Kelly Jennings wasn’t having the season he expected. He’d struggled at times during the first seven games of the 2007 season, and so the Seattle Seahawks’ cornerback went into the bye week looking for inspiration.
That’s when Jennings went back to school.
First, Suwanee High School in Florida. Then, the University of Miami.
“I’ve always felt like I could play at this level. But earlier this year, I had some games where I didn’t play like I know I can play,” the Seahawks’ 25-year-old cornerback said this week. “I just went back and watched some film from my high school and college days.”
And that, Jennings said, was the turning point of his season.
Ever since spending a few hours of his bye week watching old videos of himself, Jennings has turned a corner in terms of awareness and coverage. And his teammates have noticed.
“He’s playing great football,” safety Brian Russell said this week. “It’s just confidence and experience.”
While many NFL players will try to gain an extra edge by putting in overtime watching film of opposing receivers, Jennings found motivation in old tapes of himself.
“When I was in college, I did the same thing, watching some videos from high school,” said Jennings, a second-year pro out of the University of Miami. “That’s something I’ve done. I felt like I was more successful back then, so I looked at it like: Why? What was I doing then that I’m not doing now? So I went back and tried to figure it out.”
What Jennings saw was that he was playing with more confidence, with a better sense of what was going on around him. A meticulous bookworm who had a 3.0 grade-point average while earning two degrees at Miami, Jennings decided to stop thinking so much and just start playing.
And it has worked out.
“It’s really starting to come to me,” Jennings said this week. “I feel like I did in college, where I know the defense and feel comfortable with the players around me. I’m just out there trying to make plays.”
Teammate Marcus Trufant, who is just 26 years old but already has started 74 NFL games at cornerback, has noticed a change in Jennings as of late.
“Maybe it’s starting to slow down for him,” Trufant said. “He’s played a lot of football now and seen a lot of different teams. I think the more football he plays, the better he’s going to do.”
Because Trufant has more experience, and is having a solid season, teams have continually challenged Jennings. The second-year player said he doesn’t mind the attention — “The position I play,” he said, “you’ve got to love it when they test you” — and added that he’s developed the confidence to withstand the constant action.
An example came during the final few minutes of Sunday’s game at Philadelphia. After getting beat for a touchdown earlier in the game, Jennings bounced back to help shut down the Eagles’ passing game for most of the second half. On a key fourth-and-6 play with two minutes remaining, he found himself in one-on-one coverage with go-to receiver Kevin Curtis.
Curtis ran a quick out pattern to the sideline, and Jennings got a hand on the ball to break up A.J. Feeley’s pass and end the drive.
“Bottom line, that was just a great play,” Russell said. “It saved the game.”
Jennings admitted he probably would have defended the play differently as a rookie, but that his confidence in the Seahawks’ safeties allowed him to play tight coverage.
“(Last year,) I probably would have tried to bail out to make sure I didn’t get beat deep,” he said this week. “But now, I know the situation better. It was fourth-and-6, so don’t be so quick to bail out. It’s one of those little things I’ve learned.”
While Jennings is still waiting for his first interception of the season, he’s starting to reward the Seahawks for using a first-round pick on him in April 2006. The steady speedster slid to the 31st pick of the first round because of his slight build. But the 5-foot-11, 180-pound cornerback, who goes by the nickname “Slim,” hasn’t heard many size questions lately.
“Kelly looks for people to look at his size as a disadvantage,” teammate Jordan Babineaux said. “That’s pretty much what got him where he is. He loves to be looked at as the underdog. He’s like, ‘Come in here thinking that I’m too small, and I’ll show you I can play.’”
Lately, Jennings has been showing just that. After the video trip down memory lane, Jennings is starting to look like he has a pretty bright future in the NFL.
“He’s coming into his own,” Trufant said. “He’s always had the talent, and I think he’s just putting it together now.
“He’s making plays all over the field. He’s feeling good about himself, and he should.”
Notes: Seahawks kicker Josh Brown, who was excused from Wednesday’s practice for personal reasons, returned to the team Thursday. … Center Chris Spencer (oblique) is among the injured players who have yet to practice this week. … While Arizona’s starting receivers, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, continued to be sidelined by injuries, former Seahawk wideout Jerheme Urban returned to practice Thursday and could see some playing time for the Cardinals on Sunday.
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