CORTLAND, N.Y. (AP) -Kris Jenkins is smiling a lot these days, even though he hasn’t practiced in a week.
The New York Jets’ Pro Bowl nose tackle has a strained left calf that has kept him on the sideline for most of training camp, but he’s feeling more relaxed under new coach Rex Ryan.
“Last year, you couldn’t talk about an injury,” Jenkins said Saturday, referring to former coach Eric Mangini’s strict policy. “You couldn’t say anything and you couldn’t do anything. It was cool, but I felt like I was in a box.”
Jenkins gave two examples of common questions he got last year that made him uncomfortable, simply because he didn’t quite know how to answer them.
“How you doing?” he said, putting his hands straight down along his sides and squeezing his lips shut. “How’s your back?”
Jenkins, now free to discuss injuries, said he’d be available if it was the regular season.
“When it’s time to go and it counts, I’ll be out there,” he said.
t Cleveland Browns coach was fired by the Jets in December, crediting him for helping revive his career as a dominant 3-4 nose tackle. But Jenkins quickly warmed to Ryan and the way he operates.
“Now it’s like I can speak,” he said. “It’s cool. I feel like myself, which is fun. It’s been a long time since I played this game that I’ve really felt like I can be myself.”
When Ryan was hired in January, he brought with him an aggressive, confident approach that has rubbed off on the players.
“It helps that you aren’t stressing as much,” Jenkins said. “You are a lot more loose. Some people, when they’re stressed and nervous, it works for them. For some people, it doesn’t. For me, I like to be loose. I enjoy it. I really feel like a veteran right now.”
That certainly is a departure from Mangini’s less-is-more approach.
“I can’t really speak on what’s happened before,” Ryan said. “I can just say that we encourage our guys to be themselves. That way, you go out there and just be who you are and they don’t have to worry about, ‘Am I saying the wrong thing? Am I saying the right thing?’ It doesn’t matter.
“I also think it’s good for our fans to find out who this person is, learn a little bit about Kris Jenkins, learn a little bit about this player or that player. I’m proud of the guys we have. … I think the more our guys get out in the public, the better light it shines on our football team.”
Add A Comment