DGR Pt. 1 – Defense – PHI 14, CAR 9
Posted: August 17th, 2013 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 82 Comments »This week’s Detailed Game Review is half done. Here is the defense for your viewing pleasure while I work on the offense.
The defense made great strides in a week. There were a variety of reasons, but the biggest one is that the players had a game under their belt and the coaches had game tape to use to teach them. Trent Cole can learn better by watching Trent Cole than he can Kevin Greene or some other former Bill Davis OLB.
The coaches did a lot of teaching this week at practice. The players responded by playing smarter and more aggressively. There were fewer mental mistakes, missed tackles and “what the heck was that” moments. This isn’t quite Gang Green Pt 2, but the defense is at least headed in the right direction. There were no Keystone Cops moments (like the LeGarrette Blount run from last week).
It was good to see the starters play a full half. We got to see them in different situations. It also gave them time to get loose. Trent Cole was better in the 2nd Qtr than he was in the 1st. Every snap is a learning experience for some of these guys as they adjust to the new scheme. The more they play, the better they should look.
* On 3rd/20 we ran 3-3-5. Cox-Thornton-Cole up front. Barwin, Ryans, Kendricks at LB. They all covered on the play. Just rushed 3. Need All-22 before any idea of what coverage really wast.
* #2 DL came in the game on the 3rd drive (late 1st Qtr). Geather – Logan – Square.
* CAR ran a play-action pass to open the 2nd Qtr. The TE and WR criss-crossed downfield. Nate Allen and Bradley Fletcher communicated well and made a clean switch. Nate pointed to Brad about who to take and each guy then went with the correct receiver. Huge step forward to see the players on the same page and communicating in the middle of a play like that.
* CAR had a sustained drive in the 2nd Qtr. At one point Davis replaced the DL and OLBs. Interesting move.
* There was a lot of Cover 3. This is one deep Safety and 2 deep CBs. The goal is to keep receivers from getting behind the DBs. This means giving up underneath catches and is one reason Cary Williams gave up a few. The strategy worked as CAR could drive into the Red Zone, but not score TDs. The Panthers longest pass play was 23 yards and they mostly moved the ball in small chunks.
PLAYERS
DL
COX – Better than last week. Chased Cam on the 2nd play of the game, after Ced had flushed him. Fletch showed his great speed on the play. Got good pressure on early 3rd down. Kendricks flushed Cam and Cox chased him out wide, almost getting a sack. Rare speed for a 300-pound DE. Got good pressure on 1st/10 pass by driving the LG right back into Cam’s face. More active, more disruptive.
SOPOAGA – NT. Did a solid job on screen. Stuck with his blocker and moved toward the ball. Took away the cutback lane. Got no pressure on pass to open the 2nd drive, but battled 3 different OL so there is no question of effort. Isn’t getting much push at all in the pass game. Hasn’t done anything bad, but he’s off to an underwhelming start.
THORNTON – Good game. Broke through on first play to get late pressure on Cam. On the next play, Ced drove the RT back to Cam and Ced lunged for him, then fell to the ground. That flushed Cam and led to an incompletion. Got pressure on early screen pass. Wasn’t gift pressure either. Screen was going away from him. Ced used his hands to get by the RT and into Cam’s face. Was unblocked on early run. Slammed the RB down for easy TFL. Impressive job on 3rd/20. Was NT in Dime. Drove the C backward. RB tried to chip Ced, but did nothing. Then hit the RG. Then went back to the C. Cam started to run and Ced took off chasing him. Power, speed and hustle.
GEATHERS – Played LDE at first. Shed block and tackled runner on his first play. Did give up 4 yds. Missed tackle of RB on inside run. Just threw the TE down on that play and was there for the stop, but couldn’t do it. Got a pretty good bull rush on the RG on 2nd Qtr pass play. Was able to generate initial movement, but couldn’t keep the guy going. Shed a block, chase the RB and made the tackle on a run play late in the half. Looked sorta athletic. Isn’t as physically dominant as I hoped. Plays smaller than he is. I’m pretty sure his hero is Dwight Freeney.
LOGAN – Got driven off the ball 5 yds on his first play, which was at NT. Not good. LG tried to block him on next play, a pass. Logan got by him and hit Cam. Attacked upfield on next inside run. Fell down and ball went away from him. Shed the block of the LG and stuffed an inside run for minimal gain late in the 1st half. Batted down pass late in the half. Quick hands. Got some push on pass play in the early 3rd when Boykin almost picked off the QB in the RZ.
