PS Game Review – PHI 24, JAX 10

The Eagles weren’t very impressive in the preseason opener. Some individual players looked good, but there was too much sloppiness. Penalties. Turnovers. Missed tackles. Bad throws. And on and on. Week 2 was a different story.

While this wasn’t a performance for the record books, it was great to see the team play better. Plenty of individuals stepped their game up and the players functioned better on a team level. They learned from the mediocre performance in Week 1.

The preseason is more about individuals than team play so let’s jump into that side of things.

Kessler – Got hurt on the opening drive after starting 1-4-11. Did have a 14-yd run. Lack of arm strength was brutally obvious on throw to the sideline. CB was able to knock the ball away. Pass needed zip and/or to be thrown away from the DB. Tried to hit JJAW to the left side. That pass had more zip but was over his head. Ran for 14 yds on 3rd/10. Highlight of his summer. Didn’t adjust to blitz correctly and took a big hit, knocking him out of the game.

Thorson – Guess who actually has some talent? Forced into action on the opening series. Being thrown into the fire may have brought out the best in him. Handled chaos well at times. Bad snap was at his feet. Thorson picked it up and was able to throw it away legally. This was down by the end zone and easily could have been a disaster. Made good throw on next drive. Dropped back and hit 84 over the middle. Nothing special, just pitch and catch with an open WR. Quick read. Accurate throw. Good zip. The kind of basic NFL play Thorson had struggled with. Decision-making is still a major issue. Forced a pass to the right side. WR was covered and Thorson couldn’t step into the throw. Lucky that wasn’t picked off. Rolled to his right and hit CJ for short gain. Looked natural throwing on the move. I liked his aggression on 4th/4 play. Blitz was coming, but Thorson saw his WR get open. Didn’t make great throw, but gave Ward a chance and that turned into 38-yd TD. Tried to go deep to JJAW. Poor footwork led to underthrown ball. Footwork is a major issue. Accurate on short throws. Good throw to JJAW in late 2nd. Mixed in short, quick throws in second half. Had TE wide open down the middle and hit him with a good throw for 25 yds. Made impressive touch throw to Agudosi for what should have been TD. There was PI by the CB. Made terrible decision in late 3rd. Tried to hit Agudosi over the middle, but there were multiple DBs in the area. Has to see the field better than that. Picked off in the 4th when WR bobbled short pass. Not sure that was a smart throw to make, but the WR did have a chance to catch the ball and didn’t. 16-26-175. Showed potential.

***

Sanders – Good game. Got some room to run and showed his ability. Had 12-yd run to start the game. Huge hole, but had vision to find it and able to cut back and hit it. Put move on DB to get an extra couple of yards. Eagles were backed up near GL. Took a handoff and was supposed to go right. Cut back left and went for 16 yards. Vision. Cutback ability. Burst. Didn’t go down on first contact. Added 5 more yards to the end of the run. Eagles haven’t had this kind of RB in years. Next play was run up middle for 2 yds. Important that he doesn’t try for home run on every play. Good blitz pickup on 4th/4 that turned into long TD pass.

Howard – Ran for 10 yards on 3rd/long. Good run for 4 yds in late 1st. No initial hole, bounced it a gap to the left and found space. I like his running style. Patient, but not slow. Went for 3 yards on 3rd/1. Saw daylight and went to the right.

Adams – Caught quick pass in the 3rd and added almost 20 RAC yards. Smooth catch, good run. Good to see a play like that. Short TD run in 3rd. Blocking gave him path to end zone.

Pumphrey – Used wicked cut on DB and left him looking dumb. Pump ran for 11 yards on that play. Ran hard. Kind of ran over a tackler on final drive. Wasn’t expecting that. 5-29. The Eagles finally have some depth at RB and Pump decides to play his best football. Bad timing.

B Scott – Played late and looked good. Used spin move to get out of TFL. No way defender should have missed, but he totally whiffed due to the move. Scott ran hard. Short, but has some thickness and power. Good feet. Good burst. Surprisingly tough to tackle on late drive. Had more power than defenders expected. Ran behind his pads. Showed ability to run between the tackles as well as out in space. Good vision, effort on late TD run. 7-43-1

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JJAW – Caught 8-yd pass over the middle on 3rd/7. Moved the chains. Caught a short pass and used stiff arm to get another 5 yds. This was late in the half and he was smart enough to also get out of bounds. Good awareness for rookie.

