How 'Grade A badass' Kevin Greene transformed Jordan Jenkins

[Steveg]

FLORHAM PARK -- During spring practices, the Jets' new outside linebackers coach, Kevin Greene, dug into the archives for video from his Hall of Fame playing days. He wanted to set the foundation for his teaching points, so he showed his players some of his 160 career sacks. 

The gist of Greene's message, as outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins recalled to NJ Advance Media: "I'm just showing you guys what worked for me. You can choose to do it, or you can try and do your own thing. But percentages show that this is what worked." 

Jenkins eagerly soaked up Greene's advice, and it now seems to be paying off.

Jenkins had two sacks in Thursday's win over the Bills -- his first two sacks this year, after he had just 2.5 as a rookie last year. Jenkins was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts, which also included a forced fumble (on a sack) and two quarterback hits. 

While Jenkins didn't need to watch video of Greene to know what a superb pass rusher he was, "it definitely helps," said Jenkins, who is in awe of Greene's accomplishments. 

"You don't have the thought in your mind like, 'Oh, this guy doesn't know what he's talking about. He's never played the position. He doesn't know,'" Jenkins said. "He's showing us that he did know. He was a Grade A badass when he played, talked trash, got physical. We've watched K.G. destroy some pretty good tackles." 

So under Greene, has Jenkins turned a corner as a pass rusher, after working on that skill set so diligently in the offseason? Sort of, though the numbers show he still has room to grow. 

Last season, in 14 games played, Jenkins had 20 quarterback pressures (three sacks, one hit, 16 hurries) in 151 pass rush snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. He generated a pressure every 7.6 pass rush snaps.

This season, in nine games, Jenkins has 14 pressures (two sacks, five hits, seven hurries) in 147 pass rush snaps. He is generating a pressure every 10.5 pass rush snaps. So while he is pass rushing more often, his pressure rate isn't quite as high, at least based on PFF's data. 

By Jenkins' estimation, he should have four sacks right now. Tyrod Taylor escaped his grasp in Week 1. And Jay Cutler eluded him in Week 3. Jenkins was due for a big game, he believes. 

"After you go through a couple of those, you start to get like, 'Man, come on. Somebody is out to get me,'" Jenkins said. "You see other guys getting shoe-string sacks or leg-swipe sacks. When is the first one going to come?" 

As he sought his first sack of 2017, Jenkins took solace in his quarterback pressures being up from the first half of last season, albeit with more pass rush chances, based on PFF's data. 

[Steveg]

Cont.

"I don't even remember being close to a quarterback in the first half of the season last year," Jenkins said. 

He spent time in Atlanta this offseason working with the pass rushing guru Chuck Smith, so even as he didn't have any sacks in the first eight games this season, he knew he was better. 

"Through all the stuff I did this offseason, I feel like I was more effective rushing the passer," he said. "There was still improvement this year in that aspect, compared to last year." 

Part of Jenkins' improvement also stemmed from Greene emphasizing to his players the importance of rushing more with power than finesse.

The problem with finesse-oriented pass rushing moves, said Jenkins, is they often end with the pass rusher behind the quarterback, which can spring the quarterback for a scramble. Greene "doesn't want guys behind the quarterback," Jenkins said. 

Try a finesse rush move against most NFL offensive tackles, and the tackle will "run you by" with an extra shove to knock you past the quarterback, away from a clear rush lane.

"It's not a high-percentage move that's going to reward sacks," Jenkins said. "It's a low-percentage move."

Under Greene, the Jets' outside linebackers are using finesse pass rushing moves less often than they did last year. And it is paying off. 

Last year, we were behind the quarterback multiple times, and had a low number of sacks in the outside backer room," Jenkins said. 

The Jets fired outside linebackers coach Mark Collins and replaced him with Greene after last season, when their outside linebackers had just 5.5 sacks. The position group has already equaled that total this season. That is largely because Greene is "teaching us how to rush" and "teaching us what helped him be successful," said Jenkins. 

Between Greene showing his edge rushers video of himself -- and other legendary pass rushers like Lawrence Taylor and DeMarcus Ware -- Jenkins is becoming a pass rushing expert. In college at Georgia, he never was truly taught the art of pass rushing.  

"I was never really shown, or I never really learned how to pass rush, until K.G.," Jenkins said. "We had coaches [at Georgia] who would always tell you, but they didn't really get into a level where we understood, at least speaking for me. I never really had a pass rushing coach."

Now that Jenkins has the knowledge, and finally a couple sacks to go with it, is he ready to take the next step as a pass rusher? He isn't ready to make any bold predictions. 

"That was only one game," he said of his two-sack showing against Buffalo. "I could go the rest of the season and not get another sack, not get another pressure. Or I could go the rest of the season and just keep getting one after another after another." 

[Pac]

Not so fast.  I was told he was a bust and the Jets have no young talent.  

Once next week rolls around I'm sure he'll be a bust again.

[Beerfish]

Amazing what happens when you actually rush your olbs instead of only blitz ilbs and safeties.

[MDL_JET]

He had one good game, can we slow down? Just a little? 

But what a crazy concept...outside linebacker teaching his players how to pass rush. Took long enough. Greene, Morton and Bates have to be favorite moves this team have made in a while. I hope they stay and continue to improve things.  

[HawkeyeJet]

Just now, MDL_JET said:

He had one good game, can we slow down? Just a little? 

But what a crazy concept...outside linebacker teaching his players how to pass rush. Took long enough. Greene, Morton and Bates have to be favorite moves this team have made in a while. I hope they stay and continue to improve things.  

He's had more than one good game. He's been very solid all year and for portions of last year.  Buffalo was his first eye popping game.