SQUARE – RDE at first. Got off block and helped with tackle of RB on first play. Got blown 5 yds off the ball by double team on run play. There is nothing the least bit flashy about him, but Square gets off blocks and finds the football. Still slow off the ball at times and isn’t athletic, but smart, skilled and he uses his hands well. Doesn’t make mental mistakes.
CURRY – Came into the game late in the 1st half as part of Nickel. #3 RDE. Shed block in early 3rd and stuffed RB for a TFL. Fired upfield to go for another TFL, this time in the mid-3rd. Didn’t make the play. Not sure how coaches will feel about him shooting upfield like that instead of playing his gaps. Just destroyed the RG from RDT in the Nickel and forced an incomplete pass on 3rd down. Quick and used his hands well. Fired upfield to disrupt a late 3rd Qtr run. Vinny wasn’t over the OT so him shooting the gap may have been part of the play design.
KING – Played LDE in the early 3rd. Got sealed inside on first play and RB had open lane to attack. Used his hands to get off block of LG in Nickel D vs pass. Played RDE late. Did okay, but failed to stand out at all. Project.
DIXON – Came in at NT in the early 3rd. Got little to no push on pass plays. Looked slow. Didn’t stand out vs the run. Played late in the game as well. Bad sign when a former starter like Dixon is on vs 4th stringers and fails to stand out. I’m hoping he was just rusty after missing a couple of weeks of practice. Next week is critical for him.
KRUGER – Played LDE starting in the late 3rd. Got put on the ground on first play. Doesn’t have the strength to battle double teams very well. Got some pressure on the next play, which was a screen pass. Showed good speed. Athletic project, but isn’t physical enough and is still a bit raw in terms of skills.
WALKER – 4th string NT. Used his hands well to engage OL. Big guy. Also played some DE. Showed good hustle.
REMINGTON – 4th string RDE. Played some DT in the Nickel. Good effort, but limited push on pass plays. Played some NT as well.
OLB
COLE – Getting better. Dropped into coverage on first play. Buzzed to his area. Focused on player in front of him. Saw ball go over his head so Trent jumped and tried to get a hand on it. Solid job. Looked a bit spastic, but did his job on that play. Got some pressure on an early screen pass, but they wanted him coming upfield since pass went right to where Trent was. Eagles must have had a “game” on vs a run play. Cox went wide and Cole headed to the inside. Trent didn’t see the RB running his way until too late and missed the tackle. Still isn’t seeing the field the way he should. Best early pass rush came from DE in Dime set. Good burst, but LT still rode him wide. Best moment in the game was 3rd/4 in early 2nd Qtr. Was stand up rusher in the Nickel. Ran into the LT and drove him straight back to Cam, forcing quick throw. That stopped a drive. Lined up in the slot on a 2nd Qtr drive. Then rushed at the snap. Destroyed the TE that tried to block him. Cam got rid of the ball before Trent could hit him. CAR ran at him on the next play. Trent stood up the TE and shed the block, but couldn’t contain Deangelo Williams. Trent did tackle him 5 yds upfield. Called for neutral zone infraction in the 2nd Qtr. On the next play Trent stuffed a FB and tackled the RB for minimal gain on a play coming right at him. CAR tried to run outside of him in mid-2nd Qtr. Cole engage the blocker and moved laterally, forcing the RB to stay to the inside.
BARWIN – Good in coverage. Many early plays went away from his side. Lined up as LDE in Nickel and got good rush off the edge, but then used spin move to the inside and let Cam get wide of him. Can’t give up the edge to a mobile QB. Shed a block and tackled RB on cutback run to his side. Hasn’t stood out as a pass rusher, but is very good vs run and in coverage.
GRAHAM – Came into the game in the late 2nd Qtr. First play was a run to his side. Graham engaged the blocker and moved him back a step, but then flowed wide to keep contain. RB cut back inside where pursuit got him. Played DE/OLB in the Nickel late in the half. Tackled RB on a draw play. Showed good awareness on that. Drew a holding call late in the half when he rushed from LDE and cleanly beat the RT. Made nice play vs run in the early 3rd. Engaged the TE, shed him and crashed to the inside to get RB on inside run. Used a great dip move to get by the RT and pressure QB on pass play in the early 3rd. Almost led to pick. Hustles in pursuit. Looked okay covering TE over the middle on short route, but the ball went elsewhere. Had an excellent TFL in the late 3rd Qtr. Fired into the TE and then shed him and shot into the backfield for the stuff. Beautiful play. Opened the 4th Qtr by flying off the edge and flushing the QB. Led to bad throw & TFL. We know he can rush the passer. Played pretty good run defense. Still adjusting to being a OLB.