Hollins – Caught pass over middle. Took hit and held on. Wiped out by penalty. Caught short, quick pass on next play. No RAC. Thorson tried to hit him deep, but incomplete. Looked a little rusty, but it was good to see him out there.

M Michel – Caught quick screen and went through traffic for gain of 12. Good RAC ability.

C Johnson – Caught a quick pass on opening drive and used RAC ability to get 11 yds. Good move and hard to tackle. Caught pass over middle and got 9 yds on the play. Moved the chains. Not able to haul in downfield throw. Ball was underthrown and CJ adjusted. Problem is that he didn’t extend for ball. Let it come to him and DB got hand on it. If he extends, has a better chance.

Ward – Made a huge play in the early 2nd Qtr. Ran by CB and was wide open. Thorson was under pressure and couldn’t step into the throw. Got it close enough. Ward adjusted to the ball and made a good hands catch away from his body. Then dodge a couple of DBs and raced in for 38-yd TD. Caught quick screen, but only minimal gain. Didn’t have much space. Eagles ran a trick play with Ward getting the ball on a reverse so he could throw it. Had underneath receiver wide open. Threw it deep and got lucky it was incomplete. I’m no QB guru, but throw to the open dude.

Thompkins – Bobbled short throw and it was picked off. Not good.

Agudosi – Called for OPI. Blocked DB from the snap. Looked to be an RPO so not sure about him blocking. Drew a PI call on 3rd/long. Made impressive catch along sideline in the 3rd. Had to go up on his toes, but managed to keep them down. Not sure ball was intended for him, but he saw it and made the grab. Great concentration. Caught short pass in the 3rd. Did a good job of using his body to shield the ball from the DB.

***

Perkins – Used on multiple wind-back blocks. Mixed results. Good downfield block helped Ward get in for TD. Love the hustle on that play. Lined up in backfield and had good block of blitzer coming up the middle. Caught pass on crossing route. Called for holding in pass pro. Almost a safety.

Tye – Good effort as a blocker. Had 25-yd catch and run in the 3rd. DBs ran into each other and left him wide open. Good job as in-line blocker.

A Ellis – Sealed the edge with block on TD run. Great effort as run blocker on late drive. Really got after it.

***

Dillard – Started at LT. Much like Jason Peters, really times his get-off closely. Anticipates the snap count. Looks like false start at times. Another strong performance. Read blitz and picked up late edge rusher to keep QB clean. Comes off the ball well on run plays. His DE got a sack in the late 2nd. DE knocked Dillard back and Thorson decided to move up in the pocket. Dillard didn’t know and the DE peeled off to get the sack. Called for false start in late 2nd. Too quick of a start.

Pryor – Started at LG. Jumped offside on early play. Too many penalties for him. Played better than last week, but still sloppy. Helped double DT on run. Got movement. Peeled off and went for LB, but whiffed. That guy tackled Howard. Better in pass pro than the opener. Won when he got his hands cleanly on rushers. Will lunge at times when in pass pro at OT. Doesn’t always keep his feet moving in pass pro. DE can battle him and shed late, get hit on QB. Good down block on short TD run. Collapsed the DL.

Wiz – Multiple bad snaps in the game. Not good.

Big V – Played RG. He and Mailata had a great double-team on the first run play. Opened huge hole for Sanders. Beaten by DT on 3rd/10. DT went hard to outside shoulder and V couldn’t get control of him. QB got flushed, but was able to run for the 1st. V never gave up and kept DT from hitting the QB. Got away with hold on draw play on 3rd/long. Able to block LB on Sanders long run. Good upfield block on screen to Michel. Called for holding on a screen pass.

Mailata – RT. Helped Big V to cave in the DT on first run of the game. Mailata then peeled off and got LB. Got upfield early on pass play, but luckily no call. Rookie DE Josh Allen tossed Mailata to the ground. Got him off-balance in pass pro and just tossed the big guy aside. Very impressive move by the 1st rounder. Good pass pro on 3rd/10 after that. Smooth kick slide and bent his knees. Had good pad level and was able to stay in front of Allen. Kept his feet moving. DE tried inside move on pass play. Mailata washed him down the LOS, all the way over by the LT. Looked like he failed to pick up a rusher late in the half. Was focused on someone to the inside. False start in 3rd Qtr.

