Post Snap With Malcolm Jenkins: 'Cowboys Are The Real Deal'
Malcolm Jenkins is a Super Bowl champion and veteran NFL safety. He sits down with CBS Philly's Joe Santoliquito every week.
All of Jenkins' Post Snap interviews are archived here.
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Malcolm Jenkins has no problem saying it. The Eagles veteran safety and one of the team leaders feels the Eagles are a "championship caliber team."
After the Eagles beat down on Sunday the previously undefeated Minnesota Vikings, 21-10, causing four turnovers in a game that wasn't even that close, it may just be a matter of being more consistent.
"It's a matter of proving of how good we are and we're in the process of building on that," said Jenkins, who had a fumble recovery in the Eagles' win. "We're looking to improve on what we've done. Right now, we're 4-2 and heading into the Dallas game on the road. We're in the thick of it. Now is not the time for us to start looking around and seeing where everyone else is. We're in the hunt and we have to continue to do what is working, and fix what isn't working.
"We know we're a good football team. I like our defense. We have our core stuff that we like to do, but coach (Jim) Schwartz is a smart defensive coordinator. He'll pick out some things in an opponent he feels we can take advantage, like we did against Minnesota."
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Dallas looks like the real deal. The Cowboys sit atop the NFC East at 5-1. Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott may be rookies, but they're playing like veterans and make Dallas incredibly formidable.
"They don't look like the real deal, they are the real deal," Jenkins said of the Cowboys. "Their record shows that. It will be a good game. We'll have to show up, like we did this week. We're going into a hostile territory in the division. We have a team that is high minute, low the next. And coming off that bye week, but for whatever reason, guys started pushing it too much.
"We need to be a boring, disciplined football team. That's our identity. That's what will win for us. We had too many guys trying to make plays, and in turn, not doing their job. This week, we wanted to get back to the basics. We might not be making a highlight play, but we're doing our jobs play-in and play-out. We have to go back to playing boring football.
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"We need to be patient as a team and take care of the football. We do those things, and I think we're going to be all right. We'll compete every week. We don't have to do anything outside of our framework to be great. We have to do the small, boring things better than anyone else.
"Coming into this season, we assumed the defense would have to carry us. The defense was in tuned to all of the small details, because we thought defense we have to carry our team. All of sudden, Carson Wentz plays very well those first three games, and we went into the bye week. Defensively, we didn't feel that pressure anymore to carry the team. We still felt the pressure to perform, but I don't know if there was that urgency to perform every small detail that you need to win in this league."
Jenkins said halftime of the Detroit game was important in getting everyone back on the same page. For some reason, things fell apart against Washington. The little things went out the window. Those little things returned on Sunday against the Vikings, who are now 5-1 because of it.
"We know what our formula is at this point," Jenkins said. "We're going to have to be stingy on defense, and wait until our opponent makes a mistake, and puts our offense in a position to strike. It will be tight, until our opponent makes a mistake. We have to be patient until then. Our games will be close and physical, and they might not be explosive games to watch, but when it comes down to the fourth quarter, we know we can make the plays to win."
Malcolm Jenkins Foundation Event
Jenkins will be holding his third annual Malcolm Jenkins Foundation Blitz, Bow Tie and Bourbon Fundraiser event tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Union Trust Building on 717 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19106. For information, you can go to http://themalcolmjenkinsfoundation.org/. Eagles' long snapper Jon Dorenbos will be the MC.
Follow Malcolm Jenkins on Twitter @MalcolmJenkins and like him on Facebook.