MCCOY – ROLB. Crashed to the inside and helped stop a run for minimal gain late in the 1st half. Continued to show speed and quickness as a pass rusher. Pursued well on a pass play where Cam rolled away from him. Drove the LT right back to the QB on 3rd down pass play in the mid-3rd. Good power. Flew into the backfield on screen pass where he was unblocked. Don’t think they anticipated him getting there so quickly. Love his size and athleticism. Looks like NFL OLB.
LONG – Played LOLB in the 4th Qtr. Stuffed FB on run play that came at him. Looped inside on passing play and flushed QB to Brown for a sack. You can tell Long has played LB in a 3-4. Smart player, even though he’s a rookie. Just not dynamic off the edge. Project.
BROWN – Played some RDE/OLB late. Had a gift sack. QB was flushed right to him.
ILB
KENDRICKS – Good game. Side-stepped a blocker on a screen pass and was able to get in on the tackle. Blitzed on early 3rd down. Got by the RB and dove for Cam. Didn’t get him, but affected the play and kept Cam from being able to get off a good throw. Over-pursued on inside run and didn’t cover his gap. Made a good tackle of Cam in space on a play where he had started to run upfield. Cam got about 5 yds. Kendricks kept outside leverage, which is exactly what you want. If you miss, send the runner back to the middle where there is more help. Kendricks also stayed low and was in good tackling position. Good when covering RBs and TEs. Got a TFL in the early 2nd Qtr when he read an inside run and just fired into the backfield to make the stop. Good burst, vision. Strong tackle. Came free up the middle on a delayed blitz and got the best shot of the night on Cam. Clean, but hard.
RYANS – Sorta quiet game. Good in coverage. Ryans is in the right spot. He’ll take away WR on shallow cross or drop 20 yds downfield and take away the seam. Doesn’t stand out until you watch the tape. Helped stuff a cutback run on the opening drive. Helped tackle RB on inside run to open the 3rd series. Stuffed the FB on an iso play and forced the RB to cutback.
CHANEY – So disappointing. Played ILB in 3rd Qtr. First play was a run to his side. Got blocked and RB went for 15 yds right through that area. Made a nice play vs screen pass in the late 3rd. Got in RB’s hip pocket and made the tackle right after catch. TFL. Good tackle. Played late in the game against fringe guys and failed to stand out. Struggled to get off blocks. Wasn’t instinctive. Needs to play WLB on a 4-3 team.
MATTHEWS – DNP.
ACHO – The Eagles 3rd best ILB and I’m not sure it is close. Came into the game in the mid-3rd. Made tackle on run play away from him on first snap. Moved laterally. Stayed back. Then made a good tackle. There was a run play in the late 3rd Qtr where Acho made the read and stepped up to make the tackle. As he was taking the RB down, Chaney was 2 yds behind him…I assume still trying to read the play. Yikes. Bit on run fake on 3rd/shot and left the FB open in the flat. FB caught pass and got the 1st down. Acho chased him down and made the tackle. Used spin move to get off block and make tackle on inside run. Had good coverage of TE on short route, but couldn’t make tackle. Gave up extra 5 yds. Does a solid job in coverage. Nothing special in terms of athleticism, but looks like a polished LB.
KNOTT – Came into the game late in the 1st half as part of the Nickel. Played in base in 3rd Qtr. On first play, tried to run around blocker and took himself out of the play. Must engage and shed. Had another 3rd Qtr run where he moved around the OL instead of taking him on. This will get him sent to the practice squad. Can’t do that. Got thrown to the ground by OL on inside run. On plays where he is kept clean, Knott gets to the ball and makes things happen. Really struggles with OL right now. Lots of potential if he can become more physical with blockers.
S
ALLEN – Started. Came down into the box on the 2nd play and stuck right with the TE, which helped to force Cam to throw the ball away. There was a blown coverage on the 3rd play. Was either Nate or Bradley Fletcher. I think Fletcher, but that’s just a guess. Nate hustled to the sideline to force the WR out of bounds. Had excellent man coverage of the TE on early 3rd down. Took him out of the play. Steve Smith was unable to grab a high pass to open the 2nd series. Nate was there to deliver a big hit if he did. Would have been good to see if Nate was able to do that or if he pulled up or missed. Nate did have the hardest hit by a DB last week, but he hasn’t had many in his career. Need to know if that’s changed or not. Tackled RB on inside run where he got to the 2nd level. Nate wrapped and got him down, but it wasn’t a forceful tackle. Was in the backfield and ready to get a TFL, but Kendricks beat him to the RB. Nate timed the play perfectly. Would have been good to know if he could have made that stop. Got a hit on RB on inside run, but didn’t wrap up. I think the coaches will grade Nate pretty high since he didn’t make mistakes, but we still didn’t get questions answered about his ability to hit/tackle.
