DGR – The Defense vs JAX
Posted: August 27th, 2013 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 77 Comments »I’m half done with the Detailed Game Review. Here is the defense. I’ll post the offense late tonight or early tomorrow.
DEFENSE
A lot of people came away very worried about the defense. I had some concerns, but think some people are being a bit over the top. The Jaguars scored 3 TDs in the game. Only one of them came against the full starting defense. That TD came on the opening drive. The long TD run happened when there were 5 backups mixed in with the starters. 3 of those backups were rookies and 2 of them played significant roles in the score. The final TD came when the Jags starters scored on the backup defense.
The Jags gained 346 yards and scored 24 points. That’s not good, but let’s hold off on talk of this defense being completely dreadful. The starting 11 actually played a solid game. They had 3 sacks, deflected a couple of passes and came up with a takeaway (INT). Gang Green? No. But that is a step in the right direction. This defense isn’t going to shut people down. They did at least start making some things happen.
Right now the Eagles are 28th in yards allowed and 18th in scoring defense. I doubt they finish that high in scoring defense during the year. They could finish 28th in yards, though. That would be bad, but all this talk of them being historically bad just seems overblown. The Saints last year allowed 440 yards per game. That is one of the worst defenses in history. The #31 team in the league allowed 56 fewer yards per game. And that was the Giants.
It will be interesting to see how things go. I just don’t see this defense finishing last in the league, let along being historically awful. I think the Patriots game really messed with people and skewed their perception of how bad things will be.
PLAYS
1st TD – The Jags had a RB, TE, Denard Robinson and 2 WRs on the field. They split the TE far left. That put Robinson and the WRs on the right side. The Eagles went with a base defense and no one was on Justin Blackmon in the slot. He came upfield and Pat Chung then broke over to cover him. Blackmon was wide open for the easy TD. This should be a simple schematic fix. The OLB to Blackmon’s side maybe should have gone out over him. In a real game, the D would hopefully call a timeout if faced with this situation. Part of the confusion is Robinson. Is he a WR or RB? He was lined up between Blackmon and the other WR, which meant he got a DB on him.
* 3rd/5 in RZ – Barwin sacked Henne. Coverage sack. All 3 CBs locked down WRs. Kendricks went with one guy. Ryans/Allen doubled other receiver. No one open at all.
Long TD run – Backup DL was in the game. Damion Square was at NT and got moved off the ball. He started between the numbers and ended up outside the numbers. Part of that was him trying to flow to the ball, but the NT needs to stay more to the middle of the field. Both Chung and Wolff took poor angles to the ball. Ryans overran the play by a couple of yards. The backside was wide open. TD.
PLAYERS
DL
COX – Best game of the summer. Lined up over the LG and drove him back into Henne’s face on early pass play. Fought off attempted cut block and got into backfield on run play. Grabbed RB from behind and held the play to minimal gain. Fought off another cut block and got RB as he started up the middle. Drove the LG back on a run play that came to his side. Limited the RB’s choices. No gain on the play. Showed his speed by chasing down Henne late in the half. Henne started to scramble on 3rd/5. He got out wide. Fletch took a good angle and flew out there. He got Henne up high and made a violent, twisting tackle that kept Henne a yard short. Wasn’t dirty. You just had 2 guys going full speed and Henne is no small QB. Wasn’t dominant in the game, but started to look more like the guy from last year.
SOPOAGA – Got off single block to open 2nd drive and helped tackle RB up the middle. Sopes has just had an odd summer. Wasn’t getting moved off the ball consistently, but also wasn’t pushing the OL backward. Doesn’t get free when single-blocked as much as I’d like. Gets little push on pass plays. Doesn’t hurt the defense, but isn’t the anchor you’d like at NT.
THORNTON – Good game. Solid job on run defense. Didn’t make plays, but ate up blockers. Got the best of the C while rushing as the NT in the Nickel. Forced Henne to throw the ball off-balance and to a checkdown target. Beat the RG with a good inside move and sacked Henne on the 3rd drive. Got some inside pressure on pass play late in the half. Lined up at NT in a 3-3-5 look late in the half.
CURRY – Came into the game in the early 2nd Qtr as part of the Nickel D. Excellent pursuit on plays where the ball goes outside. Hustles to the ball. Came free to the inside in the 3rd and got RB for a loss. Used hard inside move to get by OG and pressure Henne in the early 3rd. Lined up at LDT and split the G/C to hit Henne as he threw in the 3rd Qtr. Got a sack on the next play. Henne tried to run up the middle and Curry was able to get off a block and sack him. Disruptive when he’s allowed to attack upfield.
GEATHERS – Picked it up a bit. Came in on the opening drive. Drove the RG back on run play and forced the RB to go wide. Drove Joeckel right back to Henne in early 2nd and flushed the QB. Made impressive tackle in the 3rd Qtr. Avoided cut block and moved down the LOS and got RB as he cut back to the middle.
