Man Up: Defense
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Here's the player-by-player review of the Eagles' defensive performance against the Redskins after having re-watched the game:
Jason Babin - He didn't have a sack, but Babin still got pressure on Rex Grossman. He was credited with a game-high three quarterback hits and was active overall. Babin stopped Roy Helu after a 2-yard gain in the second. He got decent pressure on Grossman on an incompletion near the end of the first half. And he got pressure on Grossman on the third interception. I believe this was the first time all season he dropped back into coverage.
Mike Patterson - He played one of his best games in recent memory. Really a strong effort from Patterson. He got in the backfield and then hustled to bring Torain down after a gain of 6 in the first. And he dumped Torain after a 1-yard gain in the third. But I was more impressed with Patterson as a pass rusher. I don’t think he hit Grossman, but he got decent pressure up the middle on the second interception. He put a great move on the left guard, sacking Grossman in the second. And he pushed the guard back into John Beck, causing him to throw short in the fourth. If the Eagles can get that kind of performance from Patterson on a weekly basis, he and Cullen Jenkins are going to give offensive lines trouble.
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
In case you missed it from Sunday, I counted 13 missed tackles by the Eagles and charted all of them.
Meanwhile, here is the player-by-player breakdown of the Eagles' defensive performance during Sunday's loss to the Bills.
Jason Babin - He didn't have a sack for the first time all season, but I'd argue that had more to do with the Bills' gameplan and Ryan Fitzpatrick than the Eagles' lack of a pass rush. Babin had a pair of QB hits and had ups and downs against the run. He got pressure on Fitzpatrick on a third down, but the Bills QB found Stevie Johnson for an 8-yard gain. Babin got to Fitzpatrick on the Jamar Chaney interception too. Against the run, he hustled to bring Fred Jackson down after a couple of 4-yard gains. And Babin dropped Jackson for a 2-yard loss in the second. However, Jackson found a big hole between Babin and Cullen Jenkins for a 9-yard gain in the second. Later, the right tackle sealed him, and Jackson got around the edge for 22 yards in the third. The 5-yard Brad Smith touchdown went right between Babin and Derek Landri. He was also called for offsides in the second.
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
After re-watching the Eagles' 24-23 loss to the 49ers, I counted exactly one defensive player who played well: Jason Babin.
After the first three weeks, blame was placed mostly on the linebackers and safeties. But after Sunday, the cornerbacks and defensive linemen are going to have to take some responsibility too.
Having said that, here's the player-by-player breakdown:
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Here's a player-by-player breakdown of the Eagles' defensive performance against the Giants after having re-watched the game.
And if you missed it from Sunday night, here's a detailed breakdown of the five plays of 25+ yards the defense allowed.
Jason Babin - As always, Babin was active, but overall, he played an up-and-down game. Let's start with the good. As a pass rusher, he had his fourth sack of the season and also pressured Eli Manning on the play where Cullen Jenkins picked up a sack. He dropped Ahmad Bradshaw for a loss of 2 after Manning dumped it off to him in the second. He hustled to help bring Bradshaw down on a 6-yard screen on third down in the second. Against the run, teams continue to attack Babin's side. On Bradshaw’s 15-yard run in the first, Babin slipped into the backfield, but couldn’t make a play. Later, he had a chance to bring Bradshaw down for a loss, but couldn’t, and the Giants picked up 4 on 2nd-and-1. Penalties have become an issue with Babin. He was called for offsides on the 40-yard field goal attempt with 3:48 left. The Eagles had to use two more timeouts on defense, the Giants scored a touchdown, and the offense didn’t get the ball back until the 3:32 mark. Babin’s been called for four penalties (three offsides) in two weeks. And he could have been called for a facemask penalty on his sack. Babin played 43 of 49 snaps and moved over to right defensive end when Trent Cole got a breather.
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Before we get to the breakdown, a few notes on the Eagles' defense.
This is an extremely difficult group to evaluate because they are outstanding in certain areas (rushing the quarterback, covering with their corners) and just flat-out bad in other areas (consistent run defense, covering with their safeties and linebackers).
The 'D' looked gassed in the fourth quarter, giving up a pair of 80-yard drives. Before those two drives, I thought they played relatively well. But that doesn't matter. It's a 60-minute game, and the Falcons went 5-for-5 in the red zone, conjuring up memories of last year's struggles.
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
It's that time again. Below is my player-by-player breakdown of the Eagles' defense, after I re-watched their 31-13 win against the Rams.
But first, I want to thank reader, Excel whiz and Eagles fan Mark, who has helped me put together spreadsheets to chart a lot of the data you'll see in MTC features throughout the week and throughout the season. Not sure what I'd be left to write about this season without Mark's help.
Now on to the breakdown:
Follow
Sheil on Twitter. And become
a fan of Moving the Chains on Facebook.
Download our NEW iPhone/Android app for even more Birds
coverage, including app-exclusive videos and analysis. Download it here.