CHUNG – Good game. Came up into the box and made the tackle on a screen pass that came his way. Helped Ryans stuff a run right by the LOS on the opening drive. Had downfield coverage of Ginn on early 3rd down. You could see Chung’s athletic limitations. Didn’t have the speed to stick close, but did his best. Pressure on the play kept Cam from having time to get the ball downfield. Came up quickly to tackle WR on catch over the middle. Tackled the RB right at the LOS on inside run at end of 1st Qtr. We used 8-man front and Chung was unblocked. Did a good job of playing in traffic and then making a strong tackle. Had tight coverage of a WR on a play where Cam was forced to scramble. Was used to cover the TE man-to-man at times. Did a good job. Was ready to light up Steve Smith after a catch, but Smith short-armed the ball and Chung pulled up as he saw it fall away.
WOLFF – Played in the 3rd. Helped Boykin tackle WR after catch to his side. Not afraid to come up and play the run. Took on FB aggressively in mid-3rd to help bottle up a run play. Showed okay range as he tried to help a CB with a WR on a deep ball. Came down in the box on a run play in the early 4th. Hit the FB and spun off him. Couldn’t tackle the RB, but slowed him so others got the TFL. Very impressive. I trust Earl as a run defender. Still trying to figure out how well he covers. Definitely behind Nate for starting job.
COLEMAN – Played in the 3rd. Played some in the slot. Made a good hustle tackle in the late 3rd after WR caught pass downfield. With new emphasis on size, Kurt needs to stand out more than he has. Needs to do something to make the coaches keep him.
SIMS – Played late.
ANDERSON – Had his best hit of the game came when he popped DL Daryell Walker late in the game.
PHILLIPS – DNP.
CB
FLETCHER – So far, the Eagles best CB. Good coverage on 2nd play of the game. Stayed close to the WR and forced Cam to throw the ball away. There was a blown coverage on the next play. I think Fletcher was at fault, but could have been Nate. Hard to say without knowing the scheme better. Fletcher was all over Greg Olsen on 2nd Qtr pass play, but Cam still got the ball in there. Tackled him immediately. Beaten by Smith on slant pass on 3rd/5 play. Fletcher got there 1/2 second after the ball. Not shy about supporting the run. Will get in traffic and try to get a shot on RBs. Had tight coverage of Smith on RZ pass play and the ball was thrown away.
WILLIAMS – Gave up completion to Smith on first play, but we were in Cover 3 zone and Cary did his job. Got body-slammed by Steve Smith on a run play. Wow. Smith made him look like a rag doll. Shocked me that Cary didn’t get up and go nuts. Kelly’s comments about playing with discipline must be working. Williams stuck with WR LaFell on 3rd down crossing route. Cam couldn’t get the ball in there. Gave up short completion to Smith and then Smith fought upfield to the the 1st down. Made a great play on 3rd/4. CAR ran short route over the middle. Cary knew they were throwing short due to down/distance and the route being run. Broke on the ball and knocked it away, without hitting the WR. That stopped a drive and forced CAR to kick a FG. Great anticipation, body control and ball skills on the play. Made an awkward, but effective tackle of Williams on run play that came to his side. Gave up a 15-yd pass to Smith on 3rd/6. Played off and was beaten easily. Made a shoulder-tackle of Williams on run to his side. Doesn’t seem to prefer wrapping up.
HUGHES – Played RCB in the 3rd. Called for strange penalty. Hughes moved early and that led the WR to move early. Very odd. WR got behind him on the next snap, but the ball was off-target and fell incomplete. Played press-bail coverage in late 3rd and gave up easy completion. Seemed slow to get there and touch the WR down. Gave up catch/run in the late 3rd. Played off and WR ran deep cross. Brandon didn’t close quickly and never even got in on the tackle. Not fluid in his backpedal. Poor COD. No closing speed. Good press coverage in early 4th, but WR got some separation and caught pass to move the chains. Not a good game.
BOYKIN – Had a chance to pick off a throw on 3rd/20 play downfield. Ball was too high for WR. Boykin went up and got his hands on it, but couldn’t make the grab. Not an easy pick, but you’d like to see him make plays like that. Had a good night in the slot, especially when pressing receivers. Able to stick right with them. Made a good tackle of Smith after short catch where Fletcher was the cover guy. Moved outside in the 3rd Qtr. Gave up completion for about 10, but then forced the WR out immediately. Got beaten again on the next play, but had tight coverage. QB just got the ball by him to the WR. Had excellent coverage on RZ pass play in the early 3rd. Was in excellent position to make the pick, but couldn’t hold onto the ball. That is a critical play. Must make those. The next pass play came right back his way. Boykin pressed and was all over the WR. Ball was incomplete.
