Skip to content
Eagles
Link copied to clipboard

Man Up: Cole contained; Sims struggles again

Here's the player-by-player breakdown of how the Eagles' defense performed in the team's 21-16 loss to the Packers Sunday afternoon.

Here's the player-by-player breakdown of how the Eagles' defense performed in the team's 21-16 loss to the Packers Sunday afternoon:

Juqua Parker- He didn't do much as a pass rusher. Parker had a chance to sack Aaron Rodgers on 3rd-and-2 in the second quarter, but couldn't bring him down. Overall, I thought he was OK though. Parker recovered the Rodgers fumble in the third, and he made some big plays against the run in the second half. Parker teamed with Moise Fokou to drop John Kuhn for a 3-yard loss on a third down. And he had a couple more stops on the Packers' final drive. Parker played 46 snaps. It was his second-highest number of the season, and only Trent Cole played more among defensive linemen.

Daniel Te'o-Nesheim- He filled in for nine snaps at left defensive end. I'm not sure we know any more about Te'o-Nesheim now than when the Eagles drafted him.

Mike Patterson- The Packers effectively double-teamed him on the 27-yard James Starks run in the first. Patterson did a good job on a 3-yard Kuhn carry in the third. And he stopped Starks on the Packers' final possession. Overall, though, the run defense obviously struggled. I blame the linebackers more than the defensive tackles.

Brodrick Bunkley- He only played 11 snaps. A big hole opened up between him and Patterson on the 6-yard Starks run in the second. Bunkley stopped Starks after a 1-yard gain in the third.

Antonio Dixon- There were a lot of good plays for Dixon. He got into the backfield on a 1-yard Starks carry in the first; he stopped Starks for no gain in the second; and he tackled Starks after a 2-yard pickup in the fourth. Dixon was blocked on the Starks 27-yard run in the first, but he thought he was held, and might have had a point. Dixon was double-teamed on a 6-yard Starks run. Overall, though, probably the most pleasant surprise on defense this season.

Trevor Laws- He played 24 snaps and was quiet, although a lot of credit goes to Rodgers and his mobility for giving the Eagles problems. Sean McDermott had him and the other linemen stand up and roam around on third down before rushing the passer on a first-half play.

Darryl Tapp- He had the only sack by an Eagles defensive lineman, forcing the Rodgers fumble and momentarily giving the Eagles momentum. The Eagles dropped him back into coverage a couple times. Once was on an 11-yard completion to Donald Driver on a third down in the fourth quarter.

Trent Cole- Very quiet game for Cole - both against the run and the pass. The Packers ran right at him for 19 yards in the third. And he didn't get near Rodgers until the final drive when Cole's pressure allowed Keenan Clayton to pick up the sack.

Ernie Sims- I didn't really notice him do anything well. But there were plenty of errors. It looked like tight end Andrew Quarless was his responsibility on the Packers' first offensive play that went for 15 yards. Sims got fooled badly on the fake handoff. He got knocked to the ground on the 27-yard Starks run in the first. Sims completely whiffed on a swing pass to Starks that went for 8 yards on 2nd-and-7 in the first. On a 3rd-and-2 play, he had a chance to bring down the fullback, but got dragged a few yards as Green Bay picked up the first down. Sims was blocked completely out of the play on a 19-yard Starks run in the third. Either he or Chaney was supposed to stick with Kuhn in coverage on a 16-yard gain in the third, but both guys ran with the tight end. Sims was blocked on the 16-yard touchdown to Jackson. And he was blocked on the 12-yard Starks run in the fourth.

Jamar Chaney- There were ups and downs for Chaney. I thought he competed hard and showed encouraging signs that he will have some kind of role on this team going forward, but there's certainly plenty to work on. Let's start with the good: He tackled Jackson after a 3-yard gain in the first; he did a good job on a 4-yard run in the first; he tackled Starks after a 1-yard completion; he forced the Kuhn fumble in the second; he stopped Starks after a gain of 2 in the third; he forced Rodgers to throw the ball away on third down in the third; and he stopped Starks after a gain of 2 in the fourth. And now the bad: He was fooled on a fake toss that resulted in a 12-yard completion to Driver in the first; he had a better chance than any defender to stop Starks on the 27-yard run, but missed the tackle; he was blocked on a 6-yard carry in the second; he was beat by Quarless in coverage on a 3rd-and-5 completion; it looked like Driver was his responsibility on the 20-yard completion when the Eagles were in zone; he was blocked on the Starks 19-yard run in the third; and he was blocked on the Starks 12-yard run in the fourth.

Moise Fokou- He also was fooled on the fake toss that resulted in a 12-yard completion to Driver in the first. Fokou was blocked effectively by Kuhn on the 27-yard Starks run in the first. He looked like he bit on the play-fake on the Packers' first touchdown. Fokou had some good moments. He tackled Starks after a 1-yard gain in the first. And while he was blocked on a 7-yard Starks run in the fourth, Fokou came back to drop Kuhn for a 3-yard loss and force a punt on the very next play.

Keenan Clayton- He played quite a bit (19 snaps) in the nickel with Chaney. Clayton's offsides in the first came on a 3rd-and-5 and gave the Packers a first down. They went on to score a touchdown on the drive. He picked up a sack on Green Bay's final possession.

Asante Samuel- Rodgers threw at him on an early third down, but Greg Jennings dropped the pass. It's tough to tell whether Samuel should have been responsible for picking up the receiver on Green Bay's first touchdown. The second TD to James Jones was against him, but Rodgers deserves credit for buying time with his legs and having all day to throw the ball. Samuel is lucky that Jones dropped the ball on a beautifully-thrown pass by Rodgers at the end of the first half. It could have been a touchdown had he held on. Rodgers targeted Samuel more than other QBs have.

Dimitri Patterson- Before the game, I thought he might be the biggest reason for an Eagles loss, but he wasn't. Rodgers challenged Patterson deep on a throw to Jordy Nelson in the first quarter, but Patterson stuck with him. He gave up a first-down throw to Driver on 3rd-and-5 on the third scoring drive and missed a tackle on Jackson on the 16-yard touchdown in the third. Overall, though, Patterson was not the liability he could have been.

Joselio Hanson- He got a good hit on Rodgers coming on the blitz from his blind side in the third on 3rd-and-5, but Rodgers got rid of the ball to Driver for a first down. Hanson had good underneath coverage on Driver on a throw over the middle in the third. Overall, a solid game.

Quintin Mikell- He put a big hit on Jackson in run support after a 2-yard carry in the first. It looked like Mikell just had no clue the ball was in his hands on the Kuhn fumble in the second. Strange play. Mikell also stopped Starks after a gain of 4 in the fourth.

Kurt Coleman- He missed a tackle downfield on the Starks 27-yard run in the first. Coleman did a good job in run support on one play, tackling Starks after a gain of 4 in the second. He was blocked on 16-yard touchdown to Jackson and didn't get tested much in coverage.

You can follow Moving the Chains on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Download our NEW iPhone/Android app for even more Birds coverage, including app-exclusive videos and analysis. Get it here.