LOGAN – Came in at NT on the opening drive. Has terrific lateral movement ability. Engages the blocker and is able to move right or left in pursuit of the ball. Good feet. Terrific hustle to fly out wide and get RB after short catch and run in the flat. Gets the most push of any Eagles NT on pass plays. Did a better job of holding his ground vs the run.
SQUARE – Played some RDE on the opening drive. Got off block and tackled RB as he started upfield. Good awareness. Struggled at NT. Played DE in the 3rd Qtr. Got moved off the ball several yards by a double team. Struggles to anchor. I don’t like him at NT. The coaches love Square, but he’s got some holes in his game. He’s in the no-man’s land. Not big enough to be power player. Not athletic enough to be movement player. Gets by on skills and smarts, even as a rookie.
DIXON – Came in at NT in the 3rd Qtr. Flashed. Fired off the ball on one play and looked quick. Got cut so didn’t affect the play. On another run the grabbed the C and threw him aside and helped stuff a run. Other times he looked lost. On the ground more than you’d want. Needs to show better awareness vs cut blocks. Needs to use his hands better. Someone tell him he’s not the Venus de Milo. Needs to play to his size. Remained up and down all game. One good play, one bad. The guy from 2010 appears to be long gone.
KRUGER – Came in a LDE in the late 3rd. Also played DT and RDE. More physical this time out. Still doesn’t have the strength to be a good NFL player right now. Needs to develop.
KING – Played RDE for much of the 3rd Qtr. Uses his hands and arms well. Able to get into blockers and keep them off his body. Not a very athletic guy, though. More effort than talent.
WALKER – Took over at NT in the late 3rd. Love his size, but doesn’t use it consistently well.
OLB
COLE – More progress, but still up and down. Dropped into coverage on the first snap. Saw the ball headed kinda his way so Trent leapt to get a hand on it. Pass was too high, but that was good awareness. Had dropped back 8 yards at that point. Looked to be okay depth. Trent isn’t totally stiff in space, but is very herky-jerky. One thing he definitely struggles with is getting a jam on receivers in the slot. The Eagles have OLBs line up over them and try to jam them at the snap, then release the player. Trent has a habit of lunging and getting off balance. Run defense is up and down. Went too far inside on the opening drive and let the RB bounce the run outside. Trent recovered and got on MJD, but couldn’t bring Pocket Hercules to the ground. Lined up as DE in the Nickel and used good burst, move to get by the LG and get right in Henne’s face. Hit him with his hands, but didn’t draw a flag. Just slung Brett Brackett aside and got RB on 2nd Qtr run. Did a great job on another 2nd Qtr run to his side. Shed the block of the TE and stopped the RB for no gain. Drew double teams a couple of times as a pass rusher.
BARWIN – Good game. Used a hard inside move to get some pressure on Henne on the early TD pass. Got some pressure by bull-rushing the RT and driving back to Henne on early 3rd down. Came up with an INT early in the 2nd Qtr. Lined up over slot guy. Dropped back, saw the ball at the last minute, reached up and knocked the ball to himself. Caught it as he fell to the ground. Impressive. On 4th/1 run to his side, Barwin for some reason looped inside. If that was the design of the defense, it was a bad guess by the coaches. If Barwin did that on his own, that was an incredibly dumb decision. The RB was able to get to the edge. Shed the block of the FB and stopped RB on edge run for a short gain. Had a really nice play on 3rd/5. Lined up as Joker in Nickel. The NT took on the C and then Barwin hit the C from the side, knocking him completely to the ground. Barwin then moved around him and sacked Henne.
GRAHAM – Came in at LOLB on opening drive. Set the edge on early run. Kept the RB to the inside, but couldn’t cleanly shed the block of the TE. Dropped into coverage on pass play late in the half. Actually looked the most nimble that I’ve seen from him. Took over at LOLB in the 3rd Qtr. Hustled out wide and made tackle on WR screen. Best pressure in the game came on a play where the TV angle was terrible. Flew off the left side and forced Henne up the middle, where Curry sacked him. Graham needs to do a better job on runs plays that come at him. Just engaging the TE and setting the edge isn’t enough. Needs to be able to shed the block and have a chance for the tackle. Wasn’t doing that vs JAX.