MARSH – Injured on STs. Never played D.
POYER – Played the slot late in the 1st half. And in the 2nd half. Beaten to the flat by a WR on short route. The ball was off-target, but Poyer was a step late in getting out there. A good throw would have moved the chains. Poyer isn’t fast so he has to anticipate well and be one step ahead mentally. Got TFL in early 4th Q. WR made diving catch on errant throw and Poyer dove on him. Made good tackle of TE after he got away from Acho on short pass play. Played slot and outside in the 4th. Looked more comfortable. Maybe he’s starting to adjust to NFL speed.
WHITLEY – Good game. Played LCB in the early 4th. Had outstanding coverage on WR on deep ball. Played it inside out and used the sideline to pin the WR to a small area. Ball was incomplete. Came up quickly in run support and made a good tackle of RB near the LOS. Had very tight coverage of WR on play where QB was sacked. Had nowhere to go with the ball. Had good coverage of WR on 3rd/3 pass late in the game. Pass was overthrown. Has good feet and looks like instinctive cover guy. Good size. Hope to see him vs better players next week.
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So Bradley Fletcher is the second coming of Troy Vincent?
Like to hear that while Ryans wasnt flashy that he is just a steady player and Im sure once the season start that he will be more active.
I like the focus on cover 3 as that is clearly the type of coverage that suits both Chung and Allen best.
Seems Whitley is making this team behind Williams, Fletcher and Boykin?
Fletcher has been a solid CB throughout his career. The concern is that he’s injury prone, one reason they’ll have to keep at least 5 CBs
The strategy was to have Cary play off. Trying not to reagrivate his hamstring….Can’t wait to see him play press
True, but Cover 1 and Cover 3 are also the coverage that fits Allen and Chung best.
You dont want Chung sitting in cover 2 as that takes away much of his skill set. Same Nate Allen (who had a good game), is a perfect fit for been that central field type FS.
I don’t disagree…I just have no clue what we are really thinking of in terms of what type of coverage our coaches have in mind for the secondary….could be that we will se a lot of what we saw Thursday night…for me, it’s just to early to tell….I was always a front 7 guy, who rarely concerned himself with what what happening behind me lol…secondary is my weak spot, so I will defer to others when it comes to the secondary…
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Now if you want to talk front 7 or Oline, now we are talking.
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btw, I doubt you will ever find a bigger, stronger dude with a Wimpier arm than me. it’s a sin how I throw the ball lol just makes no sense
I think Fletcher is much more reminiscent of Sheldon Brown (large, physical defender), which I will take all day long at this point. Love his physicality and ability to support the run defense.
Reason for comparesion to Troy Vincent was because Vincent had size, coverage ability and would tackle. Super underrated CB.
Fletcher got perfect size, he is a very good cover CB and he will tackle.
i was about 18yrs old during the Vincent/Taylor days….recently I have been watching old videos of that Eagles team, and i got a much better idea of just how great those corners really were
Not sure about the cover 3 as it is “bend but don’t break” defense which is scarey. Better be great in the red zone !!
I know this post was all about the D. But disappointingly to ME anyway, is the 2 guys that I was hoping would use their god given size to their advantage are playing “small”? Geathers & Momah. I knew they were both projects but size being something that cannot be taught, it would be nice to be seeing them atleast using that to their advantage while they work on the rest of their respective games. Without that, they probably will never get past being “camp bodies”. Bummer.
There is a reason why Geathers have been on 6 teams already.
This is also a good reminder why size can be overrated. I mean yes it is nice if you can have it all, but its rare that you get the full package.
Insert “It’s not the meat it’s the motion” reference here
If there is a guy as big as Geathers with serious NFL skills, he wouldn’t be a street FA.
lol SO TRUE. Perfect example, a few years back I got to play semi pro ball in a league here in New England for 2 seasons. My best friend in the world is a 6’8″ 270lb (American born) Russian muscular freak of nature. Think the Klitchkos but more jacked. I’m not kidding. He could toss me 20 feet & he’s a lifelong Packers fan, so he knows the game. I THOUGHT. I brought him in & everyone was slack jawed. Figured all he had to do was BE THERE & that was enough. But bless his heart, that man could not play football to save his LIFE! Still pick on him about it. From a safe ditance…..Lmao
If they can cobble together something that is not a disaster this season, this team has a good chance to compete. If that means playing the modern equivalent of the old Marion Campbell “bend but don’t break” we played during the Vermeil years, so be it.
