’RABBIT WON’T RUN
JENKINS WANTS TO STAY DESPITE SELL-OFF
Eli Apple is in New Orleans and Damon Harrison is with the Lions, so it’s only natural to wonder about the future of Janoris Jenkins, but the cornerback said he hopes to remain with the Giants — despite their dismal record.
Asked if he thought Sunday’s game against Washington could be his last with the Giants, Jenkins said: “No. Never. I want to be here. I’m happy I’m here.”
That might not matter if the Giants decide to continue to look ahead, shed salary and pick up draft picks.
For now, though, Jenkins remains in the Giants’ secondary, an important presence in the locker room, but his play has slipped this season.
As the Giants come to grips with a second straight lost season, they have until Tuesday’s trade deadline to decide who else they will jettison for salary relief and draft picks.
Those are some of the issues defensive coordinator James Bettcher faces at the midpoint of an ugly year.
He already is dealing with a defense that has performed below expectations even before losing a pair of key pieces in Apple and Harrison.
Bettcher called the trades “organizational decisions’’ and insisted the rest of the defense wouldn’t collapse in the wake of the news.
“I love that we have guys of high character on our defense that no matter what the challenge is — whether the challenge is 1-6 and finding a way to get a win, or if this team were a five-win team and we were trying to not be complacent,’’ Bettcher said. “I think there’s high character in the room and that’s important.”
He doesn’t think their attitude will change.
“Trades happen in-season, they happen in the offseason, they happen various times throughout the course of the year and under no circumstances are any of our players or any of our coaches ever going to run from anything,’’ Bettcher said before Thursday’s practice. “We’re going to keep running to it. Our guys are going to keep playing hard.”
Olivier Vernon is another significant name who might draw interest from other teams, but like Jenkins, the linebacker insisted his focus is on the field.
And he’s confident that is the attitude of the rest of the defense.
“Everybody is still positive,’’ Vernon said. “Everybody is just worried about football and that’s it. You start focusing on other things and getting distracted, that’s what you don’t want to do. I think everybody is just dialed in. We got our eyes on the Redskins and that’s it.”
Bettcher hopes players such as Dalvin Tomlinson, Josh Mauro and Kerry Wynn take advantage of the absence of Harrison, whose role had diminished before his departure.
“It might mean five more snaps for one guy, it might mean 20 more snaps for another guy, it might mean a starting role for a couple guys,’’ Bettcher said. “But there’s no hesitation in my mind, there’s no concern about those kinds of moves when all I know is everything that we’re trying to do is in the best interest of the Giants and the best interest of us.”
Their next test comes Sunday against the Redskins, led by running back Adrian Peterson and quarterback Alex Smith.
At this point, though, the opponent hardly seems relevant. Four straight losses have all but ended the Giants’ chances of making a run at the postseason and they allowed 30-plus points in three consecutive games prior to Monday’s 23-20 defeat in Atlanta.
“You’re always going to have to deal with ups and downs,’’ Vernon said. “We’re just down right now. That’s just football. Nothing is a guarantee. All you can do is go out there and fight, and still try to get a W. Ain’t nobody laying down for nobody. … It can get frustrating, but you can’t let that hinder you in any way.”