MCCOY – Bad game. Got sealed too easily by LT on early run and ball went to that side. Full time ROLB in 3rd Qtr. Brackett knocked him back with a block and sealed him for run to that side. Next play was a run at him. FB blocked McCoy to the inside, partly because McCoy tried to side-step the block. Cannot do that at the point of attack. Must engage the blocker and hold the point. Did a better job on the next run by taking on the FB and the runner went to the inside. Got blocked by WR and didn’t get off the block. Actually moved backward trying to shed the block. Ugh. Took on the FB on the next run and the ball then had to stay inside. Took on the LT on run play to his side on 3rd/4. Looked like he might have gotten held, but couldn’t shake the block and the RB got out wide for a good gain. Covered Denard Robinson in the flat in the RZ and did a pretty good job of sticking with him. Pass was off target and dropped. Got some pressure off the edge on 3rd down pass in the 3rd Qtr. Got sealed inside by FB on outside run to his side. Did a good job of covering RB 1 on 1 in flat on 3rd down. Had him pinned by sideline. RB cut back inside and got a couple of yds, but pursuit made the stop. McCoy had some good moments, but he was blocked way too easily on some run plays. Can’t choose when to be tough. Gotta do that every play. Still talented and a player worth developing.
LONG – Took over at LOLB in the late 3rd. Good job of taking on FBs and TEs on runs to his side. Destroyed the LT and got a strip sack late in the game. Wow play. Not explosive or overly athletic, but he is tough and physical.
BROWN – Took over at ROLB in the late 3rd. Used good inside move to get by the LT and hit the RB as he threw. Chased down a 4th Qtr run by hustling down the LOS and getting the RB as he started upfield. Lined up at DT in the Nickel late in the game and got to the QB. Quick off the ball and used his hands well to beat the LG. Couldn’t make a clean tackle, though. Got a sack late in the game when he used his hands well to cleanly get by the LT. Looked his best as an Eagle, but that raises the question of why it took so long? Playing like this the last 2 weeks would have him pushing for a roster spot. Now…who knows?
ILB
KENDRICKS – Good game. Took on the FB on 3rd/1 run play. Stuffed him, but no one was there to get the RB. Flew out wide to tackle MJD after a short 3rd down pass, but MoJo dropped the ball. Really good speed for MK to get out there so quickly. Blitzed up the middle and got a bit of pressure on the play where Henne was picked off. Got Henne down on play where he was flushed and started to run. Only got a yard on that. On next play, got Henne down for a loss. Busted pass play where WRs didn’t run the right routes. Dropped way deep on 3rd/12 and was basically like a FS. Blitzed up the middle in the early 2nd Qtr. Timed it well and got right in on Henne. Wisely pulled up since the ball was out. Next play was 3rd/1 pass. Kendricks batted the ball down. Both plays showed athleticism and excellent awareness.
RYANS – Made solid pursuit tackle on early run. Good game in coverage. Always seems to be in the right spot. Run D can still be erratic at times. Overruns some plays as he tried to get to the RB.
CHANEY – Just cut the other day so I’ll keep it simple. Not impressive. No instincts. Doesn’t play to his athletic ability. Not physical enough. Still has good potential, but must play in the right 4-3 system.
MATTHEWS – Played in the 3rd Qtr. Came over to the right and had chance to tackle Robinson, but then he cutback and Casey wasn’t quick enough to get him. Tackled RB on inside run. Wasn’t his primary gap, but Casey found the ball in traffic. Hustled outside on WR screen and got in on the tackle. Cleaned up tackle that Whitley started and put RB down with authority. Fired upfield into the LG on run play and forced the RB to cutback. Used his hands to take on the blocker. Aggressive, physical. Blitzed in the early 4th and was credited with sack. Several guys got their hands on the QB. Great effort by Matthews. Good showing, but his lack of top speed will always limit what he’s able to do. I do love the fact he’s more physical now than in the past. That at least gives him a chance. Does look okay in coverage.
ACHO – Came into the game in the mid-3rd. First play was run outside. Acho flowed outside and made the tackle. Tackled RB on inside run. Moved laterally and then stuffed run play that came right at him. Does a really good job of finding the ball in traffic and then getting to the right spot. Tackled TE after short catch over the middle. Should be the #3 ILB in my opinion.
KNOTT – Came into the game in the mid-3rd. Better in coverage than vs the run. Took on blocker on inside run play that came his way. That’s a step in the right direction, but still had other plays where he ran around blockers. Didn’t make any big plays, but had a solid showing.
S
ALLEN – Tackled the RB on 4th/1 play where he got loose. Was lined up deep and hustled over in pursuit. Didn’t make a clean tackle, but did get the runner down. Gave a shot to WR Justin Blackmon when he tried to come inside and block Nate on a run. Kinda surprised me to see that. Odd game. Was generally in the right spot. Was around the ball a lot. Just never had a chance to really make plays. The action seems to stop before he’s got his chance to hit or tackle. He’s not missing tackles, but also isn’t making them. There isn’t a lack of effort. Just the way the ball bounces some times. I don’t feel confident in him, but also can’t say that he’s made key mistakes in the last 2 weeks. Hope he plays on Thursday. Need to see some tackles. I do trust him in coverage and that may be enough for him to remain the starter.
