{"id":135205,"date":"2022-09-11T22:08:58","date_gmt":"2022-09-12T02:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=135205"},"modified":"2022-11-21T12:42:46","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T17:42:46","slug":"bears-former-top-pick-optimistic-on-sharing-position-good-for-the-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/09\/11\/bears-former-top-pick-optimistic-on-sharing-position-good-for-the-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Bears&#8217; Former Top Pick Optimistic on Sharing Position: &#8216;Good for the Team&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>CHICAGO &#8211; The Chicago Bears were home dogs to the visiting San Francisco 49ers and, for much of the game, the offense was slow and mired by poor execution. It was so bad for the Bears at one point that <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/06\/16\/matt-eberflus-message-to-bears-come-back-lean-fit-and-strong\/\" target=\"_self\">Matt Eberflus<\/a> tried rotating starting right guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/J\/JenkTe00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Teven Jenkins<\/a> in favor of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/P\/PatrLu00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lucas Patrick<\/a> who was signed to be the starting center.<\/p>\n<p>Patrick has been dealing with a broken thumb throughout most of camp and, now, into the regular season.<\/p>\n<p>He played with a club \u2013 or as Eberflus calls it, the \u201cQ-Tip\u201d &#8212; while <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JoshGBuck\/status\/1562134245602197507\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sam Mustipher<\/a> started at center.<\/p>\n<p>After the game, Jenkins opened up about making the move to guard, how he felt he played, and just how he felt about the interesting development with the rotation up front after he seemed locked into the starting spot.<\/p>\n<h2>Bears&#8217; Teven Jenkins Has Optimistic Outlook on Rotating at Guard<\/h2>\n<h3>Jenkins Assesess His Performance<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cI think I played alright,\u201d Jenkins said while seated in front of his locker. \u201cOf course, it\u2019s going to be some things I need to clean up in the run game and the pass game. Overall I\u2019d probably give myself about, probably about a \u2018C+\u2019 maybe. Not going to be too encouraged. But at the same time, not going to be too critical.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That is a very fair assessment of Jenkins\u2019 day.<\/p>\n<p>It began rather ominously as Jenkins, the 39th-overall pick by the previous regime in 2021, was beaten badly by Niners EDGE rusher Samson Ebukam leading to a sack of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/09\/05\/watch-these-5-things-when-the-chicago-bears-take-on-the-san-francisco-49ers\/\" target=\"_self\">Justin Fields<\/a> and loss of 10 yards on third down.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Hunting szn \ud83d\ude24 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sosa50?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@sosa50<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcfa <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SFvsCHI?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#SFvsCHI<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NFLonFOX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@NFLonFOX<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4Od0YQw2wO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/4Od0YQw2wO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/49ers\/status\/1569010109543481344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 11, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>That seemingly led to his being rotated out for Patrick later in a back-and-forth that went on all game. Eberflus said that they will determine whether or not that will continue next week. But Jenkins certainly made his reps count after that initial hiccup.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Right guard tracker: Teven Jenkins was in during that TD run by Khalil Herbert.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/adamjahns\/status\/1569048168184020995?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 11, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>How Did Jenkins Handle Rotating with Lucas Patrick?<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cI feel good about it. I mean, we talked about it before the game anyways. So we knew what it was going to be before we started lining up out there. So I was very comfortable with it. Just because I got told beforehand. Rotating, right now, it\u2019s good for the team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jenkins took what could be seen as a demotion in stride; a different approach than the one reported back in the spring when Eberflus and general manager <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/05\/11\/changing-perceptions-harder-than-roster-for-chicago-bears\/\" target=\"_self\">Ryan Poles<\/a> arrived.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps that is because this move isn\u2019t about him as much as it is getting Patrick into game shape. He can\u2019t do that at center at the moment with his hand clubbed so rotating him at guard with Jenkins is one way of working on his conditioning.<\/p>\n<p>We will have to wait until Week 2 at Green Bay to see if they rotate against the Packers.<\/p>\n<p>[pickup_prop id=&#8221;26542&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h3>How Has the Transition to Guard Been?<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been good. Just been repping it. Especially with our defensive line here. And that\u2019s been very good for myself because we do have some of the top people in the NFL. And, for me, it\u2019s been great for my development.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jenkins said that he has picked up several things from his veteran teammates like Patrick including to \u201calways be physical\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>That early sack was surely a reminder to always be on too.<\/p>\n<p>The transition inside was surely made easier by Jenkins\u2019 willingness to kick inside in the first place. He had experience at the position in college. But he was billed as the Bears left tackle of the future and had to battle back from being relegated to the third-string right tackle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m willing to play wherever they want me,\u201d he said following practice during training camp. \u201cI want to be here in Chicago so I\u2019m playing wherever they want me to play.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Jenkins Future In Chicago<\/h3>\n<p>It was less than two weeks ago that Ian Rappoport reported the Bears were still taking calls on Jenkins.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">From NFL Now: Looking at some possible trade candidates, focusing on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Bears?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Bears<\/a> OL Teven Jenkins and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Raiders?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Raiders<\/a> OL Alex Leatherwood. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Pxz7csBveB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/Pxz7csBveB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RapSheet\/status\/1564306893497057280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 29, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>While anything is possible, it would likely take an over-the-top deal to pry loose the (co-)starting right guard.<\/p>\n<p>The bigger tell could be once Patrick\u2019s hand is free from the wrap he donned in the opener. In the meantime, Jenkins\u2019 story is still being written in his new position. But it is certainly off to a winning start.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"SPhPYwSMRfR3dLAi1cvYfA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1243147925\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'SPhPYwSMRfR3dLAi1cvYfA',sig:'yX-xhCkrCkfMrQIinIvYOcYcesVu-gvbEvZlv34iFVk=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1243147925',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Things were so bad at one point that Matt Eberflus pulled starting guard Teven Jenkins for Lucas Patrick who was signed to play center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2879,"featured_media":135207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[54,23],"tags":[7657,7544,5999,8851,8010],"class_list":["post-135205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-bears","tag-bears-featured","tag-chicago-bears-roster","tag-lucas-patrick","tag-matt-eberflus","tag-teven-jenkins"],"modified_by":"Josh Buckhalter","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2879"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}