our team. Our linebackers and safeties can't play the run, it's that simple. They take poor angles and they miss tackles, they just flat out suck. Our run defense was not an issue when Wilson was our MLB and we didn't have a Warren Sapp type DT back then.

[epicSocialism4tw]

Same crap I've been saying for years.

The only problem seems to be that when we DO draft D-line high, we get Moss and Crowder. When we go big in free agency, we get pancake-boy.

How ****ing hard is it to just identify some ****ing guys that can play these positions? It's incredible how BAD we are at filling these jobs.

That lack of commitment to the DL cost us a championship once already.

[Mediator12]

I'm not saying their run defense isn't better. It obviously is. I was discrediting the notion from many on page one that stated Jenkins was the sole reason for it.

As you mentioned, the new LBs helped quite a bit.

And as I mentioned, the fact that teams are running on average 8 fewer times per game helps quite a bit.

Would Jenkins help us? Sure. But he would not take the Broncos from #29 in the league to #3 in the league all by himself, as the article and some of the posters originally claimed.

Several things about that:

1. The NYJ rush Avg is down a whole yard per carry to this point. And, some can be attributed to who they have played. OAK had some success, but they also had overtime carries to bolster that success.

2. I said Jenkins is not going to completely fix the running game, but he could get them back into the 16-20 range by doing something they are not capable of doing right now, secure the inside. The overall rushing defense would still have holes, but they would be easier to plug than the complete sieve they have been to this point.

3. I liked Jenkins because he plays hard every down. He still does even when playing NT in a 3-4. That is not his best position by far, but he still plays it like an All-Pro. Instead, DEN gambles on guys without that trait. They go for talented underachievers who have never made the impact they were supposed to with all their talent. Jenkins was a known All-Pro who struggled with injuries for a year and came back almost as good as before. Now, he is just as good playing out of position.

[Mediator12]

This has nothing to do with who plays NT on our team. Our linebackers and safeties can't play the run, it's that simple. They take poor angles and they miss tackles, they just flat out suck. Our run defense was not an issue when Wilson was our MLB and we didn't have a Warren Sapp type DT back then.

You are putting the cart before the horse here. Everyone knows that stopping the run starts with the DT's. That is the shortest path to yardage. In this case, if the DT's fill the inside gaps the LB's and safeties are not already in poor angle positions to fill another gap that is not their own.

We had John Lynch and Al Wilson cleaning up those plays in the past. All-pro type run defenders. Al wilson is out of the league because of all the abuse he took cleaning up the DT messes this team has created.

Now, the point about not tackling well still stands. None of the front seven can tackle and half the secondary is poor as well. Combine that with a DL that routinely lets RB's get untouched into the second level and you get pathetic run defense.

[Haroldthebarrel]

You are putting the cart before the horse here. Everyone knows that stopping the run starts with the DT's. That is the shortest path to yardage. In this case, if the DT's fill the inside gaps the LB's and safeties are not already in poor angle positions to fill another gap that is not their own.

We had John Lynch and Al Wilson cleaning up those plays in the past. All-pro type run defenders. Al wilson is out of the league because of all the abuse he took cleaning up the DT messes this team has created.

Now, the point about not tackling well still stands. None of the front seven can tackle and half the secondary is poor as well. Combine that with a DL that routinely lets RB's get untouched into the second level and you get pathetic run defense.

interesting post. Where do you think we should go from here?