Jenkins ready to step up as Chicago Bears' defensive leader

Bears defensive end Jarvis Jenkins doesn't have a great deal of experience as a leader, especially not on a team that he's only been a part of for a few months.

That role is available because 11th-year veteran nose tackle Jeremiah Ratliff will not be with the Bears the first three weeks of the regular season due to a league suspension stemming from a 2013 DUI arrest.

"Coach (John) Fox always teaches, 'You're one play away from starting; you're one play from being a role model and leading by example,' and this is one of those examples," Jenkins said. "Obviously we're going to get 'Rat' back, and we're going to be humming, but when he comes back, we already want to have that momentum going forward."

For many reasons, Jenkins is qualified to fill the void left by Ratliff's absence.

Though he's just 27 years old, his four years of NFL experience made Jenkins well worth the free-agent bargain deal (one year, $825,000) that brought him to the Bears. His experience includes 33 starts over the previous three years in Washington's 3-4 defense that has many similarities to the Bears' version of the scheme.

Maybe most importantly, Jenkins is anxious to take on the responsibility of leadership.

"Gotta step up, man," the 6-foot-4, 300-pounder said. "We took a tough loss with 'Rat' out for the first three games. (Now) we have to have guys step up, including myself." When Ratliff is out, Jenkins can serve as mentor to the group of youthful linemen who will be asked do the bulk of the heavy lifting on the Bears' defense.

Rookie nose tackle Eddie Goldman won't be 22 until after the regular season ends, and Terry Williams, who's next on the depth chart, is 23. Among the ends, Brandon Dunn is 22, Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton are 23 and Cornelius Washington is 25.

"I'm one of the guys with the most experience on the D-line," Jenkins said. We've got younger guys ... and we have to bring those guys along. It's going to be key for me to set the mindset with these guys. We won't come out and play like we're down a man, we have to step up and play football."

Ratliff is eligible to play in the remaining two exhibition game, but coaches will be poring over game film to find linemen who can help get the defense through those first three regular-season games. If they're lucky, maybe a star will emerge.

"Everybody has to play a little bit better," Fox said. "You've got to turn your game up a little bit. It's not going to be the first time it happens. I can promise you that. I've been through enough of these seasons. There are unlikely heroes that happen a lot around the league."

For Jenkins to emerge as one of the Bears' heroes, he'll need to develop a more complete game. His ability to stuff the run is a given, but he has room for improvement as a pass rusher with just 2 career sacks.

He's working on it.

"Just studying film and realizing what pass rush you're getting," he said. "Realizing the formations you're getting, how to align in the slot. It comes from studying.

"That's another thing about being a veteran, you see a lot of stuff. You see play action a little bit faster, you can tell where the line is sliding, just the little things that you learn in the meeting room that ties into the field."

Spoken like a leader.

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