The Mass in the Middle
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- October
- 14
When Jets coach Eric Mangini and general manager Mike Tannenbaum met with nose tackle Kris Jenkins for the first time, before signing him to be the force in the middle of the defensive line, they explained to him why they wanted him.
It was the run defense. The Jets were consistently giving up costly yardage in the running game, and if Jenkins wanted to come here, his job would be to get the Jets out of the NFL basement in that statistical category.
“My personal philosophy is, I’m a grunt,” Jenkins said.
After Sunday’s 26-14 win over the Bengals, the Jets ranked third in the league in run defense, giving up an average of 66.9 yards per game and limiting opponents to 2.9 yards per carry. The Jets trailed only the Steelers and Ravens.
“I know it has been a concentrated effort and guys have been taking it personal and trying to get that done,” linebacker Eric Barton said.
What has been one of the biggest changes defensively between this season and last?
“I wish I could take all the credit,” Jenkins said yesterday.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 at 5:01 pm by Jane McManus.
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Jane McManus 
