Man Up: Strong showing for Coleman
In the first Man Up of the year, I take a look at the Eagles' defensive performance in their 28-27 win over the Jaguars.
Man Up: Strong showing for Coleman
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Today, I mark the official start of football season with the very first Man Up of 2010.
The preseason version is a little different though. If I had nothing to say about a player because he didn't stand out, has no chance of making the team or just wasn't on the field enough, you won't see his name listed here.
The first-team defense was only on the field for six plays, so unfortunately no write-up on guys like Nate Allen, Quintin Mikell or Mike Patterson.
For those of you who have jumped on the MTC bandwagon since the end of last season, Man Up is a write-up of every offensive and defensive player's performance. I publish it after re-watching each week's game.
I'll do the offense on Sunday.
Here's the defense:
Juqua Parker - He played at left defensive end with the first unit, and I also noticed Parker stayed there in at least one nickel situation.
Brodrick Bunkley - He got his hand on David Garrard's first pass attempt, batting it down for an incompletion. Bunkley was also one of the guys encouraging his teammates when the second and third units went in. I like to see that.
Brandon Graham - He played left defensive end with the first-team nickel and also in the second-team base defense. Graham got to Garrard on the 4th-and-3 play in the second quarter that resulted in an incompletion. He tried a variety of moves and usually ended up close, but not quite there. On one, he ended up too far upfield. On another, Graham tried to spin inside. He nearly got his hand on Luke McCown in the second, but the Jaguars ended up completing an 18-yard pass. On the 30-yard touchdown pass to John Matthews, did you notice Graham was asked to drop back into coverage?
Daniel Te'o-Nesheim - He started out as an inside pass rusher with the first-team nickel. It looked like he put on a decent move to get near Garrard on a third-down play late in the first quarter. Te'o-Nesheim also played left defensive end with the third team. He made a good play on a Rashad Jennings run from that position. He got good pressure on a pass play in the third, but there appeared to be total miscommunication on the Jaguars' part that left him unblocked.
Trevor Laws - He too started out as an inside pass rusher with the first-team nickel, but I didn't see much from Laws in terms of getting pressure on the quarterback. It was only a few plays, but I didn't see Laws get a push. He also played defensive tackle in the second-team base defense and did a good job on a Maurice Jones-Drew run, which went for 2 yards.
Jeff Owens - He probably was on the field as much as any other defensive player. Owens was called for an illegal use of hands penalty. He did pick up a sack and forced fumble in the final minutes.
Boo Robinson - I was surprised to see how many plays he made when I re-watched the game. It was mostly with the third team, but Robinson did a good job to clog up a Jennings run in the third quarter. And he nailed McCown to force a rushed throw, an incompletion and a field-goal attempt. Robinson also did a nice job on a 2-yard Karim run in the third.
Darryl Tapp - He played right defensive end with the second-team base defense. Like Graham, he was asked to drop back into coverage on the 30-yard touchdown to Matthews. Good hustle by Tapp to make a play downfield on a Jennings screen in the third. Didn't see much from a pass-rushing perspective though.
Akeem Jordan - He made a good read, coming untouched to drop Jones-Drew for a loss in the first quarter.
Ernie Sims - He combined with Ellis Hobbs to make a tackle on Jones-Drew after a 6-yard reception.
Tracy White - He was the second-team weak-side linebacker, behind Sims, and also a second-team nickel linebacker.
Omar Gaither - He was the second-team middle linebacker and broke up a pass intended for Jennings at the end of the first half.
Moise Fokou - A penalty already? Yikes. Fokou was called for illegal contact. He manned the strong side with the second team and also saw time at left defensive end. Fokou was beat by tight end Mike Caussin for a 15-yard gain.
Keenan Clayton - Nice showing by Clayton. I'm intrigued by his skill set. Clayton came in as the third-team weak-side LB and third-team nickel LB. He blitzed at least four times. and produced positive results. Clayton forced a rushed throw by Trevor Harris on third down in the fourth. He got good pressure on Trevard Lindley's near-pick and later picked up a sack. Clayton also made two good tackles in coverage.
JaMar Chaney - He was the third-team middle linebacker and joined Clayton as the third-team nickel linebacker. Chaney teamed up with Te'o-Nesheim to stop Jennings for no gain on a play in the third.
Ellis Hobbs - He made a good tackle on Mike Sims-Walker on the Jaguars' second play from scrimmage. Hobbs also combined with Sims to make a tackle on Jones-Drew after a 6-yard gain.
Asante Samuel - He made a good tackle on tight end Mercedes Lewis on third down to force a Jaguars punt on their first series. He also broke up a pass intended for Sims-Walker on third down on the second series.
Joselio Hanson - He played in the nickel with the first team and left cornerback with the second team. Hanson was beat badly on the 73-yard touchdown to Troy Williamson, as he bit on the first move.
Trevard Lindley - Strong showing for Lindley. He made two tackles on special teams and nearly came up with an interception that was overturned by replay. On the down side, there was an illegal contact penalty.
Dimitri Patterson - Patterson played with the second team and made a good tackle on a quick throw to Matthews, dropping him for a loss.
Antoine Harris - He played safety with the second team before injuring his foot. Harris was filling in for Quintin Demps, who also suffered an injury.
Kurt Coleman - Too bad I'm listing him last because Coleman was the most impressive player on defense. The seventh-round pick was all over the place. He assisted on a tackle of Jones-Drew after a 2-yard gain in the second. His best moment was a good hit on Sims-Walker to break up a 4th-and-3 pass. Coleman made a nice tackle on Jennings after a 2-yard run. He also made a pair of good plays on special teams, and did a good job in pass coverage, sticking with the Jags' fullback in the flat. Just a very strong showing in all aspects.
You can follow Moving the Chains on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.
And download the 2010 MTC app from the ITunes store.
Assante made a solid tackle. Save that tape, its a one of a kind keeper.— mick314- Hey My Doo Doo, enough with the air guitar. It's old. Please, let it go.— tiredofthewhining
- Good showing for a preseason game, much like everything else that has gone on since the last year, all it really did was increase the curiosity of this season. The only thing that looked extremely obvious was the fact that Djax is uncoverable...it'll take alot of things to fall in place, but he's got league MVP potential with that speed and talent. On that end around, the entire defense looked scared of his speed...which is pretty freaking awesome to watch!— Bleue
- This is the kind of reporting I'm hungry for down here in NC. Thanks, SK— mccloudmj
- Not sure how you get an All-American safety in the 7th round, but Coleman was an absolute steal, dude was a beast on a very good Buckeye D. I've been saying he'll get the starting strong safety job by the start of 2011, possibly sooner. As good as Mikell was in 2008, he was just that atrocious in 2009. Time to step up
- What does Hank Baskett give you that Riley Cooper, or even Kelly Washington, doesn't?
thinkin' Coleman is a keeper. nice to know there will be a physical presence in the secondary.— bboybeballin- It was nice to see DJAx helping The CB off the field that got banged up (Harris). Not a primma donna move at all. I really liked Boo Robinson. I know the guy is a long shot but he had better penetration than Ron Jeremy in Romancing the Bone.— rockinrob
- I've been looking forward to man-up, its my favorite post game blog. Wow rockinrob, you REALLY like Boo Robinson. His chances to make the team are a long shot...much like Peter North in....— dragoon6
- Keenan Clayton, Trevard Lindley and Kurt Coleman were good in their first professional game. They should be core special teamers this year and maybe more in later years.— Rick Wise Guy
- Sheil, the chat last night was awesome, thanks again. Can you break down the results team vs team, i.e. E's #1 offense vs Jag's #1 defense? I want to see how bad the 2's did against McNown. Ouch.— The Reddgie
- Brandon Graham has the 'Mike Mamula' moves down pat---now incorporate the 'Trent Cole' finishes and he will be something else.— Romus
- Why have Graham drop back into coverage? Let him develop his pass rushing skills already! Coleman can hit, but the rest of the backup secondary looked terrible. Lindley showed good instincts on the near pick, but got beat too. Still no pass rush unless you bring 6 guys.— jimmyj
- Thanks, Sheil. You da Man! Up!— McEagle
- Agree with jimmyj. Improvement for the Eagles' defense means generating a decent pass rush with the front four alone, no blitzes. The Eagles still haven't shown they can do that. Actually it's been awhile since they've been able to do it, probably since 2004 when Kearse still had something left.— p-diddy
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.