CHUNG -Came up quickly in run support to help tackle MJD. Had chance to make a play early on. JAX ran play-action pass and dumped the ball to the TE in the flat. Chung was on the move and had a good angle. A big hit would have kept the TE from getting the 2 yds they needed. Chung got a solid shot, but not enough and the TE got 2.1 yds. No mistake on Chung’s part. You just wish he made that play. Came up quickly to get MJD on 3rd/1 run where he got loose for 5 yds. Helped Cole get RB down on run play that tried to go outside. Did a good job of working to the ball through some traffic. Took a poor angle to the ball on the long TD run. Was too aggressive. Needed to keep the runner boxed in, but ran in out of control and let the RB get out wide.
SIMS – Played in the 3rd Qtr. Was slow to recognize the FB had split out wide. Got out there late and the FB made him miss with a quick move and got about 10 yds on the play. Made diving attempt for the ball on play where it bounced off him and was caught, then challenged. Gave up TD while in man coverage and ran into a pick play. Was covering TE. Just not seeing it this summer.
WOLFF – Came in on the 2nd drive. On the field for the long TD run. Started back initially, read run and came upfield. Ran to where the RB was instead of anticipating where he’d be. Took to direct a route and once the RB was wide, Earl had no chance. Aside from that play, had a quiet game. Like Nate, just didn’t have many chances.
COLEMAN – Played some late in the game. I think the coaches know Kurt (good and bad) and wanted to focus on other players that are more erratic.
ANDERSON – Very active game. Played in the 3rd Qtr. Tried to take on the FB on outside run to his side. Got jacked back a couple of yards. Got RB on inside run in the 3rd Qtr. Looked like it was Colt diving for the ball on the play when Whitley’s leg got hit and hurt. Had a shot to pick off deflected pass in the late 3rd, but Colt doesn’t have good hands. Flew around the field and was in the action a lot, but the results were mixed. Lack of size and athleticism shows his limitations. Great effort.
CB
FLETCHER – So-so game. Made mistake on early WR screen. Came up quickly, but didn’t have outside leverage. Let Blackmon get up the sideline instead of forcing him back to the inside where pursuit was. Only cost 5 extra yards, but shouldn’t make simple mistakes like that. Still did make the tackle. Blackmon beat him for good gain on fade. Slight push-off, but great throw/catch. Brad had no chance. Limited WR screen to Blackmon to just 5 yds late in the half.
WILLIAMS – Good game. Was consistently good in press coverage. Didn’t face speedy WRs though so that helped him. Gave up early completion. Was in off-coverage. Closed to ball quickly. Active run defender. Played press coverage a lot in this game and showed good ability. Able to jam receivers at the line. Does a good job of mirroring them as they run the route and then look for the ball. Helped break up early pass with tight man coverage. Had tight coverage of Blackmon on 3rd/long & forced errant throw.
HUGHES – I didn’t see him in action.
BOYKIN – Played the slot in the 1st half. Very good in coverage. Moved to LCB in the 2nd half. Had a real impressive play in off coverage. WR caught pass in the flat. Boykin read it and flew up to make the tackle after only a gain of 2. Good awareness, burst and tackle. Gave up 14-yd catch on 3rd/14. Had a chance to tackle the WR short, but slipped. Ball was marked an inch short, which JAX got on 4th down. Broke up a pass in the late 3rd. Needs to stay in the slot for now. Better there than outside.
LINDLEY – Took over for Whitley after his injury. Broke up pass in the late 3rd. Had tight press coverage on the play. Showed good feet at times. Good tackler on several plays. Should play a lot Thursday. Could he challenge for spot with good game?
POYER – Played the slot in the 2nd half. Did a good job. Can be sloppy with his jams at times. At his best when pressing and being aggressive, physical. Tried to pick off short pass to his right. Dove, but missed the ball. Hustled up and chased the ball. Undercut another WR and went for the ball. Pass was too high and neither guy had a good shot at it. Very happy that we saw him going for the ball. That’s the Poyer from OSU. The light has come on for him.
WHITLEY – Played CB in the 3rd Qtr, working with #2 defense. Gave up short completion to his side when playing off. Got a shot on RB coming his way. Wasn’t able to make a wrap tackle, but good effort to get the hit. Came to the inside and got RB on a run up the middle. Will aggressively come up to take on blockers on outside runs to his side. Would have given up good gain to Blackmon while in off coverage, but Justin dropped the ball. Got hurt in the 3rd Qtr and is done for the year. Bad break.
_
Not shocking about Soap. He wasn’t dominate in San Fran. Graded out badly by PFF. Easily upgradable.
who is this Eliot guy? I see him on twitter and he usually aggrivates me but I have no idea who he is
He used to write for BGN, but I think he writes for NJ.com now.
