Man Up: Graham, Samuel lead 'D'
Asante Samuel and Brandon Graham were among the standouts for the Eagles on defense in their 27-17 win over the Giants.
Man Up: Graham, Samuel lead 'D'
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Here's the player-by-player breakdown of how the Eagles' defense performed in their 27-17 win over the Giants Sunday night at the Linc:
Brandon Graham- Among defensive linemen, only Trent Cole played more than Graham, who was counted on even more this week after Juqua Parker left with the hip injury. Graham was excellent against the run. He combined with Quintin Mikell to stop Ahmad Bradshaw after a gain of 2 in the second. Graham tripped up Bradshaw, stopping him for no gain later in the quarter. And he stripped Bradshaw, creating a turnover. Against the pass, Graham got decent pressure on the play where Mikell was called for pass interference. He executed a nice spin move in the fourth, forcing Manning to escape the pocket and throw incomplete.
Juqua Parker- He gave it a shot, but only played eight snaps in the first half because of the injury. A big hole opened up between him and Patterson on Bradshaw's 17-yard run in the second.
Antonio Dixon- He was outstanding against the run. Dixon brought Bradshaw down for a loss of 2 on the game's first play. And he stopped Bradshaw after a 2-yard gain in the fourth. As a pass rusher, Dixon nearly had a sack in the third. He forced Manning to escape the pocket and flip the ball to Bradshaw for a gain of 2.
Mike Patterson- He was very good against the run also. Patterson stuffed Bradshaw after a gain of 2 on the Giants' first possession. And he dropped Bradshaw after a 1-yard gain in the third. A big hole opened up between him and Parker on Bradshaw's 17-yard run in the first.
Brodrick Bunkley- He continues to rotate in. Bunkley was OK, but did not stand out as much as Patterson or Dixon. He thought he had a fumble recovery in the fourth, but the refs overturned the call.
Trevor Laws- He played the most of any of the interior linemen. Laws stopped Jacobs for no gain in the red zone in the second, but was otherwise fairly quiet.
Darryl Tapp- He played three different positions along the defensive line - left defensive end, right defensive end and right defensive tackle. Tapp and Sims dropped Bradshaw for no gain in the second. And he recovered the Eli Manning fumble in the fourth.
Trent Cole- He had a pretty quiet game. The Giants often gave Shawn Andrews help, but Andrews held his own one-on-one also. I'll break down the details of that matchup in a later post. Cole was held on the 15-yard completion to Hakeem Nicks in the first, but the refs didn't call it. He stopped Brandon Jacobs after a gain of 2 in the first. And Cole broke through, forcing Manning to give the ball up before he was ready on a screen attempt in the fourth.
Stewart Bradley- Bradley had ups and downs. He did a nice job on a Bradshaw 2-yard run in the first. And he broke up a pass intended for Kevin Boss in the second quarter on third down. He had a chance for a sack in the fourth, but couldn't bring Manning down as he threw incomplete to Jacobs. Bradley was blocked on Bradshaw's 17-yard run in the first. And Boss beat him for a gain of 15 in the third.
Ernie Sims- Sims also had ups and downs. It won't show up in the stat sheet, but he closed a potential running lane for Bradshaw on the play where Mikell made the tackle for no gain in the first half. Sims and Tapp stopped Bradshaw for no gain in the second. He was blocked on Bradshaw's 17-yard run in the second. Sims bit on play-action and got beat for a 22-yard completion to Jacobs in the fourth.
Moise Fokou- The tight end blocked him on a 6-yard Jacobs run in the second. He dropped Jacobs for a loss of 2 in the second. Fokou played nearly half the snaps.
Keenan Clayton- He only played a couple snaps, but on one of them, Clayton blitzed and then hustled downfield to strip Nicks. The Giants recovered, but it was still a nice play. He's been active for three straight games.
Asante Samuel- He continues to be one of the league's best defensive playmakers. Samuel had a pair of picks and a fumble recovery. Yeah, yeah, he did fumble the one INT back, but he said that's never happened to him before. And I believe him. Samuel almost got beat for a 35-yard gain on the Giants' first possession, but Nicks couldn't get both his feet in bounds. He was called for an illegal hit on Derek Hagan in the second.
Dimitri Patterson- He was solid once again. Patterson gives up some completions, but is consistent and has shown he can make plays. He bit badly on play-action on a 15-yard completion to Nicks in the first. Manningham beat him for a gain of 9 when Manning got outside the pocket in the second. Patterson had pretty good coverage on Nicks, but was beat for a 10-yard gain on the Giants' first scoring drive. Manningham beat him for a gain of 10 on 3rd-and-7 in the third. He did an excellent job on a screen to Nicks in the third, fighting off a block and stopping the play for no gain. And Patterson had good coverage on Nicks on a throw over the middle in the fourth. He gave up the one big play against the 'Skins last week, but other than that, almost all the completions are in front of him. And he's proven to be a sure tackler.
Joselio Hanson- He nearly had an interception in the second, breaking up a pass intended for Hagan. Hanson got beat by Hagan on the 5-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Quintin Mikell- He was active against the run. Mikell stuffed Bradshaw for no gain in the first. And he brought him down after a gain of 2 in the second. But Mikell had some lapses in coverage. He was called for a 31-yard pass interference penalty, setting up the Giants' first touchdown. And Mikell had a chance to bring Nicks down after a gain of 1 on third down in the fourth, but missed the tackle as he ended up gaining 18. He had good coverage on Hagan on a 4-yard completion in the second and made a nice tackle on Bradshaw after Manning flipped it to him for a gain of 2 in the third. Mikell also did a good job to break up a pass intended for Hagan in the fourth.
Nate Allen- He got away with some contact, covering Boss in the end zone on third down in the second quarter, but Allen forced the Giants to attempt a field goal by breaking up the pass.
Kurt Coleman- He got on the field for one play in the first half when Mikell was sidelined. For that play, three of the Eagles' 11 defensive players were rookies.
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hey sheil, I didn't know Tapp played on o-line. man that dude is awesome.— iamkingdunlap- Great win vs/ a very good team. This win was on the "D" - nice job as always Sheil.— dragoon6
- That call on Samuel was bogus. And how they didn't see Andrews holding Trent Cole on that pass play still baffles me. That play with Nate Allen and Boss, Allen had position, Boss ran into him and and was so intent on moving Allen, he pushed pass the spot Manning was throwing to him. It wasn't a great game with the penalties, but a good win.— PhillyFanSouth
Poor Samuel, he constantly gets killed for weak tackling, and when he actually blows a guy up he gets a 15 yard penalty. Great work as usual Sheil.— soybot- Hey Sheil, a couple of things I wanted to add, first is a question -- Why was Laws on the field for the most plays as a D-lineman when it is obvious that Dixon is playing the best right now. Also, I thought Mikel had a down game and I am losing faith in him right now. I understand his challenges in coverage, as that is not his strength, but by my count he missed about 6 tackles or so in the game. I am ready to move Kurt Coleman to strong saftety and keep Nate A. as free safety and move on from him in 2011— DAVMARIS2
- Another game and Little Dinky Sims tried again to jump onto the shoulders of a running back hoping to have a chicken fight.— del ravio 100%
- I don't remember how quick pre-injury Bradley was.. but I have to guess he's not all the way back. Watching replays of pass coverage over the middle he looks like he's in quick sand and everyone else is on pavement. I've yet to see hime this year with good enough position to be able to turn his head in coverage. I hope his quickness improves or this will be a hole for us... but we've got nobody better.— HighDrama
- Samuel actually tackled well quite a few times last night. He blew one play which could have been a touchdown, but got two picks, a tradeoff we can live with. Sims had a solid game for the first time this season. I've been down on both those guys, so they deserve credit in the win. Patterson was nowhere near shutdown, but he did exactly what we need a corner to do against the Giants. And Hanson had his best game of the season, seemed to be around the ball a lot. Defensively, pretty good game. On offense, I thought the playcalling stunk. It was a Vick-centered offense the whole night, so much so that when we actually did something different it did work, like the pitch to McCoy for fifty yards. I agree with Davmaris. I would have used Dixon a lot more.— tacklinjoe
Comment removed.- The D played a very good game overall. It would be great if this is just part of the maturing process for the rookies and the experience of playing together for the new vets. If that's the case, they should keep improving. I guess we can finally put away the thought that the Eagles D can't stop the run. They have stuffed several very good running teams these past few games.
- Good Win, great play by the defense. BUT ten penalties for over 100 yards. Come on man. Let's hope the defense can build on this effort and become more consistant. OH and another thing, better get your check book ready Asante, that hit was head to head, I saw the replay and there is no doubt. He could have easily lowered his shoulder and hit him just as hard. But that is life with Asante, amazing plays, bad plays and STUPID plays. Grow up Asante !!— craig123
Still getting used to this team hoped they would be clutch when it mattered and they were, these Giants are a top ranked offensive team and like some of our other big wins this year Eagles defense shut them down. Mikel seems to be having more lapses than I am used to seeing still a huge win. Bring on DA Bears.- An NFC Classic.. If you made a Giants/Eagles highlight film over the years you have to include the 4th and 1 bumbled snap by Vick yet,, still clinging to the ball with his fingertips wheels and pitches to McCoy who bolts for a 50Yd Touchdown!! BTW that pitch was almost swiped by a Giants D lineman who missed by a 1/1000 of an inch.— MJPD345
- We needed to win a close game, just like the Indy game. Playoff games tend to be closer, so this is a good win. The under the radar running game much improved this year, part of it McCoy, Vick and the O-line. i don't think Bradley can try any harder that he is. He has lost some speed and quickness it appears but works hard and once or twice a game gets thrown to the ground. At 6-4, 260 that should not be as easy as it looks. I think Celek is hearing footsteps in the pass game. Run blocking has improved. McCoy reminds me of a young Westbrook, only a better blocker at similar stages. Shady also lightning quick and tough. Go Eagles ! !— oldBird
- Kevin Boss ran right into Nate Allen in the end zone, trying to use his size to simply shove Allen out of the play. No way that was interference on Allen.— p-diddy
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