Herbig – Took over at C in the late 2nd Qtr. Called for illegal snap in late 2nd. Flashes at times. Big and strong. Can be tough when he bends his knees and plays with good pad level. Able to get movement in the run game. Snaps generally had good accuracy and velocity. Crisp. Needs to be quicker from snap to block, but much better than last week. Interesting player. The coaches like him.

Fabiano – Played RG in 2nd half.

Opeta – Played LG in 2nd half. Pass pro needs a lot of work. Gets moved back more than you would like. Gets off-balance at times.

K Render – Played OG late in the game. 

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V Curry – Almost had a sack on first drive. Stumbled and stayed under block of LT. Got the QB’s legs, but couldn’t bring him down before ball was out. Great effort. Got TFL on early run by hustling after RB after run up middle was bounced more outside. More great effort. Beat the LT on another play by going low to get under his block. Drew a holding call on that. Beat the LT with get-off and pad level on 3rd/10, but QB got ball off. Avoided cut block and stuffed RB for no gain. Offside on 3rd/long. Got held by LT on next play, but no call.

B Graham – Welcome to the preseason. Dominated the Jags RT. Drove him backward on opening play. Should have had a sack, but I think Graham was caught off-guard by how quickly he got back there. On 3rd/long, blocked by TE and RB. Didn’t work. Graham pressured the QB again. Tried to block him with just TE on a pass play and that almost resulted in a sack. Beat the RT a couple of more times and I quit paying attention. 

Sweat – Solid showing. Began at RDE. Moved to LDE in mid-2nd Qtr. Blew by the RT and just missed a sack. Drove the RT backward and helped create a sack for Miller. Looked more natural at LDE. Consistently quicker off the ball.

Malik Jackson – Flew by the LG on the first play and pressured the QB. Only played a couple of series.

T Hester – Solid game. Hustled downfield to get hit on WR after short catch. Hit the QB on mid-2nd pass play. Ball had just been released. Got penetration and drew holding call late in the half.

B Hector – Good game. Fought off block and stuffed inside run. Beat the LG with inside move and disrupted run play. Just missed TFL. Fought his way past the RG late in the half and nailed the QB. Drove blocker back into QB’s face late in the half and forced dump-off.

D Hall – Another really strong showing. Bit hard on fake and let QB get wide on bootleg. Gotta stay outside-in. Turned and hustled in pursuit so you do like the effort. Just blew by the RT and hit the QB, knocking the ball loose. Gerry recovered. Really good burst and dip. Used his hands to get by the blocker. Hit the ball with his helmet. Blew up run by using inside move to get by TE. Created TFL for LB. Timed his get-off really well. Consistently disruptive. Barely missed another sack. QB stepped up in pocket to avoid Hall. Jumped offside. Lined up at RDE late in the half and got a sack. Used get-off and hands to beat the LT. Spent too much time celebrating after that and almost got burned, but hustled back to the line once he realized it was a hurry-up situation.

S Miller – Good game. Beat the RT and hit the QB just after the ball was out. Started upfield then came back under the block to hit the QB. Used a spin move to beat the LT for a sack. Before you get too excited, this was a slow spin and would not have worked against a good LT. Got TFL when he was unblocked off the edge. Dropped on zone blitz and forced RB out of bounds after short catch.

Edebali – Played in 2nd half. Hustled in pursuit.

E Harold – Used good burst to get by the LT and almost get a sack. Was there, but let QB escape.

K Wilkins – Has some quickness off the ball. Good motor. Can get off balance at times when attacking into the backfield. Called for offside penalty in the 4th.

A Shittu – Had a gift sack when the Jags decided not to block him. Jolted the QB with his hit. Deflected pass near GL. Deflected another pass.

***

Zach Brown – Looked like he was in the wrong gap on early run and gave up 7 yards. Hit RB in backfield on early run, but couldn’t make the tackle. Led to TFL. Covered well.