We played it under JJ as well. It was just McDermott and Castillo introduced the bend, but snap in the end.
oh snap
The Eagles always seem to find one King Dunlap on the roster. This year it’s Geathers!
He’s not that finesse, but yeah…they’re a pair of giants who lack killer instincts.
I’m really interested in Whitley. I hope he plays well again and gets the chance to play earlier in the game. He is a bit of a dark horse, but seems to keep getting better.
he had some good days in practice. made his presence felt vs. Carolina…
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Anyone know how he is on ST? And what’s his contribution?
We’ll see what Dixon had this week, hadn’t practiced in two weeks, so rust was predictable. Square is what he is, high motor try hard guy who lacks NFL talent, so you want someone to beat him out. Too small for NT, short and not athletic enough for DE. If he makes the roster this year, they’ll be drafting his replacement next year. Too bad Geathers has never figured out that 340 lb DEs should just focus on destroying the man in front of him instead of trying to develop slick moves.
Acho was a solid college LB at Texas, lacks great athleticism but has more than enough for ILB. Actually has decent speed for a guy his size (4.68, 1.55 10 yard split) but not the most fluid guy out there, but intelligent, good work ethic, kind of guy who could stick for a while.
Whitley is interesting, I saw him initially as a long shot camp body, nice size, 6’1 190, 4.39 speed (1.49 ten yard) but a tweener at S who might lack the instincts for the position. At CB he can use his size and speed on the outside, not sure he’s a nifty enough athlete for the slot, but could be a good fit outside in nickel and dime packages (I can see Boykin starting on the outside then moving inside in nickel and dime if Williams doesn’t pick it up).
Poyer is PS bound, Hughes hasn’t picked it up, at 5’10 he had to excel in this camp to have a shot.
Tom was spot on about his Lb analysis. Ancho looks like the best backup by far, and I wouldn’t even dress Chaney for the Jax game lol.
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Im already sold on McCoy. He passes the eye test..I want to see him developed(is he young?
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I was dissapointed to not see Knott improve on his nice week 1 showing..
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graham, Curry, Logan continue there disruptive campaign
McCoy will be 27 in Nov, drafted in 2010.
no..the olb
will be 27 in nov
Info is for the OLB.
Thanks mate
Who is this Tom you speak of and where is his analysis?
I’m really starting to like the philosophy of the defense. It seems very similar to JJ’s units in the glory years. No big plays. Give up some small stuff and first downs. Clamp down in the redzone. Brady, Manning and Brees are going to tear down any defense. We held our own against a good QB. We should look really good against the Jacksonville Clowneys next week.
I dunno, they said they wanted to play off to avoid Cary re-injuring himself, so I wonder how much the cover 3 was what they wanted to do, and how much was a preseason precaution….I expect Cary and Bradly to be in your face press corners, which is why I never was crazy about moving Boykin outside
Bradley, yes. Cary not so much. He’s much better playing off, but he will actually tackle a guy in front of him, unlike Asante.
I hear you there. The willingness to tackle guys will help us out a ton!
I can’t even imagine what that looks like after these past few years
Knowing that Asante was a weak tackler, I kind of miss his 6 INT, one for a TD that he averages every year; last year, entire team only had 8 INTs and it doesn’t look like we have too many sticky fingers on this year’s D.
One small disagreement. Nate Allen was at fault, not Bradley Fletcher, on the completion on the 3rd play. Allen’s track record of not being able to pick up recievers passed on to him from CBs is well known. Fletcher flat out not covering and/or not understanding a coverage isn’t part of his background.
Cut Allen!
You know what surprises me?
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Chunger came with the label of big hitter, bad in coverage. Nate is supposed to be the opposite…yet Chunger is the safety the coaches feel more confident trying out as a Nickle corner…I found that to be curious
Do you know nothing of football?
Reason they use Chung as the guy to cover TE is because he is worse in deep coverage that Allen is doing in the Cover 3 shell.
Hahahah
I watched the play over and over. Couldn’t definitively say who was to blame. One thing I don’t do is bring preconceived notions like “Nate sucks, so it must be his fault”. Simply write what you see.
I was more formulation my view on that play by the look Fletcher gave Allen. Also, when looking for an explanation for the unknown the simplest and most common explanation is usually the safest bet. The term “the usual suspects” comes to mind when trying to make a best guess about what took place.
Keyser Söze blew the coverage?
“It wasn’t me…it was the one armed man”
Its a lot harder to figure out who is to blame now that nnamdi isn’t here to point anymore
Eddie Whitley would appear to be the team’s best cover safety now, except that he’s buried in the CB depth chart.
Nate is better in coverage than he’s given credit for.
Now if he could just tackle….