Oh ok…thanks..I never read his work, so I’m not trying to take shots at the guy..But his twitter jokes usually fall short for me…I hate when I’m starved for training camp intel, I get a twitter notification and it’s a corny joke
You are a very rational human being
I try to be.
The weird thing about Sopoaga is that Tom Gamble is here. Did he not watch him last year? Only thing that makes sense is maybe Gamble wants him here because he’s a good leader/teammate/locker room presence.
Sopoaga isn’t hurting the D. He’s just not as good as I hoped. I do think his intangibles were a big factor in bringing him in.
I’m still not clear on where Logan projects. At the moment does he seem like the NT of the future or DE? Seems like Thornton and Cox might be in place for a while. Does the defensive scheme mean Logan doesn’t need a fixed position in the long run, but will rather stay in the DL rotation like he has? Would you be OK with that ceiling, or is starting NT the ideal outcome?
I think he’s got to be the NT of the future. He’s still got that rookie body, and I think if you were able to add 15lbs to him in the offseason and maintain that lateral quickness and agility Tommy talked about, then you’d have a pretty exciting NT. You also have to consider what we’ve got at DE vs NT right now.
I agree that it would be ideal, I’m just not clear on how the evidence stacks up. Is it the consensus that with 15lbs of muscle he’d be strong enough to anchor better in the run game?
I think there’s a very good chance of that.
I think he would be great. He’s only 9lbs below average, as-is. Kimmy Bama did a good weight breakdown for starting NT in the league. Should answer your question.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/red_zone/Bennie-Logan-should-be-starting-at-NT.html
Jimmy’s sister writes on Eagles too??!?!
Thanks for the link!
Haha just noticed that, thanks! To be honest, I kind of like Kimmy Bama better though.
Don’t we all.
I think Sopoaga is an example of adding the best player available, not the best player. Weren’t a lot of young NTs with upside available in FA, and in the draft, Williams is already on IR, and Logan is similar to most of the guys, good upside but needs a year to get stronger.
Dixon had a chance to beat out Sopoaga, but at 28, they’re not going to “wait until next year.” But I’d expect them to draft DL fairly early in 2014 to continue adding depth and bulk.
I think it would be wise to take the wait and see approach when it comes to well respected older veterans like Soap…dEmeco came to a new team last year, in a year where the world was doubting his ability, and he still just went thru the motions during the preseason…He didn’t feel the need to come in and shut the doubters up during the preseason..he took his snaps, preserved his body and went thru the motions….As soon as we kicked off in Cleveland he flipped the switch and looked like a completely diffent player then who we saw in the preseason…
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Soap will do his job and allow Kendrick’s to make plays. I watched him very closely in the Super Bowl and he had more ability then I expected him to have left in the tank…unless he has deteriorated drastically since Febuary, he will be adequate on rushing downs for a year or two until we draft and develope a young stud, or decide that Logan is the NT of the future(instead of the LDE)
We passed up on a good draft for big body, true NT, space eaters..Brandon Williams in Ozie Newsomes loving arms eats away at me lol.
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Does the drafting of a guy like Benny who is a year or two away from putting on enough weight to really handle that position full time, mean that the Eagles believe in Soaps ability to handle the rushing downs until Benny is developed? gamble knew what he was getting, and I don’t think Soap would be here if they were expecting the low ranked Soap that PFF stats have suggested…I know the mentor/intangibles played a big part in why Soap is here( Soap is the only guy we have that can even compete with Cary in terms of best guy to interview)…..Tom said it perfectly in that he won’t hurt us, he won’t dominate, but he will adequately do his job so that Kendricks can thrive….We might not appreciate him, but I think Mykal really will..
I think they perfectly knew what they got, but maybe hoped Dixon would give more of a push in that battle.
I would think the Eagles would try to upgrade that position next year, but with teams playing so much nickle it might never be a huge priority. Right now the nickle DL is Thornton, Logan, Curry and Cox imo.
I’m not so sure about them trying to upgrade it next offseason…They could think that Soap is adequate on run downs until Logan develops into that Rare NT who doesn’t need to come off the field on 3rd down
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kind of wish they wouldn’t have brought back Dixon, and spent some Money on Roy Miller…Roy/Soap, Cox/Curry, Thortan/Logan would make me feel better
I disagree. Nose Tackle with our first pick next year is a no-brainer.
Yeah – I thought the defense looked OK. It was strange though – I think the opening drives of each half for Jax were multi-play, 90 and 80 yard TD drives. Other than the long run after the interception, the Jags didn’t do anything else really.