N Gerry – Better game. Played more under control. At his best when things are in front of him and he can just attack. WR caught short pass on 3rd/12. Gerry flew over and put him down. Looked good on that. Had good coverage of WR on bootleg, but then focused on QB and left WR open. Turned into 12-yd play. Tough challenge for any LB, but have to keep track of that WR. Tackled RB for no gain after DT blew up the play. Recovered fumble after strip-sack by Hall. Good awareness and hustle.

LJ Fort – Solid game. Quick tackle of WR after short catch. Had to drag him down, which bugs me. LB should put WR down cleanly. Chased down WR after catch/run to make tackle. Good in pass coverage. Skills + athleticism. Keeps his eyes active and covers a lot of ground. Blitzed up the middle. Block by RB slowed him from getting to the QB. Love his effort in pursuit. Really goes hard after the ball. Helped stuff QB sneak on 4th/1.

TJ Edwards – TFL on run that got blown up by DL penetration. Good on-field presence. Communicates with teammates. Sees field well. Blitzed on pass play and forced QB to throw the ball away. Made good open field tackle of TE after short catch/run. Takes good angles to the ball. Runs pretty well. Form tackler. What you want in a LB. Smart player. Blitzed off the edge and could have lit up the QB. Hit him, but stayed under control to make sure he didn’t draw a flag.

Singleton – Hit and tackled well. Physical player. Runs through his targets. Stiff hips. I know some people really like him and PFF grades him highly. Results can be deceiving in the preseason. I focus on NFL traits mixed in with results. What happened and why did it happen. Singleton doesn’t show NFL traits. Fun to watch and tough as nails, but I don’t see an NFL LB.

Brown – Missed tackle of QB in the open field and that resulted in a TD.

***

Maddox – Jags beat him on early 3rd down, but used a rub route. Maddox limited play to 5 yards. Good recognition and hustle. Had very tight coverage on next play and helped to force incompletion.

S Jones – Tight coverage on the first play. Forced QB to put the ball outside and it was too far out there. Good tackle on run up the middle. Read the play and hustled inside to make the stop. Helped tackle receiver on 3rd down. Aggressive on that play. Jags tried to beat him down the field. Jones had solid coverage and the pass was out of bounds. Gave up 18 yds on 3rd/10. Played off and broke on the ball. Just didn’t get there in time. Did make the tackle.

Douglas – Had ball come his way on 3rd/long. Downfield throw. Douglas had tight coverage and good position. Ball was caught, but out of bounds. Glad to see him tested deep.

Scandrick – Showing his age a bit. Beaten by slot for what should have been big gain. WR let ball go through his hands. Lucky play. Dove at feet of a RB after short catch. RB jumped over him and added 10 yards.

McKinnon – Gave up completion on short pass in front of him. Just slow to break to the ball. Had great coverage on pass in early 2nd Qtr. Just missed the ball and somehow the WR caught it.

Hawkins – Not good in coverage. Slow to the ball. Will hit and tackle. Broke up pass on 3rd/1. Got hand in there to knock it away.

A Harris – Awkward feet. Not smooth. Stiff hips. Looked awkward trying to tackle scrambling QB in space. Not a fluid athlete.

S Shelton – Broke up downfield pass at the last minute. Good timing.

***

Jenkins – Blew up a run right at the LOS. Got TFL on another run play. So good when he’s up in the box.

Sendejo – Quiet game.

Sullivan – Also quiet. Played 17 snaps. Not credited with any tackles.

Cyprien – Played 43 snaps. Credited with 1 tackle. Knocked guy out of bounds after he got free on catch/run. Solid hit by Cyp.

D Hall – Made tackle of RB in the box. Hit slot receiver over the middle after catch/run and didn’t bring him down. Gotta make that play. Just a bit late to get over to WR by sideline on downfield throw. Guy barely made the catch. If Hall was there a fraction of a second earlier, he breaks it up. Good tackle of WR out in space after getting loose on end around. Good blitz off the edge. QB just got the ball off before getting hit. Stuffed QB sneak on 4th/1.

Elston – Strong tackle of RB in space.

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STs

Jake Elliott nailed a 52-yard FG.

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