Cowboys defensive tackle Maliek Collins excited to face his hometown team
Growing up in Kansas City, Maliek Collins really had no choice but to be a Chiefs fan.
Much like the Dallas Cowboys are to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the Chiefs are to KC.
both All Pro running backs. He remembers watching the likes of Eddie Kennison,womens Joe Thuney Jersey,Collins grew up envisioning himself as the next Priest Holmes or Larry Johnson,womens Malcom Brown Jersey, Tony Gonzalez and Dante Hall. He knew just how “cold” left tackle and future Hall of Famer Willie Roaf was.
” Collins said,womens Jordan Richards Jersey,“I used to think I was a little Priest Holmes back in the day,womens Geneo Grissom Jersey, smiling.
Holmes and the rest of his childhood heroes are long gone for the Chiefs now,womens Sheldon Rankins Jersey, and Collins finds himself in a different situation. He’ll be trying to stop his hometown team.
Instead of Holmes, the Chiefs boast another elite running back in rookie Kareem Hunt. Hunt leads the league in rushing.
Collins knows it’s his duty to be an interior force keyed on stopping the run. Collins started the season as the under tackle in Rod Marinelli’s Tampa 2 defensive scheme,womens Vonn Bell Jersey, and has now moved to nose tackle.
Collins views himself long-term as a three-technique, but has embraced his new role.
but it’s whatever is best for the D-line right now,Authentic Stephone Anthony Jersey,” Collins said. “I just need to get off. That’s what I do – get off the ball. Everything else will take care of itself. Playing nose is a little bit more read,“I’m a three-technique, but I still get off the ball.”
Collins is dealing with a foot injury and didn’t practice Friday, but the expectation is that he plays Sunday. Team owner Jerry Jones said the same thing on his 105.3 The Fan radio show on Friday.
Collins has had quite a journey from KC to the NFL.
going to Center High School,He grew up in a more urban area of Kansas City, a school that had never produced a Division-I football player.
He excelled there in helping his school make the playoffs two times in four years, and was a standout defensive tackle and right offensive tackle. He was also a state champion wrestler.Authentic Andrus Peat Jersey, 
Bryan DeLong,His high school coach,Authentic Joe Thuney Jersey, remembers a district game in which Collins had consecutive tackles for loss on five or six plays.
“Maliek was a grinder,Authentic Malcom Brown Jersey,” DeLong said. “He worked and earned everything he got. I really didn’t realize how special he was until he was gone.”
even though Collins’ athleticism and potential jumped off the page to DeLong,Authentic Jordan Richards Jersey,Still,Authentic Geneo Grissom Jersey, he struggled to interest D-1 schools in him. He remembers calling big-time schools within a short drive of KC and couldn’t get any of them to seriously look at Collins.
once Nebraska got interested,Authentic Sheldon Rankins Jersey, the schools eventually caught on. By that point,Authentic Vonn Bell Jersey,though,Of course,womens Andrus Peat Jersey, Collins was headed to Nebraska where he continued to develop and jumped to the NFL after his junior season.
coaches stood us up,“I can’t believe how hard it was to get schools to look at him at first. I mean,womens Stephone Anthony Jersey,” DeLong said. “It’s disappointing when that happens because I’m a straight shooter. And Maliek was a man amongst boys on the field. He also wrestled and he’d just grab kids and throw them around like it was nothing. I don’t know how he flew under the radar because he was a man amongst boys.”
and has developed into a starting defensive tackle for the Cowboys,Collins has carried that mentality into the NFL, who drafted him in the third round in 2016. He has impressed in his first two seasons.
Collins ranks fourth on the team with 2.5 sacks and has been credited with 12 tackles and 11 quarterback pressures by the coaches. The 11 quarterback pressures are third-most on the team.
a town known for its barbecue. For what it’s worth,That production surprises no one who knows Collins’ roots in KC, Collins says he has yet to find a Texas barbecue joint on par with Kansas City.
“It’s not a question,” Collins said.
And there’s no question that the Cowboys are pleased with what Collins has done early on in his time with them. That makes his hometown crowd proud.
