|High School Harry| Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 Why didn't Malik Jefferson play more for the Cincinnati Bengals? Paul Dehner Jr., Cincinnati EnquirerPublished 5:15 p.m. ET Dec. 20, 2018 | Updated 5:18 p.m. ET Dec. 20, 2018 At No. 76 overall, one pick before the Bengals selected Texas linebacker Malik Jefferson out of Texas, the team picked Ohio State defensive end Sam Hubbard. Rookie seasons that started in essentially the same place couldn’t have gone on more divergent paths. The Bengals can’t seem to keep Hubbard off the field. He played defensive end, defensive tackle, assisted at fullback on offense, even managed a red-zone target last week, all while playing 51 percent of special teams snaps. He goes down as the biggest steal of the rookie haul for the Bengals player personnel department. Then there was Jefferson. Despite injuries and poor play decimating the linebacker room, Jefferson only managed 11 snaps on that side of the ball. He was inactive for two games at a position where six different players racked up at least 150 snaps as they searched for health and production. Instead, Jeffereson spent the majority of his season battling through a rough introduction to special teams. On his one defensive play this past Sunday against Oakland, he hurt his toe and on Monday became the 15th Bengals player placed on injured reserve. One of the most common questions from Bengals fans centered around why Jefferson didn’t see more defensive action this year. The answer reverts back to preseason and training camp. Jefferson struggled with confidence and consistency executing assignments. Despite playing better in the fourth preseason game against Indianapolis he often looked lost out there, Be unsure of yourself long enough and nobody will trust you to expand your role. Marvin Lewis set that forward as Jefferson’s path going into next year. “He’ll get an opportunity when football starts in April to understand assignments, gain opportunity and gain trust,” Lewis said. “Gain confidence in himself and confidence in what he’s doing all of the time. He has the physical tools to do it, he just has to put it all together and get the correct opportunity. We got him on the field a little bit. He grew a little bit this season on special teams, which is generally a start for becoming a good NFL linebacker.” Malik Jefferson talks with linebackers coach Jim Haslett. The rookie linebacker has gotten in the ear of his position coach to learn as fast as possible. (Photo: David Gifreda) Jefferson spent much of the season on the plate of special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons. Errors in punt protection actually forced Simmons to sit Jefferson down. “We lost trust in him after we got a punt blocked on us in Atlanta,” Simmons said, later returning Jefferson to the mix, partially out of necessity. Special teams is the proving ground for building the foundation for a promotion to the defensive side of the ball. A common refrain from those who’ve witnessed Jefferson’s NFL journey goes back to Jefferson’s rare athleticism. He ran a lightning fast 4.52 40-yard dash at 236 pounds at the NFL Combine and notched a 36-inch vertical leap. Those rare physical traits are coupled with a need for more consistent comprehension of the plan. “It was certainly a process. Sometimes difficult,” said Simmons, admitting Jefferson did improve as the year progressed. “The one thing he is gifted with is he can really run. There are many plays where he just runs away from his guy or he catches right back up to his guy on punt return. That’s something I can’t coach. The thing I have to coach is angles, schemes and how he fits within those. It’s going to be a process.” A defining one for Jefferson’s future in Cincinnati. He came out of high school as the No. 1 linebacker recruit in the country before joining the Longhorns, but didn’t live up to expectations immediately in Austin. His junior year the light came on and he ended up a second-team AP All-American with 110 tackles and 10 for a loss. Different rookies mature and blossom at different times. For every Hubbard there are five Jeffersons. Some don’t blossom at all. “There were ups and down the whole way through for sure," Simmons said. "I think he grew. I think he figured out that this NFL deal is a little faster, he’s a fast guy but this is faster than he anticipated. There is a lot happening.” Jefferson now officially has time to find the comprehension and consistency to make the game slow down for him. After this injury, it’s officially on to the next opportunity in 2019. “He needs to just go out and play,” Lewis said, “and that’s what the preseason is all about – to go out there, play productively and not have errors in assignments.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|High School Harry| Posted December 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 Dear Paul, your article needed at least one quote from Jefferson. Where is his head at? How determined is he to “get it”? Etc. 🦗 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Ray Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 That article didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. I think Malik would benefit from new coaches Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SF2| Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 1 hour ago, High School Harry said: Why didn't Malik Jefferson play more for the Cincinnati Bengals? Paul Dehner Jr., Cincinnati EnquirerPublished 5:15 p.m. ET Dec. 20, 2018 | Updated 5:18 p.m. ET Dec. 20, 2018 A common refrain from those who’ve witnessed Jefferson’s NFL journey goes back to Jefferson’s rare athleticism. He ran a lightning fast 4.52 40-yard dash at 236 pounds at the NFL Combine and notched a 36-inch vertical leap. Those rare physical traits are coupled with a need for more consistent comprehension of the plan. That’s all you need to read. Just another shiny object. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|High School Harry| Posted December 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 1 hour ago, Cricket said: Dear Paul, your article needed at least one quote from Jefferson. Where is his head at? How determined is he to “get it”? Etc. 🦗 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_C_Deadpeople Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 1 hour ago, SF2 said: That’s all you need to read. Just another shiny object. Exactly. We draft too many of these and do not have the coaches to work with them. It's a double whammy. Oh wait, then we hold on to them too long, triple whammy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esjbh2 Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 3 hours ago, High School Harry said: Haslet: "Now Malik, we've been thru this many times...the black jerseys are DEFENSE...the white jerseys are OFFENSE...and the orange jerseys are...well, let's just concentrate on the black and white for now" Honestly feel sorry for the guy. Who knows what all is going on in that situation. Maybe all him. Maybe coaches/schemes. Maybe doghouse for some other reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostInDaJungle Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 Jim Haslett "Well, he's inconsistent. Does great one play, and lousy on the next one." Marvin Lewis: "Well, let's start Nickerson. He's consistently bad on every play." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SF2| Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 1 hour ago, LostInDaJungle said: Jim Haslett "Well, he's inconsistent. Does great one play, and lousy on the next one." Marvin Lewis: "Well, let's start Nickerson. He's consistently bad on every play." There is something to be said of consistency, you never get disappointed. I was like that when Ced would go in at tackle. I would watch and think, "This is going to be bad." Yep, no disappointment at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|High School Harry| Posted December 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 Something interesting to watch these last two games is to see if Worley beats out Nickerson. I honestly don't think he can do any worse and he will certainly be motivated with something to prove. Of course, the Bengals will probably have him on the inactive list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gupps Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 One way to gain confidence and learn assignments would be to actually....mmmmm...play....amiright? If he has "rare athleticism" he should be able to use it to correct some of his mistakes, but I guess its more entertaining to watch Nickerson flail around out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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