The reunion between the Rams and cornerback Janoris Jenkins won’t take place Sunday morning.
Jenkins, the Rams’ top cornerback before he left via free agency after the 2015 season and signed with the New York Giants, won’t face his former team this week. It’s been a difficult season for the Giants, and it took another turn when they indefinitely suspended Jenkins for an undisclosed violation of team rules.
According to a report from ESPN, Jenkins did not show up to team headquarters Monday, the first day after the Giants’ bye week, and Coach Ben McAdoo said he didn’t hear from Jenkins until Tuesday.
“As a member of this team, there are standards and we have responsibilities and obligations,” McAdoo said in a statement. “When we don’t fulfill those obligations, there are consequences. As I have said before, we do not handle our team discipline publicly. There are times when it is unavoidable, and this is one of those times.”
Jenkins has been solid in six games this season, with one interception (which he returned for a touchdown), but probably not enough to justify the huge contract he signed with the Giants last year.
The Rams, at that time, chose to apply their franchise-player tag to fellow cornerback Trumaine Johnson and let Jenkins leave via free agency. Jenkins signed a five-year, $62.5 million deal with the Giants. Jenkins made the Pro Bowl last season, when he had three interceptions in 15 games.
WHO’S COACHING THE GIANTS?
McAdoo’s first season with the Giants hasn’t been simple. Not only is the team underachieving, with a 1-6 record, but the Giants also suspended cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie after he walked out of a team meeting, and they’ve lost receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall to injuries.
It’s been a relatively quick rise for McAdoo, 40, who was an NFL quarterbacks coach just four years ago.
McAdoo joined the Giants as offensive coordinator in 2014. The next season, the Giants had the sixth-highest scoring offense in the NFL, and McAdoo was promoted after the 2015 season when Coach Tom Coughlin was forced into resignation.
BY THE NUMBERS
5.5: Yards allowed by the Giants’ defense, per rushing attempt, when the opponent runs to the right side. That’s pretty stark because the Giants, overall, have allowed only 4.2 yards per rushing attempt.
16.0: The Giants’ point-per-game average this season, third-worst in the NFL. Last year, the Giants averaged only 19.4 points per game but went 11-5 and made the playoffs.
2: Rushing touchdowns by the Giants this season. The Rams’ Todd Gurley has five rushing touchdowns.
PLAYER TO WATCH
It’s tough to believe that Eli Manning, once best known as Peyton’s little brother, is closing in on his 37th birthday, and this might be the most challenging of Manning’s 14 NFL seasons.
Injuries and losing have put more pressure on Manning, but through seven games, Manning has put up a 64.2 completion percentage. If that holds up, it would (narrowly) be the best percentage of his career.
Manning has only one interception in his last four games but failed to throw for more than 150 yards in either of his last two. Manning is coming off his worst game of the season, a loss to Seattle in which he completed 19 of 39 attempts for 134 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions.
WHAT DID HE SAY?
“You can’t make wholesale changes in the course of a week. … You can’t make too many crazy changes. We’re not bringing in new personnel. We still have the same guys in the locker room.” – Giants offensive lineman Justin Pugh, on the team’s struggles