Sometimes people(not saying you) lose sight of the fact not every player is destined to be a star.  If Jordan Jenkins is a solid starter, but not remarkable, for 5 seasons, it was a successful pick.

[CanadienJetsFan]

Give credit when credit is due, this was a good mid round pick by Macc.

[MDL_JET]

6 minutes ago, HawkeyeJet said:

He's had more than one good game. He's been very solid all year and for portions of last year.  Buffalo was his first eye popping game.

Sometimes people(not saying you) lose sight of the fact not every player is destined to be a star.  If Jordan Jenkins is a solid starter, but not remarkable, for 5 seasons, it was a successful pick.

He has definitely, I just hate when a player has a good game or team has a good week and all these fluff articles pop up right after. Guess it's the negative jet fan in me, thinking everything will fall back to earth the week after.

[Augustiniak]

3 minutes ago, MDL_JET said:

He has definitely, I just hate when a player has a good game or team has a good week and all these fluff articles pop up right after. Guess it's the negative jet fan in me, thinking everything will fall back to earth the week after.

he did just win afc defensive player of the week, and there really aren't a lot of untapped human interest stories on the jets right now.  mccags got rid of nearly all the problem children.  

[JustInFudge]

17 minutes ago, HawkeyeJet said:

He's had more than one good game. He's been very solid all year and for portions of last year.  Buffalo was his first eye popping game.

Sometimes people(not saying you) lose sight of the fact not every player is destined to be a star.  If Jordan Jenkins is a solid starter, but not remarkable, for 5 seasons, it was a successful pick.

I think that's what you'll get from Jenkins.  A Calvin Pace like.  Some years he'll have nice sack numbers, some games he'll look wow but most years and most games he'll be more of just solid player and that's a good thing.  He's a great compliment OLB to a pure pass rusher if the Jets could ever figure out that position...like he did with Leonard Floyd at Georgia. 

 

[UnitedWhofans]

21 minutes ago, MDL_JET said:

He has definitely, I just hate when a player has a good game or team has a good week and all these fluff articles pop up right after. Guess it's the negative jet fan in me, thinking everything will fall back to earth the week after.

That's usually what happens with any team in any sport, not just the Jets

[UnitedWhofans]

10 minutes ago, JiF said:

I think that's what you'll get from Jenkins.  A Calvin Pace like.  Some years he'll have nice sack numbers, some games he'll look wow but most years and most games he'll be more of just solid player and that's a good thing.  He's a great compliment OLB to a pure pass rusher if the Jets could ever figure out that position...like he did with Leonard Floyd at Georgia. 

 

Dylan Donahue was supposed to be that guy but he got hurt.

[David Harris]

I think jenkinds will play 8-10 years for us and start- that said he’ll never get over 4.5 sacks a season. Hell set the edge and give a yeoman unathletic contribtion while being a good locker room guy and solid citizen.

[Stark]

17 minutes ago, David Harris said:

I think jenkinds will play 8-10 years for us and start- that said he’ll never get over 4.5 sacks a season. Hell set the edge and give a yeoman unathletic contribtion while being a good locker room guy and solid citizen.

ill take that bet. there will be at least 1 season he gets over 4.5 sacks

[Jetster]

17 minutes ago, David Harris said:

I think jenkinds will play 8-10 years for us and start- that said he’ll never get over 4.5 sacks a season. Hell set the edge and give a yeoman unathletic contribtion while being a good locker room guy and solid citizen.

A few more of those guys & you have a defense that doesn't make mistakes. A few more pcs to this defensive puzzle & the Jet D could be really fun to watch next year. Hell, Thursday Night was awesome. Jets need the money positions (LT, CB, QB) and with 90 million, let's just be happy the boring roles are already taken. No more big spending like Revis, Gilchrist, Skrine all in one offseason. I see QB, Pass Rusher, CB as our target in free agency. 

[BCJet]

42 minutes ago, JiF said:

I think that's what you'll get from Jenkins.  A Calvin Pace like.  Some years he'll have nice sack numbers, some games he'll look wow but most years and most games he'll be more of just solid player and that's a good thing.  He's a great compliment OLB to a pure pass rusher if the Jets could ever figure out that position...like he did with Leonard Floyd at Georgia. 

 

I agree with that assessment, and its not a knock on Jenkins at all, it just is what he is as a player.  He just doesnt have the bend that elite edge OLBs like Vic Beasley have, but that doesnt mean he cant be a very solid player.

I think KG's teaching helps someone like Jenkins a lot as he will need to beat guys with technique and physicality as opposed to speed around the edge. 

[varjet]

15 minutes ago, UnitedWhofans said:

Dylan Donahue was supposed to be that guy but he got hurt.

He seems more like a finesse guy.

I think the way Jordan Jenkins plays.   I am optimistic that he continues to play well.   My biggest concern on this team is CB next year. 

[Tony MaC]

I remember wanting the Jets to draft him in 2016. There was all the talk about Leonard Floyd, but I kept noticing his teammate who seemed perfect to replace old man Pace on the strong side for years to come.

I'm happy to see that all coming to fruition. He is at the very least a capable starter, not a star pass rusher like Mack or Beasly but a guy you don't give up.

 

[Jetster]

1 hour ago, David Harris said:

I think jenkinds will play 8-10 years for us and start- that said he’ll never get over 4.5 sacks a season. Hell set the edge and give a yeoman unathletic contribtion while being a good locker room guy and solid citizen.

Well, he has 2 already, if he gets 1 Sunday he'll have a chance this year to surpass that projection, ?

[rangerous]

isn't his first responsibility supposed to be setting the edge?  sacks are good but making sure the rb can't break outside or the qb can't make those easy throws to the flat are more important.  he's a good player.  he'll get his sacks too.

[jetrider]

Thank God somebody on our defensive staff can coach. We need more Kevin Greenes.