Much like last week when all of the Tom Brady fluffers were keeping me from ripping Kendricks with impunity, I’d like to keep the discussion to the game itself rather than making any season-long pronouncements.
All of that aside, I liked what I saw. Our DBs made tackles, our D-line forced the QB into rushed / bad throws, and timely stops were made. The only main difference is we were playing a 3rd or 4th place team with a very limited QB/ offense instead of a lock division winner. It was encouraging that we looked good on D vs. a team that we should beat if we were to play them in the regular season.
On a final note, I find these individual player breakdowns excellent. Thank you Tommy.
Tried to warn that this defense would be better than people think…Thursday was a good start. hopefully guys continue to build off it…
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keep in mind, I doubt the defense is playing with its best disguises..When we start giving Oline amoeba looks, and start disguising our coverage and pass rushers, teams will make mistakes allowing our players better opportunities to make a play
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Doubt starters will play in the 4th game, so can we please see how Wolff would do paired with Chung against the starters? I also need to see how disruptive Vinny Curry can be against starting Olinemen…I’m hoping the next game provides answers
It’ll be up and down. I’ll be content, for the first season at least, if we kill-shot either Eli or RG3. I’d love to see Brandon Graham end Eli’s consecutive game played streak!
Are you trying to seduce me mike? Lol you know how I love big hits!!!!
“You know about what they say about players that take bad angles? They don’t want to make the tackle bad enough”-Ike Reese
So true. I have little or tolerance for players that try to circumnavigate the football field to make a tackle rather than destroying a blocker and running through the play.
A la Nnamdi – the king of circumnavigation!
Drives me nuts that when Graham and Curry look so good, it’s probably because they aren’t doing what the coaches want, bad grade due to context, not results. Lets not over think this, results are what count. If these guys are the coach’s trash, trade them, they’re somebody’s treasure. Just a damn shame they’re not ours.
Can we please officially adopt the 1-gap 4-3 under….please?
Common misconception…4-3 under has some 2-gapping in it.
that’s why i specified. In general Just the Wade Phillips style seems to be what our team is best suited for
I think you’ve gotta 2-gap though, at least partially, because you could scheme offensively to get bodies on LBs pretty easily. And I don’t think we have LBs like a San Fran or even the Pats that can take on and shed blocks regularly. Just my opinion though…
You’re right there, our LB have definitely struggled to shed blocks, and the 1 gap schemes definitely burden them. But if the strength of the team is our linemen, if Fletcher Cox is on the verge of a Pro-bowl season, if we have a few OLB’s who arent very good OLB’s, but they would make solid “predators”, the choice seems overwhelming in the spirit of “playing to our strengths”. If we stay the course, Kendricks must make the most of this. He will be the guy, the playmaker. He must elevate his game to pro-bowl level to justify the course we are on this season.
If the play the 4-3 under Pete Caroll style, it would help our LBs.
At least their SDE and NT are mainly 2 gapping, while the UT can do both. This would be perfect.
Also I wanna see Logan together with Ced and Cox.
I agree. Because when you can do both, you have more flexibility. I don’t think that’s going to be the majority, but teaching it can’t hurt. I just don’t want us doing it all the time. And this all relative to just the base package anyway.
I like when the weak side 1gap, and the 5tec 2gaps on the strong side….weak side predator, 3tec, Nt all get 1-1’s(as long as our Thumper is taking on the strong side guard keeping him from helping the center on the NT)…So Olineman can’t really get to the WIL(Kendrick’s) because they have to deal 1-1 against Sopa,Cox,Graham/cole)…..and I like the version where the 5tec on the other side 2gaps..That’s what I wish we would run….and I would Atually consider moving Soap to the 5tec, have Meco continuously blow up the strong side guard, so we can play a good gap shooter at NT like Benny, or Curry(down the line if he packs on another 10lbs)) who would get a 1-1 against centers
I think it’s time to see what Vinny Curry can do in place of Thorton. I like Thorton, and he played well this week, but I just went back and watched all of Currys snaps, and man do I really want to see more..
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he was a pass rushing menace against the Patriots, but we weren’t yet sold mostly projecting him as a Nickle pass rusher..
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But against the Panthers he was pretty darn impressive against the run.
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this doesn’t mean the kid has arrived, but I hope he erns himself the right to show what he can do against the ones, paired with Cox this week. Initially we thought he would be backing up Cox, but he has played a lot of 5tec so throw our two young high picks out there together and see what Happens.
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Impossible not to notice Benny. he makes mistakes, but they seem to motivate him and he bounces back with impressive plays and I really like that.. For a rookie DT to be so noticeable early on, man that’s something to be excited about.
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Hopefully our personel is in place, and all we need to do is develope. Benny can play the NT, so down the line there is hope for a starting Dline comprised of talented high picks:
1st rd Cox
2nd rd Curry
3rd rd Logan
You would not use Curry as the starting LDE. That player needs to primarily be a run defender. Curry is best as a pass rusher, at least right now. We’ll see about the future.
Hopefully we get a 295lb version of Kruger to put in that role next season.
Curry will hopefully be a premier backup. Has there ever been a pro-bowler who was a backup?
Marion Barber made it while backing up Felix Jones, and I think Bettis made it while backing up Parker. But who really cares if he makes the Pro-Bowl? It’s a popularity contest. As long as he’s playing at a high level and being effective on limited snaps thats fine with me.
he has played a nice amount of 5tec thus far from what I recall…then again he has been moved around. Last time I saw him he looked like a pretty bad ass run defender…What that really means? your guess is as good as mine…Two games isn’t enough for me to say what a young guy cant do…Wait and see…
He was playing 5 against backups though I believe.
has he played against the starters yet? When did he get his first snap against Carolina? Mid 2nd quarter?…I know the Patriots game he played against all back ups…I’m gonna watch the Carolina game again this morning
DO IT
Then let me know.
I’m enjoying this QB competition a lot more than I expected to. Watching this week’s game I noticed that once again Foles wasn’t tested a whole lot with downfield throws. Is this by design? It got me to thinking that the competition is more than just Vick vs Foles. It’s also the offensive scheme under Vick vs the scheme under Foles. Do we have any idea what style Chip prefers? The only thing that I could think of is that it seems like Foles’ play lends itself more to setting receivers up to get YAC. Again, is this by design, or is Foles just executing better there? We know Kelly will go with whichever option means points on the board, but so far, they’ve had pretty equal success. Thoughts?
I would agree that I’m enjoying the QB competition because both guys are playing well. I’ve also notice a play calling difference between the two main guys, but the sample is so small it’s hard to determine if that is by design on not.
I think to some extent it’s definitely designed. Chip probably sees the quick reads as Foles’ strength, while they’ve never been Vick’s, so I don’t think that’s changed much. Vick is good passing downfield. They’ve had equal success in limited opportunities, but you have to give the nod to Vick because he has shown the ability to make the throws you need to make on third and long. When all other things are equal like they appear to be between these two, the guy who can make the downfield throws better should win because no matter how good you are you can’t escape third and long forever.
I’m hoping that in the next game, Chip will call more hurry-up plays for Vick and some deep throws for Foles. Take the training wheels off.
That’s exactly what I’m saying though. Preseason experimentation aside, under Vick, the offense might not be run as quickly and under Files it won’t feature deep throws. You might occasionally mix those things in, but I think it’s one of the ways that we’ll need to get used to Chip. He’ll actually tailor his offense to his quarterback’s abilities. He won’t put them in situations where there’s a good chance that they’ll fail.
It’s going to be a really rough for this defense. Zero depth again almost everywhere, a very untalented secondary and wrong group of LBs for a 3-4 scheme, and a new scheme.
Best-case scenario is that they stay relatively healthy, take some lumps early, and the whole is better than the ‘sum of the parts’ and they end up an average defense (15-20 in most categories)
I would take a 15th ranked defense All Day in 2013….12th ranked defense I believe…Im doing back flips off the walt Witman bridge if the defense finishes the year ranked 15th
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I just Love watching Seattle. For a defense to give up 15pts a game in todays NFL is just insanity. Really like the way they play the game
Did anybody realize that Quintin Demps had a 104 yard return for KC? He barely made it to the 20 with us.
What I want to know is who is going to create turnovers on this defense? No ball hawks in the secondary and I guess you have to hope the Eagles are just fortunate to get their share of fumble recoveries.
Turnovers killed this year last year and the year before and as long as Vick as the QB this offense will continue to turn the ball over at a decent clip.
Boykin has the potential to make some picks if he could hold on to the damn ball. He dropped 2 sure picks against Carolina on Thursday.
We all need to send Jason Avant letters, pleading for him to please take Boykin under his wing, get that jugs machine goin. Never heard of boykin having especially bad hands until this offseason. Always has his hands on the ball, all off season, each time he doesn’t catch it, he does 50 push ups. According to Kempski, he’s done a ton of push ups in the off season, which is good and bad. But he can become the guy the defense desperately needs if he gets dependable hands.
It’s a shame with his size that Geathers can’t play. He’s kind of a defensive King Dunlap – slow feet and no quickness at all. Dixon is a huge disappointment. You can’t have an NT that gets pancaked like he did on Thursday. Both will be cut.