Q. What did you learn about your defense last week that might have been unexpected even given the amount of time you spent together in the pre-season?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: I don't know, I can't really say it was anything like too unexpected. I feel like we just did what we normally do every single day, which is we run to the ball, we give relentless effort, we tackle well.
We practice on tackling, I mean, I want to say almost every day we're out there. We got some form of tackling circuit or drill. I don't think anything surprised me, but it was good to just see everything coming to fruition. Like everything we been practicing, everything just kind of go from the practice field to the game.
Q. Stylistically, how much different is the challenge with New England and what they want to do versus what you saw week one?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: Yeah, I mean, they're not trying to hide anything. They tell you everywhere in the media, wherever, they're trying to run the ball. You know, that's what they're trying to do.
They got a good back in 38, so as well as we tackled last week, last week is last week. Every week is a new opportunity, so we have to come out there and showcase those same abilities and skill again, especially against a runner like that.
Q. In your experience, and you've played for a couple different teams, was that more practice in tackling over the off-season than you've been used to?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: Yeah, absolutely. I would definitely say so. I mean, of course it's a big emphasis around the league just because the hidden yardage is in the tackles. You know, those three, four yard games, especially after contact really adds up over a course of a game. But here we really paid attention to that, and that's why our coaches make us practice tackles all day.
Q. You're talking about the different drills where you have the pads and everything?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: Uh-huh.
Q. Not so much live tackling?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: Yeah, just different drills. Not so much live tackling. Just different drills that we continuously just get coached on.
Q. Have you been on a team that does the circuit drills in tackling, do one, punch out, and move to another form of tackling and every position in the defense doing that? Have you been on a team that does it that way?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: Yeah, but we don't do it every day. We used to didn't do it every day, but here we do it every day.
It's like definitely a point of emphasis.
Q. And then is it fair to assume in your practice that there is a sense of trying to get multiple players there, and then when the first person hits, you eliminate them being able to get an extra three or four yards because the first hit stops them there?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's the idea of it. In a perfect world you want to get the guy down on the first contract.
We run to the ball well here. Even if the first guy doesn't make the tackle, he at least gets the runner to stop his feet, and then you got to the pursuit from the entire defense pursuing the ball carrier.
Q. You flashed time and again with three safeties; K'Von coming on, you being able to be more down in the box. Is that a place where you feel best or do you not care whether you're back or in the box?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: I mean, I prefer to be toward the line of scrimmage just because that's what I've been doing for the past three years. My first four years in the NFL I played primarily the free safety position, which I loved at the time because it was like everything I had known.
I'm like, okay, I love it.
But then when I was kind of forced to move down to the strong safety position due to injury, I fell in love with that because I'm like, man, there is action down here every play, whether it's the run game or the pass game. The free safety, you're more so just back there just looking for anything that will break. The ball goes up in the air every once in a while you got to attack it. Get the ball carrier down if it's a busted gap.
So I mean, as a free safety you may get 10, 12 opportunities in the game. Strong safety you just in so much action. It's just endless opportunities.
Q. Their first play of the game, you might have saved a touchdown there. What did you see there on that play?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: Before the play I knew they were going to run it there because I seen just two gaps open. I was like, I might as well get ready. It's coming right here. But just having that in my mind, it allowed me to close the difference between me and the ball carrier much faster.
So I didn't give them a lot of room to work, with so he had to make a decision right now and I just shot at him.
Q. Playing with Julian Love for an off-season, what have you seen him bring to this defense?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: His IQ of the game a really high. He really understands the game of football. He's on the details, the ultimate professional, and then he's a playmaker at the end of the day.
So just having a guy like that to be back there with you just makes it that much more easier.
Q. Is K'Von Wallace as talkative during games as practice?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: Yeah, absolutely. That's K'Von's game. He is going to call things out before they even get to their looks. Whatever he's thinking, you're going to know about it. Very vocal player, which from the safety position you want a guy like that.