“It’s real special to turn on the TV and see 96 on there playing for America’s Team,” DeLong said. “My daughters now love the Cowboys. I’ve become a Cowboys fan in a big way. They do things the right way. They’re about playing good ball.”

Justin Simmons on fixing ‘eyes violation’ and facing Giants
The Denver Broncos come out of their Week 5 bye with a favorable matchup,Authentic Haason Reddick Jersey, facing the winless New York Giants, specifically what he calls “eyes violation.”,Authentic Chad Williams Jersey, but second-year safety Justin Simmons knows that even a depleted Giants receiving corps can be problematic if the Broncos don’t fix some of the problems that have hurt the defense in the early part of the season. Simmons used his off week to do some self-scouting and make improvements
” Simmons told Eric Goodman and Les Shapiro of Mile High Sports AM 1340 ,“Bye week was goodAuthentic Brandon Doughty Jersey,
reflect, FM 104.7. “Time to relax, self-scout and get your body right, even though it was only four games, but it was good.”,womens Budda Baker Jersey,
the “No Fly Zone” has been prone to giving up some uncharacteristic big plays through the first four games – something Simmons says the secondary is set on fixing.,Authentic Xavien Howard Jersey,Denver is off to a 3-1 start and allowing a league-best 260.8 yards per game on defense. Still
“We saw a lot,womens Kenyan Drake Jersey, we always eyes violation and things like that. There’s a lot of eyes violation stuff that is easily fixable.”,womens Brandon Doughty Jersey,” Simmons said when asked what the self-scouting revealed during the bye week. “Obviously there were a lot of posistives but there was some big-play stuff that you want to eliminate from the defense to put us in a better position. There was a lot of stuff on there
so Simmons explained:,Eyes violation may not be a common term to casual football observers
“You’re just in coverage,Authentic John Brown Jersey, you get caught up in the offenses like fancy dressing as far as motions or formation. It’s all to try and get you to look away from what your true responsibility is and there were a few times that we got caught in that. That’s what we mean by eyes violation.”,Authentic Budda Baker Jersey, whether it be zone or man
Simmons and the Denver defense faces a two-time Super Bowl winner on Sunday night in Eli Manning, Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shepard this week after all three suffered injuries in a Week 4 home loss to the Chargers., but the veteran quarterback will be without any of his primary passing targets. New York will be without Odell Beckham Jr.
Simmons and the defense won’t look past this week’s opponent.,Although the Giants will be shorthandedAuthentic Chandler Jones Jersey, 
“The great thing about this team and especially the defense is we have the same mentality we in and week out no matter who we are playing, they are going to come and try to win their first game in Denver.womens Haason Reddick Jersey, That’s the attitude that they are going to have. We are going to have the same attitude whether OBJ or whoever is on the field we are going to make sure that we carry that mentality because we got to win the one’s at home. Those are the one’s that are the most important.”,” Simmons said. “Obviously we want to go up against the best and it sad to see that guy are down. Hopefully they are going to be alright but we are not looking at it like oh they are down it’s going to be an easy week. Everybody is in the league is in the league for a reason. We know that the guys stepping up for themwomens Chad Williams Jersey, 
The Giants are 0-5 this season,womens Xavien Howard Jersey, themselves.,Authentic Kenyan Drake Jersey,but coming off an 11-5 campaign that punched their ticket to the postseason. Simmons is well aware that a team desperate for a win can be dangerous. He says that won’t allow Denver to play desperately
“Any team that doesn’t have a win and coming in,womens Chandler Jones Jerseyyou got to win week in and week out especially against tough oppenents. Let’s not forget that this team is the same team last year that beat Dallas twice and was supposed to be the contender for the NFC east this year so they have a bunch of potential. They may not be all falling into place right now but we got to make sure that that doesn’t happen to us.”, they are going to be desperate. I don’t know if desperation for us is the right word. I would just say that we’re ready to prove that we are one of the top teams in the league. In order to do thatwomens John Brown Jersey,