Mike Jenkins vs Morris Claiborne

[Supercowboy1986]

I made this comment in a different thread and had some good responses so I decided to open it up to the rest of CZ.

Both players were first round picks and at different points were polarizing players for different reasons (production, draft position, injuries, contracts, traded up to draft, etc). Which CB had the bigger impact and which is the better player overall? You can use personal bias, skill sets, the eye test, or any analytical data you want to make your point.

The criteria to judge both players would be full seasons completed with the cowboys.

Since Claiborne has only completed 4 full seasons up this point, use Jenkins's first 4 seasons with the cowboys. By the way, I had no idea Jenkins was still in the league, he plays for Arizona.

Jenkins (per NFL.com)

[/url][/IMG] 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

Claiborne (per NFL.com) 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

 

[WoodysGirl]

IIRC, Jenkins is out for the year. Tore something..

 

[TRUTH87]

only thing i hated about jenkins was his tackling. it was non existent.

 

[The Natural]

As good as Claiborne was this season, in 5 years he's yet to top what I saw from Jenkins in 2009. Looking only at his Dallas career I would say Jenkins was the better player, this is based on the eye test I'm not a big stat guy.

 

[BAT]

As good as Claiborne was this season, in 5 years he's yet to top what I saw from Jenkins in 2009. Looking only at his Dallas career I would say Jenkins was the better player, this is based on the eye test I'm not a big stat guy.

I prefer Mo this year to Jenkins in 2009. And I know that Jenkins had 5 INTs and a pro bowl that year. Jenkins has never been the best player in his own secondary, never mind the entire defense. Mo is having that kind of season this year.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

My problem with Jenkins has been his development. MO's career has been hurt by injuries. Jenkins was so up and down. He was solid in 2009 but he essentially got worse every year after that. His downfall probably was his mental makeup. It was always in question.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

I liked Jenkins because of his swagger. He was a hard hitting guy buy after he hit that guy that died he never was the same after that, almost scared to tackle.

That being said Claiborne in my opinion has been better especially this year. Mo is shutting down recievers and playing with swagger. If he could only get over the injury bug

 

[mattjames2010]

I didn't buy into the 2009 Jenkins hype, he was always a player that got a good pass deflection/INT and then gave up a play. I remember the first half of the 2010 season, my goodness, he was terrible. But I do remember his final couple years here, he was playing a bit better than what he did in 2010 but never got back to the ball hawk he was in 2009.

I kinda forgot about him to be honest.

But he simply didn't have passion for the game. This was the guy that turned and smiled at the camera when he gave up nearly 100 yards and a TD against the Packers.

 

[Cmac]

Why insult Claiborne now?

 

[The Natural]

I prefer Mo this year to Jenkins in 2009. And I know that Jenkins had 5 INTs and a pro bowl that year. Jenkins has never been the best player in his own secondary, never mind the entire defense. Mo is having that kind of season this year.

Jenkins was the best cover corner on this team Mo's rookie season..

 

[BAT]

Jenkins was the best cover corner on this team Mo's rookie season..

Like I said, I prefer Mo. He's much much more physical and he's one of the studs on this entire defense. Only Lee has been as important this season. Jenkins had 5 INTS but he played in shadow of Ware, Rat, Ellis and even Bradie.

How many TDs did Jenkins allow by midseason? Mo has only allowed ONE.

 

[haleyrules]

Jenkins was a good Cowboy. He is sadly, history. I always liked him...he has always been much better than what the club has.

 

[Titleist]

Jenkins was a good Cowboy. He is sadly, history. I always liked him...he has always been much better than what the club has.

I think many would argue, myself included, that Scandrick is a superior CB as compared to Jenkins.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Jenkins is a classic example of how important coaching is to the entire thing. Wade is a great defensive mind, but as a Head Coach he was a terrible developer of players. USF coaches made it very clear about Jenkins...good kid, great athlete, willing to learn...but, only if you 'stay on him.' And you had to 'stay on him' or he would start slacking. Wade would not 'stay on him' and we know the rest of the story.

While I think Garrett is much better at developing players as a HC than Wade ever was, I also think that Claiborne needed less 'staying on him' as a player. I think Claiborne needed some of it, particularly early on. But it's easy to see that the game of football is important to Claiborne and that he plays the game because he loves it more than playing the game because he's successful at it.






YR

 

[DallasDomination]

Jenkins could of been the best corner for a lot of years. He wasn't coached up right, he got injured and his game fell off a cliff from a lack work and confidence.

Hard work over potential any day.

 

[The Natural]

Like I said, I prefer Mo. He's much much more physical and he's one of the studs on this entire defense. Only Lee has been as important this season. Jenkins had 5 INTS but he played in shadow of Ware, Rat, Ellis and even Bradie.

How many TDs did Jenkins allow by midseason? Mo has only allowed ONE.

like I said my first post in this thread, I go by the eye test. Stats can sometimes be a little too nerdy and misleading. Such as this idea that Jenkins only had 5 picks playing in the shadow of the front 7 guys lol..he made those picks, not them.

 

[mattjames2010]

like I said my first post in this thread, I go by the eye test. Stats can sometimes be a little too nerdy and misleading. Such as this idea that Jenkins only had 5 picks playing in the shadow of the front 7 guys lol..he made those picks, not them.

He had 5 picks in 09, had 2 picks the final 3 seasons of his career. You want to talk about "eye test", how about you talk about the amount of bad plays he had in 2010? He was a complete liability in the backfield. If it wasn't for his 09 season, he would have been benched or even cut.

Jenkins in no way ever came close to having a season Mo had this year, and I'd say he hardly beat the season Mo had last year. Jenkins was a fluky player that slightly rebounded in his final 2 seasons here with us. Forgettable player and exactly why he's bounced around the league since leaving here.

 

[Scotman]

I didn't buy into the 2009 Jenkins hype, he was always a player that got a good pass deflection/INT and then gave up a play. I remember the first half of the 2010 season, my goodness, he was terrible. But I do remember his final couple years here, he was playing a bit better than what he did in 2010 but never got back to the ball hawk he was in 2009.

I kinda forgot about him to be honest.

But he simply didn't have passion for the game. This was the guy that turned and smiled at the camera when he gave up nearly 100 yards and a TD against the Packers.

This is exactly how I felt about him. too.

 

[darthseinfeld]

He had 5 picks in 09, had 2 picks the final 3 seasons of his career. You want to talk about "eye test", how about you talk about the amount of bad plays he had in 2010? He was a complete liability in the backfield. If it wasn't for his 09 season, he would have been benched or even cut.

Jenkins in no way ever came close to having a season Mo had this year, and I'd say he hardly beat the season Mo had last year. Jenkins was a fluky player that slightly rebounded in his final 2 seasons here with us. Forgettable player and exactly why he's bounced around the league since leaving here.

A 100% healthy Jenkins was a solid CB. Problem with Jenkins is any knick he had his game fell off the cliff. Even if the injury shouldnt have effected his coverage ability much ( like a shoulder) it always did. Add to that that he may have been more injury prone then even Claiborne and you have a player you can count on less then even Mo.

Top end play Mo is a better CB aways. In 2009 Jenkins was the #2 CB and while he had a very good year, Newman had the top WRs most of the time

 

[Maxmadden]

I am not buying that Jenkins didn't get the coaching that he needed. You make it to the NFL level and there are the best coaches money can buy. I just don't think a lot of players realize it's a job and you have to approach it that way. Players that really want to succeed will find a way to succeed bad coaching or not.

It's more about the mental mindset of improving yourself than blaming some coach for not developing someone.

There are guys on every team that set the example everyday. It's simple, look at a guy who is successful and do what he does.

i.e. Witten, Lee, Bryant, Tyron, it's a mindset more than anything and it doesn't matter how much physical talent you came into the league with if you don't apply yourself to your trade. Of course health is always an important factor in football.