Q. To have three turnovers and another fumble on the ground, how encouraging is that for you guys to see that kind of turnover production potential in the first game out?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: Yeah, I mean, just like tackling, it's a point of emphasis here. I'm pretty sure it's a point of emphasis around the league because the ball is -- at the end of the day that's the most important thing on the field. You got to take the ball away.
So very encouraging, but like I said earlier, this is a week-to-week league and you got to continue to come out here and every week prove yourself.
Q. We've seen Richard Sherman and Cam Chancellor and guys like that come out a little bit, and a lot of alums were there Sunday. What's it like first year with the team getting to know some of those guys and learn some of the history of that team?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: Yeah, it's cool because those are guys I watched college, growing up. I was in college watching these guys, so it was kind of cool just to be around those guys. Marshawn Lynch, Cam, Sherman, guys like that. I actually chopped it up with Cam and picked his brain on a few things.
You know, it's great to have -- to just have people that played this game at a high level come back to the team. You know, it's cool to be around.
Q. What about their advice still holds up?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: You got to prove yourself every week. No matter what you did last week, come out here, try to be better the following week and so on and so forth.
Q. When you watch those games and when you watch Legion of Boom, what did you like most?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: Every player had their own style that they brought to the table, to the game.
And they made sure the way they played the game they made sure it looked like that on film every single Sunday. You know, you had Sherman locked down on corner; you had Cam, big hitter, big presence on the field; Earl, he's back there. He was back there just really controlling the airways, middle of the field and making those eraser tackles that his team needed him to make.
Q. Did it change your mind at all or idea of what it looked like to play football or high level defense?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: It was very encouraging to watch because, I mean, I came from Miami, and as we know, we have an extensive history of great DBs that came from the Hurricanes.
So just watching that and looking at here as well, just really upholds a standard that any defensive back that plays this game really wants to live up to.
Q. What was it like communicating on defense before the snap for the first time at the stadium?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: Yeah, so it was loud. That was -- I mean, I always tell people that's the top two loudest places I ever played in in my career.
So going into the game we really emphasized that hand signals -- I mean, we have to just be on those because we're not going to be able to hear each other on the field. I couldn't even hear my teammate who was maybe six feet from me at some points in the game.
So it was just really huge with just being on pointe with the hand signalling in the game.
Q. Do you have to switch those up throughout the game so that the offense doesn't pick up on them?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we were playing against some really smart quarterbacks and guys like Aaron Rodgers, or, you know, just any quarterback in the league. They're going to be able to pick things like that up quickly.
So we have to adjust on the fly.
Q. What's the other loudest stadium you played in?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: Arrowhead, yeah.
Q. What have you learned about the mentality of your guys when you went on the field twice already backed up and held up in both those situations?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: Yeah, we didn't really care about what the rest of the team was doing. You know, we knew we had a job to do, and we had to do it to the best of our ability.
Once you get to worrying about other people's positions, that's when stuff just goes just south. So you really have to just hone in on what you need to do, take care of the moment. No matter like what happened previously, take care of the moment and the game will kind of just start it piece itself together?
Q. Your coach in training camp would spring those, I think, what, mystery periods or mystery situations on you guys and you faced a couple of those in that game. How prepared did you feel to handle those?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: We felt really prepared. Just like you said, coach always puts us in those positions throughout the week, so it was nothing new.
That sudden change felt like a sudden change on Wednesday when he's just, hey, sudden change out of nowhere. Now we have to go out there and play just off -- not even a call sheet, just calling random plays with loud speakers in the background.
Q. He still does those during the season?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: Uh-huh.
Q. So you guys change coverages all the time. Have you played in a defense that changes coverages this often? Do you enjoy that or is it challenging?
RAYSHAWN JENKINS: I haven't played in a defense that changes coverages this often, but played in a defense where we switched it up a little bit. This defense is completely different. Definitely going to say it's challenging just because of the different positions that -- like me, myself, I play three different positions on the defense, so I have to be able to be like, okay, we're in nickel, we're in this, we're in this; how does everyone differ from each other.
So it's challenging in a way like that, but for the most part, I mean, if you studying the game and you kind of just you're a football guy, everything just kind of makes sense.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports