Man Up: Fokou, Jordan show improvement

We did the offense yesterday.

And here's the D:

Juqua Parker - He was all over Kyle Orton in the first half, turning in his second straight strong performance. Parker knocked Orton down on the play that was initially ruled a lateral. He also got good pressure on at least four other occasions. It should be noted that on a couple of those, the Broncos inexplicably tried to block him one-on-one with a tight end.

Brodrick Bunkley - Bunkley and Mike Patterson anchored a strong rush D for the Eagles. The Broncos had 18 carries for 70 yards. But keep in mind, 33 of those yards came on the play where Correll Buckhalter was split out wide. It was more of a screen than anything, but counted as a rush because Orton threw backwards. Other than that, 17 carries for 37 yards. Bunkley disrupted a Knowshon Moreno run in the first and made a nice play on a 4-yard carry in the third.

Mike Patterson - Great job by Patterson Sunday. He blew up a Moreno run for no gain, simply tossing the opposing offensive lineman out of the way. He did a nice job stuffing a potential hole on a 3rd-and-1 in the second. As a pass rusher, Patterson got good pressure one one play in the third that led to a Trent Cole sack. He also showed good hustle, taking down Brandon Marshall on a slant near the goal line in the third.

Victor Abiamiri - Did a good job from the left defensive end position on 3rd-and-1 in the second. Abiamiri got good pressure up the middle on a pass play in the fourth also.

Antonio Dixon - I will check the exact numbers later today, but it seems to me that Sean McDermott is rotating Dixon in less than he did earlier this season. In the third, Dixon replaced Bunkley, who got banged up and did a good job stuffing Moreno on a 2-yard carry off a direct snap.

Trent Cole - Quiet in the first half, but an absolute beast in the second. Great back-to-back stretch in the fourth, coming up with a sack on one play and chasing down WR Brandon Lloyd on a screen on the next one. Cole lined up in the middle multiple times. He was there on one play in the fourth, beating a double team, pressuring Orton and forcing him to throw incomplete. Cole pressured Orton again later, forcing him to step into a Darren Howard sack.

Darren Howard - When Cole moved inside, it was Howard at right defensive end. Nice spin move to pick up the aformentioned sack in the third. Four sacks in his last four games. Had 0.5 sacks in his previous 10.

Chris Clemons - Noticed he had good pressure on one play in the second, batting down an Orton pass at the line of scrimmage.

Jason Babin - I have to re-watch to see how many snaps he played, but Babin was not a factor.

Jeremiah Trotter - He and Akeem Jordan played the middle. Trotter did a good job to stop Buckhalter early on. Didn't really notice him beyond that.

Moise Fokou - I thought he turned in a very solid performance, getting the start once again over Chris Gocong, who did not see the field. There were at least four plays where Fokou was active getting to the ballcarrier: a Moreno run in the first, a Buckhalter run in the second, and two Moreno runs in the third. Fokou also was not fooled by play-action in the third, pressuring Orton on an intentional grounding play. He's a rookie and a seventh-round pick, so he could cost you at any point. But it's clear McDermott is willing to gamble on Fokou's upside down the stretch and in the postseason.

Will Witherspoon - Didn't see Witherspoon making a lot of plays in this one. He played the weak-side in the base package and also was out there in nickel situations with either Jordan or Tracy White. He did make one nice play against the run in the fourth. Witherspoon was matched up with Buckhalter on the 33-yard pickup in the third.

Akeem Jordan - One of the more encouraging things you should take away from this game is Jordan's performance. He was far more active than he had been in the previous two games, seeing time both in the nickel and in the middle. On the Broncos' final offensive drive, Jordan stuffed a run on first down and dragged down Jabar Gafney after a short gain on second down. Earlier in the game, he excelled in a variety of ways. Against the run on one play, chasing down Brandon Marshall on another and coming on a blitz in the third. Huge bump for the Eagles if he can get back to the way he was playing earlier this season against Dallas and in the playoffs.

Tracy White - Didn't see him out there a lot in the first half, but White saw action in the nickel in the second. He made a great play, blowing up a screen pass in the second.

Asante Samuel - Four interceptions in the last five games and nine on the season. Group effort on Marshall, who finished with just 39 yards, his lowest total in five games.

Sheldon Brown - I agree with Andy Reid that he set the tone early with a big hit on Marshall. I hope you noticed him pointing over to Dawkins after the play. Brown made one of the biggest plays of the game, breaking up the deep ball to Marshall in the fourth. You wonder if he could really benefit from a first-round bye.

Joselio Hanson - Was getting hurt on the WR screens at times, but adjusted and made a great play in the fourth, dropping Marshall for a loss of 4. On one play, McDermott brought him on a blitz from the slot, something we see every week.

Dimitri Patterson - I like the heads-up play to pick up the Orton pass and take it to the end zone, even if the call was overturned.

Quintin Mikell - Ups and downs for Mikell. Nice job to break up a pass intended for Tony Scheffler in the end zone. He also did a good job later on a TE screen and provided good run support on a play in the fourth. Mikell missed a tackle on the second-quarter TD to Gafney and was beat by him on an 18-yard third-down play in the fourth.

Sean Jones - The Eagles did not get much from the free safety position Sunday as Jones and Harris rotated in and out. He missed a tackle (something we've been writing too much all season) on a 26-yard completion to Scheffler in the third.

Macho Harris - He was blocked badly on the 33-yard dumpoff to Buckhalter, and of course was called for the big penalty on the Samuel interception. Not to mention his special teams mishaps.