I’m not sure why they seemed to start so slow, but could this mean we can expect the team to make adjustments that might actually work during the course of the game? Not sure I remember what that looks like…
it seems like all of the safetys were relatively quiet. do you think this is somehow part of the overall defensive scheme? one that cuts down on their responsibilities some? (sort of opposite of the castillo days)
I think it has more to do with the lack of playmaking genes..
I see where you are going with this, but I don’t know, it is pretty late to switch Casey Matthews to safety.
I think it is just the fact that there is a big shortage on safety talent in the NFL, and we’re far from the only team with this problem right now.
The guys over from BGN have released their predictions re the final 53-men roster. In my eyes there’s absolutely no chance that we will be carrying only 8 Oliner. Do you guys (on here) agree?!
Yeah, at least 9.
They both have Kelly going to IR. I don’t think he will be.
That’s very light. I’m expecting 9.
Those guys are complete hacks. Never read what they say.
Joking aside, I’ve had this conversation with Jimmy Bama and we think 8 is reasonable if you keep 2 on the practice squad. That gives you 10 for practice (2 whole separate sets of OL). I’ll admit it’s light there but we’ll see.
No worries, and no pun intended. I think you guys are doing a fab job over there. Keep up the good work!
In terms of 8 o liner, I still think you’re wrong though. But we will see. 😉
Historically bad or the worse defense in the league is a really low standard. My bet is that it will just be old-fashioned ‘bad.’
Just a question of how many turnovers they can force and if they have some luck in the red zone holding teams to FGs. Don’t see many turnovers though especially INTs with this secondary.
Agree on the low standard. That will change over time, but this year will have some rough moments.
I’d be happy if they are simply competitive in most games and don’t put the Eagles behind the 8-ball early in games with 10 or 14-point first-half deficits.
I think we’ll be a top-25 defense.
I think we have seen, hopefully, the last few days of Colt Anderson on the team. It seemed like he was getting blown back on all run plays he was in the box and a non-factor in the passing game.
You wouldn’t want him around just to play teams?
I heard he’s quite good at this, you know…
I would rather carry Shep over Colt. I haven’t seen him “show up” once on a special teams play all preseason, others have stepped up their game, and you get more versatility with Shep. WR/KR/PR/ST. Shep on the other hand has shown up on film during preseason.
Seahawks announced: Released CB Will Blackmon.
8 retweets
Better put in a claim, Howie! Will is our man!!!
How sad is it that a guy who hasn’t played in over a year is viewed as an upgrade?
I have seen all three pre-season games of the Seahawks and Blackmon looked good. Plus he can return punts.
He’s been average to bad most of the preseason, and we don’t need a punt returner.
We do need depth however. Right now we have 4 healthy CBs.
I am now reading that Blackmon apparently becomes a FA straight away:
http://www.fieldgulls.com/latest-news/2013/8/27/4664418/seahawks-release-wr-donavon-kemp-cb-will-blackmon
What makes you think that? Let’s see if the Eagles think differently should they put in a claim.
Btw, Blackmon would become our 4th best corner immediately, unless you can name me another one who would help.
Square is being exposed, which allows me an ITYS. He’s a solid college player, but just lacks the athletic ability to be more than a deep backup in the NFL, and it’s hard to imagine him adding 20 lbs to play NT. He’s a better player than Geathers, but has 1/10th his raw talent, so do you go with a guy who’ll be consistently mediocre or the guy who’ll drive you crazy but you might be able to turn into a player?
Why not put Kelly on IR and then decide during the season if he’s worth activating? I will not be really happy if putting Kelly on the active roster possibly means losing a promising young prospect like Bamiro.
Do you mean PUP or the returnable IR? Regardless, I don’t think he’s eligible for PUP since he’s already practiced in training camp. And I’m not sure you put him on the returnable IR since he’s just a backup tackle. While he is an important backup (made less so by Barbre’s good camp), I’m not sure he’s worth the one returnable IR spot you have.
I meant the returnable IR. At the moment I cannot think of anyone else who’d make sense, and I sure hope it stays that way, ie with no other starter getting seriously injured.
In the initial narrative, you mentioned that Allen and Chung both took horrible angles on the TD. Wasn’t that Wolffe and Chung? I only ask because that is one of the key battles.
Good catch. I also think that was meant to say Wolff.
my daily off topic post:
phillip hunt waived/injured.
what is the procedure for this?
i believe that this means that we WANT to put him on IR, but we have to do this before we can take that step, and it gives other teams the chance to claim him off waivers.
being 4th in the waiver wire list, does that mean that he only has to get past 3 other teams? or would us getting him off the waiver wire mean that we would have to open a spot for him, so in reality he has to go through all 32 teams?
a tweet from Jordan Raanan sort of answers my question:
Phillip Hunt waived/injured gets the #Eagles roster to 75. He reverts to their injured reserve at 4 p.m. Wednesday if he goes unclaimed.
No every other 31 teams have a chance on him, the order just determines who get first shot.
I believe putting him on waived/injured instead of just putting him on IR means they want to lose him(and his salary). They can’t just waive him because he has a major injury. They’re obligated to pay him unless someone else claims him. If he clears waivers they can then either come to an agreement on an injury settlement($$$) and cut him or place him on IR, keeping him and his full salary.
I’m not 100% on that, but that’s all I can think of that makes sense. Otherwise, why wouldn’t they be able to just put him on IR. Surely, if Fletcher Cox tore his ACL, we could just put him on IR. He wouldn’t have to clear waivers. It’s only guys that are on the bubble that ever get waived/injured.
Looked further into it.
A player cannot just be placed on IR until the final cut day. So Maclin will take up a roster spot until the roster is cut to 53, which is when he will be placed on IR. Hunt wasn’t worth taking up one of the 75 roster spots to make sure no one claims him. The Eagles are hoping he clears waivers, then he can go on IR.
If a player suffered a major injury and wouldn’t make the team anyway, the team would have to put him on the waived/injured list. Then, if he cleared waivers, the team would try to reach a settlement to part ways.
aha!!! this is what was bugging me. thank you good sir!
i didn’t know we could not put them directly to IR and was wondering why Maclin was handled differently. makes perfect sense now! thanks!
I’m thrilled with the foundation we put in place for a future top defense.
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by the time this year ends people will be happy with the direction of our defense, and people will realize that about 60% of an eventual top defense is already in place and just needs to be developed…some starters just need more experience and growth, other starters will become our future 2nd stringers
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its going to be an up and down year. At times we will se serious problems, and other times they will flash real ability…but I’m hoping that they come together and finish the last 4 games strong…I’m only really concerned with 1 starter, the safety opposite Chung…Defensive depth is my real concern..
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everyone laughed at my excitement of the signing of Connar Barwin, yet slowly but surely people are realizing that we have a PLAYER in him. that’s going to happen with a few other Eagles. We are all excited about the potential of last years rookie class..Not all of them will improve drastically this year, but I am pretty darn confident in Cox and Kendricks bringing some excitement back to that side of the ball and taking big strides this year(fingers crossed).
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Whats funny to me are the doom and gloom, historically bad defensive talks…like are Yous nuts? have you already forgotten last year? That was a historically bad defense…We have made So Many improvements since last year that what more do people want. last year was pathetic. How much more improvements did people expect in one offseason?
1) Coaching. last year was so pathetic that this would have improved by default, but I do actually like Davis and most of his assistants.
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2) We will be drastically less predictable then we were last year, and the is no way we blow as many coverages as we did last year. these young guys are in the hands of good teachers, and mistakes will be cut down from last season. the defensive disguise will be night and day compared to last year which means there will be times when the offense blows a blocking assignment and we will have our opportunities to make big plays.
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3)Barwin is probably a better player then anyone the defense had last season including Demeco(who is my fav Eagle)
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4)Cary Williams ain’t Revis or anything close, but he is a major upgrade from NNamdi..both both Physically and mentally
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5) Cox, Boykin and Kendrick’s should better then they were last year
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6)Chunger is nothing to get crazy over, but he will probably provide us with the best safety play since Dawkins because it’s been that bad around here, so he is an upgrade for sure from last year…
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7) Pass rush solves a lot of problems, and we should be much better than last years underachievers especially since we actually have a DC who knows how to Blitz and disguise for the first time in years. Cox, Barwin,Kendricks Lamar, blitzing Chunger…and possibly Curry,Thorton,Graham…can surely provide more pressure than last years pathetic bunch…I hope people realize that last year we were the worst blitzing team I think I ever saw, and we lined up 4 lineman and rushed them on every play…opposing lineman knew exactly which underachieving Dlineman was coming at them on the majority of our pass rushing attempts..Things will be very different this year with disguise, multiple fronts..Olines will have many more breakdowns then they had against us last year, which leads to many more opportunities to make the big plays we lacked last season…
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We will get more pressure on QBs then last season, aTleast half of our secondary is a major upgrade(Cary/Chung) from last years(NNamdi/Coleman) .
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We will have better players who will be given more, and better opportunities to make plays then last year… so I don’t even know what there is to complain if you are rational and understand that Rome wasn’t built in a day. how many real opportunities to improve our defense did we miss out on this offseason? Goldson? Sean Smith? I’m not shedding a tear over either!..someone might not like one of the players we added in FA, but it was probably a comparable player to what was on the dry market
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The historically bad talk is insane..I’m not foolish enough to try and tell anyone that we are going to see a great defense, but there will be times when we will be pleasantly surprised, and by the time the season ends everyone will be feeling good about where this defense is headed…GO BIRDS!!!
Don’t even read that post….it was my unedited rough draft, and I posted it by accident as I had a computer prob that Logged me off, and now I can’t go bak and re-edit it..
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ppologies, but disregard that post please!
too late. read it. Re. #6, I’d put Mikell above Chung at this point.
possibly…kind of forgot all about him…If Mikell was better than what Chunger would be, I don’t think it will be that big of a margin, and the premise of my post was really about the improvements from the past two season, so #6 still works for the sake of the post although you may be right
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Lol I hope you didn’t read all that..I planned on condensing it first lol…my bad
GEagle – One aspect of a Chip defense that you must prepare for is Feast or Famine. The defense will be opportunistic and sometimes get slashed. Long runs were not uncommon against the Duck defense, but they only bent not broke in containment. Because the Eagles offense will usually be ahead by over 14 points, opposing offenses have to take chances – this is where a blitzing, stunting, disguised defense holds sway ( fumbles, interceptions, and TFLs abound). The defense will not always look pretty but boy its going to be fun to watch.
Eagles fans will get excitement (in a good way) on both sides of the ball. LOL, SMH
Considering we haven’t “feasted” at all since 2011(and even that only provided a few occasional crumbs)…Eagles fans should be pleasantly surprised with the improvements this year, ATleast thats my expectation…Like I said, I don’t expect a top defense, but I really do believe that we are on the right path, and by the time this season is over, Eagles fans will be pleased with the direction we are headed…
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Eagles fans watched the most pathetic defense I have ever seen last year…and I don’t mean that as an exaggeration… I have never seen so many screwed up things in one offseason…
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So taking into account where we were last year, I don’t see why in the world people would be throwing around terms like historically bad, a year aft they just witnessed historically bad..
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the craziest part about how bad we were, is something that no one ever talks about…..We had some of the best injury luck ever last year on defense…We were always at full strength lol if you can even use the word strength. our Offense sucked, but we have hope because a lot of the SUCK resulted from really bad injury luck….An Eagles Defense will never be healthier than it was last season, and it was still Horrendous! that’s like really really bad…This unit still lacks depth at a lot of important positions, but if we remain healthy, Eagles Nation will see a better defense then most expect….and when you look back and remember how bad we were, Im not really sure what more we could have hoped for in one offseason…I’m very pleased with year ones makeover
Just a thought bouncing around in my head, but is it possible that Sopoaga just isn’t giving it his all because it’s preseason? I mean he is a 30+ veteran of the league, so this isn’t his first time around, and I’m not sure that his job is on the line either. Now, this is not to say that he’s going to turn into a 320 pound Warren Sapp when the games become real, but I wonder how much effort he’s truly giving given his age.
Isn’t the book on Sop that he’s a hard worker, good role model, goes all out all the time?
I’m not sure. I’m just wondering how hard veterans play during the preseason especially when they’ve been around as long as he has. I have nothing to back it up just putting a thought out there.
This could be true despite him toning it down in preseason. I remember people accusing Demeco of this and he had no problems once the games counted.
Funny you say that, I was thinking of Demeco when I was writing my comment. I find it hard to believe that a hard worker wouldn’t give it his all during preseason games, but maybe being a hard worker and playing with intensity aren’t necessarily the same thing. I could believe that Sop could have the right mindset for practice or preseason, but that doesn’t mean he gets to that extra level required for games. I guess time will tell.
Yeah, frankly, considering he’s a bigger guy and getting up there with age, he and the coaches probably realise it’s better for the team if he conserves himself. If that’s the case, it’s really the exception that proves the rule. A player who goes all out for the team when it counts will be willing to go easy when he knows it’s best for the team.
The thing is, the Jags’ offense is terrible. Outside of Oakland and Buffalo, they might have the worst QB situation in the NFL, and other than Justin Blackmon they lack above average skill players as well. When you say the Eagles held them to “only” so many points or so many yards, you have to grade on a curve.
I personnally don’t think the Jags O is that terrible. In fact Gabbert has looked quite good until his injury. MJD os still one of the better running backs and Cecil Shorts III could have a good season after coming back from injury.
The 4 and 1 where you said Allen came up for the tackle — did he force the turn over on downs or did the guy get the 1st down? I agree 100 percent where you say “The action seems to stop before he’s got his chance to hit or tackle.” My issue though is he’s LATE. I don’t buy, as a safety, that he didn’t get a chance to make the play — unless every run play was stopped at the LOS. My knock on Allen(is similar to Mathews) — and I’ve said it before — always always there after the play is stopped. Sounds like Mathews did make it in to clean up a tackle. (yeah). When will I read that these guys are first to the ball AND make a play.
What I love about your DGR is that there are times I can’t see who the player is no matter how many times I rewind/play. You always seem to get the play and point out what happened. Coffee and a DGR makes a great morning :).