WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – Having won two NFC Defensive Player of the Week awards in a three-game span, whatever Kamren Kinchens has been doing from a preparation standpoint is clearly working.
The recognition reflects a Rams safety playing with more confidence, and more comfort.
"The coolest thing about that is he's been, for the last four or five weeks, coming in and meeting with with Aub (pass game coordinator/assistant head coach Aubrey Pleasant) and safeties coach (Chris) Beake extra almost every single night, every single morning he's in there," defensive coordinator Chris Shula said. "And you just see that progression and how he's becoming more and more comfortable. And you can see him communicating more comfortably."
As the conference honors indicate, Kinchens has been playing some of his best football in the midst of Los Angeles posting a 4-1 record over its last five games.
In Week 9 against the Seahawks, he had two interceptions – one returned 103 yards for a touchdown – plus three combined tackles and two passes defensed in a 26-20 overtime win in Seattle. Last week, he had 8 total tackles, one pass defensed, one forced fumble and the game-clinching interception.
It's been an impressive bounceback response by the former Miami (Fla.) standout after seeing a diminished role during a three-week span. L.A. reconfigured its secondary after a 24-18 Week 4 road loss to the Chicago Bears, and Kinchens effectively fell out of the safety rotation with 0% of defensive snaps against the Packers in Week 5, 3% defensive snaps against the Raiders in Week 7 and 28% of defensive snaps against the Vikings in Week 8. The uptick against the Vikings was due to starter Kam Curl sustaining a knee injury in that game.
"Being intentional with everything," Kinchens said, when asked if the Rams coaches had any areas of emphasis for him during that time his role had been reduced. "Because first it was my technique, my technique was kind of going away because my mind was going on what I'm doing in the play, because I wasn't comfortable in the playbook yet. It was just more of, kind of juggling everything at once instead of honing in on each thing and letting it build upon itself."
As Curl dealt with that knee injury the following week, it opened up the opportunity for Kinchens to get more practice reps. Shula points to that, and the plays Kinchens made in the Seattle game, as the most telling indicators of his performance.
"You just saw the growth kind of throughout practice (in Week 9)," Shula said.
Kinchens doesn't see it as progression, but rather simply being comfortable in the defense.
"It ain't like nothing about my ability has changed," Kinchens said. "That's always been there. It's about understanding where I'm needed in the defense."
In terms of the hardest part about understanding where he's needed in the defense, Kinchens said he was trying to "force my way into making plays," thinking it wouldn't be different than the college level.
"So just growing through the growing pains about it, and just not getting discouraged when something's not going my way," Kinchens said.
Besides the extra work with Beake and Pleasant, Kinchens credited Curl and safety Quentin Lake for their support. Whatever mistakes are made, Curl said they're coming back to the sideline and telling him how to fix it and not repeat it.
"And then even the plays when they see something that could've been a good play, they tell me what I could do better," Kinchens said.
More of that production and those takeaways will be pivotal against an Eagles offense that ranks in the top 10 in the NFL in both scoring offense and total yards, and also doesn't turn the ball over often – their 11 giveaways are tied with four other teams, including the Rams, for ninth-fewest in the league entering Week 12.
Another award-winning-caliber performance would help. Kinchens certainly has the confidence to do it, thanks to a more intentional approach in his preparation.
"I think it's just the confidence, the hard work that he's put in, and he's seen that hard work pay off," Shula said. "And that just continues to elevate his performance."
