Man Up: Fokou, Jordan show improvement
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Man Up: Fokou, Jordan show improvement
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
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.
What about Tracy White's tackle on 3rd down on the Orton scramble to force the final punt?— SB_Express- Abiamiri's best play was getting to the second Macho fumble. That saved the game.— sla6yer
- Lets just hope the fat man doesnt let Macho return anymore kickoffs. I think two fumbles in one game is enough to be demoted to the practice squad.— barefoot
- How bad is Quentin Demps hurt that he can't replace Macho?— dragoon6
- For the most part, Macho actually held his own in coverage. As long as he is nowhere near the kick return team, I think he's fine. Demps and Jones are a joke in the passing game. The safety position needs to be the No. 1 priority in the offseason
What happened to Trevor Laws? Did his dreads obscure his vision so no whe can't see his way onto the field?— Leegles
Comment removed.- They need to find a strong safety next year either first round pick or 2nd, or bring in a stud in FAs? Jones , Macho Harris, Demps are all bench players that get BEAT too much or cause too many co$tly stupid penalties!— mikey48
- Would be nice to have a pro bowler like Dawkins manning the free safety spot instead of the average combo of Jones/Harris.— Lemur
- It would have been nice all Dawk had to do was sign the contract we offered. Now he'll sit home and watch the playoffs happen. Maybe we can win the Superbowl and rub it in his face for leaving.
- My DVR cut off before the final defensive play. So good point on White, SB_Express. Laws was inactive, Leegles. That likely won't change, barring an injury. Dragoon6, Demps was inactive with an injury last week. - SK— skapadia
- If Andy&Co. can ratchet up the defense this off-season they way they did the offense LAST off-season, we are going to be a VERY strong team next year....and it wouldn't hurt if we could get D-Jax offa the damn punt-return team...he's way too valuable to get blown up returning the ball. (I just continue to MARVEL at the little shrimp! Making the Pro-Bowl, as a starter(!), at TWo positions....My heartiest congratulations to him, but with the plea:PLEEEEEEASE don't get hurt!)— TBear
- Comment removed.
- How long before Trevor Laws and Chris Gocong are both inactive on game day? Gocong's stock has fallen so dramatically, it's hard to see him on the team past March 1st. Too bad the Eagles never found a way to use his pass rushing skills. I gotta believe he'd be a better situational DE than Clemons.— farside37
- Overall, a pretty good showing by the D, as Denver had very good field position on their scores. Encouraging: Jordan returning to form. A little discouraging: While he made a couple nice plays, I just don't trust Sheldon Brown singled up in coverage,e especially defending the end zone. He gave Gaffney a huge cushion on the 7-yard td, and never closed, and he often he lets receivers get behind him. I know he's playing hurt, but...— MG44
- Sean Jones is stealing money from the team. Good thing Birds got him for free. Is there any wonder he played for the Cleveland Browns? The Browns didn't want him that is why he ended up here. Leave him off the field...— philadelphiachild51
- CSpangler, if another company offered you a lot more money than your current employer, wouldn't you take it? Why should we expect an athlete like Dawkins to pass on it just to make Eagles fans happy?— catnameddomino
Nice summaries.- Abiamiri seemed especially good. Macho might be pretty good next year, but he, Demps, and Jones don't seem quite good enough right now. Very hard to get deep in the playoffs without better safety play, unless the pass rush is phenomenal. Fokou didn't have as many blunders that I saw, so maybe that's why McDermott is trying him out. I'm looking for Clemons and Babin to step it up against Dallas.— tacklinjoe
- Romo's been practicing the quick slant to his hot-read receivers all week, throwing to the spots vacated by the Eagle blitzer. Please, Sean McD, this corner blitz play doesn't surprise anyone anymore. Fake it, then switch off. D-Linemen, get your hands up.— ItalianSausage
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