Jenkins lets Payton know who is No. 1
Emotions were already high among Philadelphia Eagles players, trailing the New Orleans Saints 38-7 entering the fourth quarter on Sunday.
Even quarterback Carson Wentz was visibly frustrated as early as the first quarter when he threw an interception.
So when the Saints elected to go for it on fourth and 6 with 13:22 to play in the game and a 31-point lead, it was Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins’ turn to be upset.
It was he, after all, who Alvin Kamara burned on a 37-yard touchdown reception from Drew Brees.
Cameras caught Jenkins flipping off Saints Coach Sean Payton for the play.
“I’m a competitor,” Jenkins told NBC Sports Philadelphia, when asked about the finger. “I love Sean to death. I know what type of guy and coach he is. That was more so personal between me and him.”
Jenkins said he and Payton smoothed things over.
“We talked after the game,” Jenkins said after the Eagles’ 48-7 loss. “It’s all good. I know Sean. They’re going to go for it. I was more so upset that it was on me.”
Payton said after the game he wasn’t offended by the gesture and was complimentary of Jenkins as a player.
“I think the world of him,” Payton said. “He is a tremendous player. I hate that he got out of here. That is probably as big of a mistake as we have made here in 13 years.
“He’s made up of all of the right things. He’s a tremendous competitor.”
Tough rookie season
The Philadelphia 76ers appear to be a magnet for medical issues these days. Less than a day after it was revealed Markelle Fultz will be seeing a shoulder specialist to shed light on the issue that affects his shooting stroke, it has emerged that Zhaire Smith has suffered severe weight loss due to an allergic reaction.
According to The Ringer, the rookie has lost some 20 pounds — on their official website, the 76ers list Smith as weighing 199 pounds — and is considered as “being in danger” of not playing at all this season, contrary to reports that suggested he could be back on the court next month.
Team sources were quoted as saying that Smith has a severe peanut allergy and prepared his food individually. However, they were not aware the guard also was sesame-intolerant and there is the possibility he might have eaten something at the Sixers’ training facility, which could have caused a reaction.
Chosen by the Sixers with the 16th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Smith has not played a single minute in the regular season after undergoing foot surgery in August. On September 27, the team issued a news release stating that the former Texas Tech student had “underwent a successful thoracoscopy surgery” to “address an issue that stemmed from an allergic reaction to a food product.”
Thoracoscopy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure in which a thin, lighted scope with a video camera is inserted into the chest through a small incision.
The food-related issue appeared to have been resolved and Smith was listed out because of his foot injury on two separate occasions, on Oct. 22 and then four days later.
On Nov. 9, however, the Sixers released another news release to explain Smith was in fact still suffering from an allergic reaction.
“Zhaire Smith is recovering well after receiving additional medical treatment for complications derived from the allergic reaction that initially required a thoracoscopy,” the organization said in a statement.