Tag: Malcolm Jenkins

WATCH: Eagles drop hype video featuring the best pre-game speeches in franchise history

Philadelphia Eagles release hype video featuring the best pre-game speeches in franchise history

Just about every football game at each level begins with pregame warmups, stretching, a walkthrough, and some words from a team leader. Philadelphia will depart for Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Wednesday, and before the final practice of the week, the Eagles social media team released this epic eight-minute video.

Helping to set the mood, the video includes some of the best pregame speeches in recent franchise history.

https://Twitter.com/Eagles/status/1831012081589440611

The names read off like a who’s who, with Brian Dawkins, Malcolm Jenkins, Brent Celek, Rodney McLeod, Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, Omar Gaither, Chris Long, and Tra Thomas among others.

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Malcolm Jenkins’ clutch fumble recovery in 2010 is the Saints Play of Day 47

Malcolm Jenkins came through in a big spot on Thanksgiving Day. His strip-fumble against Cowboys WR Roy Williams in 2010 is our Saints Play of the Day:

Shout out to Malcolm Jenkins for some of the greatest hustle plays in New Orleans Saints history. The Dallas Cowboys gained 47 yards on this grab-and-go pass from Jon Kitna to Roy Williams back in 2010, but Jenkins saved a touchdown — and likely the win — by hurrying to make a play in a gotta-have-it situation on Thanksgiving Day. That makes it our Saints Play of the Day as we count down to kickoff, with 47 days to go until the Saints host the Carolina Panthers in Week 1.

The Saints were trailing 27-23 late in the fourth quarter when Williams found space in the Saints secondary; Kitna threw a dart, and then it was off to the races. Williams had a step on Tracy Porter but Jenkins closed the gap quickly, meeting the Cowboys receiver at the New Orleans 11-yard line. A tackle would’ve been enough, but Jenkins did even more. He stripped the ball from Williams’ hands and recovered the fumble in one of the biggest plays of the season.

And Drew Brees didn’t waste that opportunity. He got out of the Saints’ own red zone with a 22-yard pass to Marques Colston, and then flipped the field on an impressive 55-yard lob to Robert Meachem. Lance Moore caught his next pass, scoring the go-ahead touchdown, and the Saints never looked back. Dallas’ final possession ended with a missed field goal from 59 yards, and then all it took was for Brees to kneel out the clock.

But things could have gone very differently if Jenkins didn’t wrestle the ball out of Williams’ hands. If he had scored or even set up the Cowboys offense to drain the clock themselves, New Orleans probably doesn’t win this one. That Jenkins came through in such a big spot with all of America watching is commendable.

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Highest rated Ohio State football players in college football video game history

Highest rated Ohio State football players in college football video game history #GoBucks

A teaser trailer dropped for the new upcoming EA Sports College Football video game and despite seeing very little gameplay and details, the anticipation is at an all-time high. At this point, gamers who have waited a decade just want the playoffs and transfer portal added and would be happy with the graphics from the past generation of consoles.

According to the trailer, we can expect a full reveal this May and the game to hit shelves this summer, but if you are like me, you are too much of a pessimist to believe it. Nonetheless, it is fun to take this opportunity to look back on some of the highest-rated Ohio State football players in this game’s history. The craziest part of this list is that a now current coach on the staff is tied as the highest Buckeye ever rated.

The last game came out in 2013 and it is a real shame we missed out on studs like Nick Bosa, Chase Young and of course C.J. Stroud, but it will be interesting to see who some of the top guys are this year.

Three former football stars make Ohio State Athletics Hall Of Fame

What an honor #GoBucks

With such a storied football history, the [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] football program has plenty of representation in the school’s athletic Hall of Fame.

That list is about to grow. Three of this year’s 14 inductees announced on Thursday were former Buckeye football stars. When they are enshrined into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame, they will join an illustrious group of some of the greatest players to take the field in Ohio Stadium and around the Big Ten.

Two of the names you’ll see below are recent players, but all three were extremely highly decorated Buckeyes. Check out below which former Buckeyes will be honored as Hall of Fame members.

20 years later, here’s the top picks from each round of Saints drafts under Mickey Loomis

20 years later, here’s the best picks from each round of New Orleans Saints drafts under general manager Mickey Loomis:

The New Orleans Saints have the longest-tenured general manager in the NFL in Mickey Loomis, who has held his post since May 13, 2002 — a span that’s seen 20 NFL drafts come and go under his stewardship. Always eager to trade up and act aggressively on draft day, Loomis has made 24 picks in the first round alone during his run as general manager.

But which picks stand apart as the best? We’ve broken it down round-by-round to highlight the best returns New Orleans has found in the draft under Loomis:

Saints have 4 players accounting for $5 million in dead money for 2023

The New Orleans Saints have four players accounting for $5 million in dead money for 2023, but that number could soon increase five or six times over:

There’s a lot of work to be done in getting the new Orleans Saints under the 2023 salary cap, but don’t blame players no longer on the roster. For once, the Saints don’t have many dead money commitments from past retirements and roster mistakes — just four players are on the books right now who won’t be playing for New Orleans in the fall. As things currently stand, they won’t have any dead money leftover at all in 2024. It’s the healthiest this area of the operation has been in years.

But it won’t last. While the Saints are forfeiting $5,038,479 right now in dead money (per Over The Cap), that number could increase five times over in just a few weeks should a couple of free agents sign with other teams. And any players designated as post-June 1 cuts will factor into the 2024 salary cap mathematics. Let’s break it down:

Malcolm Jenkins teases NFL comeback: ‘Technically the Saints have the rights to my contract’

Malcolm Jenkins teased Eagles fans asking about an NFL comeback, saying ‘Technically the Saints have the rights to my contract’

Could the Philadelphia Eagles swap one former New Orleans Saints safety for another? Again? C.J. Gardner-Johnson has been sidelined by a lacerated kidney and rib injury, prompting Eagles fans on Twitter to lobby for Malcolm Jenkins to make his NFL comeback. Jenkins retired earlier this year with some time left on his contract with the Saints, which he acknowledged is a complicating factor, though the idea of returning to play with a Super Bowl contender should be appealing. This isn’t as simple as Marshawn Lynch un-retiring to re-sign with the Seattle Seahawks in December (he was a free agent at the time).

“Technically the Saints have the rights to my contract,” Jenkins shrugged in a message from his official Twitter account, before adding, “I know Eagles fans love a comeback story, but don’t think you’ll get one this time.”

Odds are better that Jenkins will remain retired while managing his business interests away from football, but you never know. Another issue is that we’re past the annual NFL trade deadline. So if he were to decide to come back and play for the Eagles, he couldn’t be traded to Philadelphia. New Orleans would have to relinquish his contract altogether meaning they wouldn’t get any compensation. They would waive Jenkins and he would sign with the Eagles upon clearing waivers.

From the team’s perspective, why would they allow that? Why let a player who already hung up his cleats suit up for a conference rival who has already gotten their goat in past trades? For goodwill with him? Come on. He would be going back on his word here, and nobody could argue in good faith that the Saints would be wrong to stand in the way.

But this is part of a bigger problem. Will the indignities never cease? It’s bad enough that Sean Payton quit on the Saints and is out here publicly daydreaming about a team-up with Lamar Jackson (who he chose not to draft in 2018, instead trading up for Marcus Davenport, who shouldn’t be re-signed after this season). Now we’ve got Jenkins at least entertaining the idea of suspending his retirement to try and win another Super Bowl ring with the Eagles.

We’ll see if anything happens here, but it’s unlikely this develops further. Stay tuned.

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Eagles reached out to Malcolm Jenkins before trading for C.J. Gardner-Johnson

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman reached out to Malcolm Jenkins before trading for C.J. Gardner-Johnson, his former Saints protégé:

So this makes sense. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane says that the Philadelphia Eagles weren’t blind to the tight relationship between C.J. Gardner-Johnson, the subject of their big preseason trade, and his New Orleans Saints mentor Malcolm Jenkins — a fan-favorite who won a Super Bowl in Philly before returning to New Orleans, where his pro career started. McLane reports that Eagles general manager Howie Roseman consulted with Jenkins before finalizing the Saints trade, and that it may have not happened without Jenkins’ input.

“A lot of people judge him by his cover,” Jenkins said of Gardner-Johnson’s mouthy on-field persona. “That’s like his secret weapon.”

Gardner-Johnson always backed up his tall-talking in New Orleans with a comprehensive understanding of the game, but he’s playing even better with the Eagles. He currently leads the league with five interceptions. He’s been a big part of Philadelphia’s unbeaten streak to start the season. Jenkins saw so many similarities between the two of them (they even share the same birthday, ten years apart) that he couldn’t help but take the fiery young defender. It’s only fitting that Gardner-Johnson ended up following in his footsteps from New Orleans to Philadelphia.

Of course this is painful for Saints fans to cope with. The team made a bad deal after contract talks broke down with Gardner-Johnson and his relationship with coaches became frayed. New Orleans originally drafted Gardner-Johnson in the fourth round, having spent a fifth rounder to trade up for him. He’s since gone to the Eagles along with a 2025 seventh rounder in exchange for a fifth-round pick in 2023 and a sixth rounder in 2024. It’s almost impressive that the Saints managed to get less for Gardner-Johnson than they spent to acquire him in the first place after he put up three strong years’ worth of tape in the NFL. Almost.

Anyway, back to Jenkins. He told McLane before the season started that “Philly’s going to love him,” and that “He’s going to check every single box.” We’re halfway through the regular season, and it sure looks like that prediction is coming true. We’ll see what Gardner-Johnson has in store when his Eagles host the Saints in Week 17 later this season.

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C.J. Gardner-Johnson following Malcolm Jenkins’ footsteps to Philadelphia

C.J. Gardner-Johnson following in Malcolm Jenkins’ footsteps to Philadelphia with Saints-Eagles trade:

Don’t look now, but C.J. Gardner-Johnson is following Malcolm Jenkins in Tuesday’s stunning Saints-Eagles trade. Jenkins, of course, started his career as a highly-touted slot corner and won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints. When things soured after he struggled in a new role as the team’s starting free safety, the Saints opted to part ways with him. He went to the Philadelphia Eagles and won another Super Bowl, earning a lot of love from the fans in Philly, too.

Gardner-Johnson’s story so far kind of looks like what Jenkins may have experienced on Earth-2 or some other alternate universe. He landed in New Orleans as a mid-round pick, loved by draftniks but overlooked by most teams, and it took some time before he elbowed his way into the lineup and took Jenkins’ old spot covering the slot. He came awful close to winning a title or two with the Saints, too, but his biggest win was ascending to household name status among the fanbase.

Now he’s been traded to the same team that once signed Jenkins, where he’ll likely play the same role as a starting safety in the Eagles defense. Whether or not Gardner-Johnson finds as much success remains to be seen. It’s also unclear whether he’ll someday return to New Orleans. That feels unlikely given everything involved, both the money Gardner-Johnson is seeking that the Saints aren’t willing to pay as well as the emotions that go into these decisions, but you never know. Mark Ingram found his way back to the Saints after moving on to a couple of different teams.

So did Jenkins. The next time fans see Gardner-Johnson he’ll be wearing an Eagles uniform. But it’s far too soon to say that it’ll be the last they seen of him. In any case, it’s a cool parallel between two one-time teammates who shared so much in common while seeing such different experiences.

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Highest rated Ohio State football players in “NCAA Football” video game history

Highest rated Ohio State Buckeyes in NCAA video game history #GoBucks #NCAAFootball

The NCAA video game series has been a pillar in many households since 1998 and for some even before that during the days of “Bill Walsh College Football.” It was downright devastating when EA Sport stopped producing the game after “NCAA ’14.”

The game — or a version thereof — is scheduled to return in time for the 2023 season and I just simply can’t wait. It got me wondering who the ten highest-rated Ohio State football players were in the video game’s history. It is important to remember that no names were used for the rosters, but we can make some safe assumptions that QB No. 2 would have been Terrelle Pryor. It’s part of the reason EA Sports had to stop making the game.

Another item of note is that it is extremely hard to find any rosters before the 2004 version, but I feel I exhausted my options and found the best results. I also want to note that the first “Bill Walsh College Football” game didn’t even have Ohio State and instead had an odd copycat team named Columbus. There were no individual player ratings and therefore that game was not used. Oh, and don’t forget, NCAA games were labeled a year in advance so the 2005 version of the game is actually for the 2004 season. Got it? No, maybe — sort of?

Let’s move forward anyway with the top ten rated Ohio State football players in the history of the “NCAA Football” video game franchise.