In-Depth Analysis - Eagles at Jets (Defense)
We're reviewing last night's Jets/Eagles preseason game in-depth. Earlier today, we took a detailed look at the offense, but now we're moving on to the defense:
Defensive Line - Electric Ealy
With the starters rested, new signing Kony Ealy seemed to pass his one-game audition off the edge. This shouldn't be a surprise really. After all, Ealy has more sacks in his three seasons (14) than all of the outside linebackers on the roster combined (13, with half attributable to Lorenzo Mauldin, who might start the year on injured reserve).
Ealy beat his man a handful of times as a pass rusher, highlighted by his strip-sack off an inside move:
He also made a couple of plays against the run, redirecting one run with penetration and stopping another with a tackle from the backside.
One young lineman who has excelled throughout preseason has been Claude Pelon. However, Pelon made a slow start as he was blocked off the line a few times in the running game and then jumped offside. Pelon still stuffed a couple of runs and had a late half-sack.
Lawrence Thomas got plenty of reps and was in on a couple of run stuffs. He didn't do much in the passing game though.
Rookie Patrick Gamble had a fumble recovery and added half a sack on the final drive, but he was driven off the line a few times in run defense.
The battle between nose tackles Mike Pennel and Deon Simon went largely undecided as they only got a handful of reps each. Simon stuffed one run while Pennel picked up a coverage sack.
Instead, most of the nose tackle reps went to rookie Jeremy Faulk, who was driven off the line a few times but showed some good strength at the point of attack and penetrated the pocket a couple of times to create pressure in the passing game.
Linebackers - Donahue want me, baby?
Dylan Donahue saw extended action this week and had some positive flashes. He created some good pressure as a pass rusher, showing a good inside move and some power to drive his man back into the pocket. He also made a few plays against the run, including blowing up a 1st-and-goal run from the three with quick penetration.
Josh Martin played just two snaps this week as Jordan Jenkins was rested and Mauldin remains on the injured list. This enabled some of the players on the bubble to try and make their mark.
Freddie Bishop also showed some power off the edge and got upfield on his man to create pressure. He made a couple of plays against the run, including a 3rd-and-short stop from the backside, but was driven off the line once.
Corey Lemonier didn't have such a good day and ultimately left with a foot injury. He was in on a couple of stops and batted a pass, but was blocked out of too many running plays.
Frank Beltre gave a high energy performance which saw him record a sack off an inside move and a hit off a nice spin move. However, he missed two tackles, was fooled a couple of times on play-action and was blocked out of a couple of running plays.
On the inside, starters Demario Davis and Darron Lee were in for a couple of series and each stuffed a run in the hole. Even more encouraging was a fourth down play where Lee was initially covering the receiver and then passed him off to Davis. That was flawlessly done, so he was never open and that led to a turnover on downs.
Reserve Julian Stanford had been flying around making plays all preseason but had less of an impact last night. He did help to contain one run though and he avoided any mistakes. Bruce Carter also had a quiet game.
Spencer Paysinger was more productive but also seemed to be blocked out of a lot of plays. He tied for the team lead with six tackles, including one on third down and one on fourth down, but also gave up a first down in coverage.
Rookie Connor Harris was also blocked out of a few plays, including two where he effectively ran himself out of the play. He showed a couple of nice flashes late when he took a 50-yard drop to bat down a long pass and made a tackle in the backfield. It seems unlikely he's done enough to warrant a spot on the 53 though.
Defensive Backs - Armagedon is unleashed
The second half was probably more interesting than the first in respect of the defensive backs, with some decent competition between all the guys on the bubble, most of whom did not play last week. It will be interesting to see if any of these did enough to make the team.
It's unlikely Armagedon Draughn will be one of those who did. His blown coverage led to the Eagles' only touchdown as he let his receiver get behind him for an easy touchdown. The Eagles had run the same play earlier on with the quarterback running for a first down and Draughn abandoned his assignment assuming the same thing was going to happen again:
Draughn also had a missed tackle but was credited with two tackles. Honestly, his length stands out so much on film you could see some scouts noticing him just for that reason and being intrigued enough to investigate further.
At the other end of the scale, the other new addition, Terrence Brooks, made an extremely strong case for a roster spot. He closed from deep to stop a third down play for no gain and ranged across the field well to break up a pass. He led the team in defensive reps by some margin as the Jets obviously wanted to get an extended look at him.
Derrick Jones also made a good case for himself with excellent coverage on his interception, although that might not have held up under the scrutiny of instant replay in a regular season game:
Jones gave up just 21 yards on four targets, with no first downs and some good tackling, although he did miss one tackle.
Another rookie, Xavier Coleman, saw some work in the slot. He gave up two first downs and had a missed tackle but was in a good position on a few other plays and had a really nice hit near the line of scrimmage in the running game.
David Rivers got some work at cornerback. He lost his man on one play and gave up a first down, then missed the tackle on another but made a few good plays in coverage including a couple of pass disruptions. He also made a fourth down stop.
Shamarko Thomas made contributions in both halves. He made a couple of good plays in run support and showed some good range in center field. Robenson Therezie saw action off the bench but, like Maye, had no real impact. He only played in the fourth quarter so seems to be behind Thomas.
Other than Morris Claiborne, the starters got some work for the first few series. Marcus Maye had a limited impact, but Jamal Adams stepped up this week with good fourth down coverage leading to a tackle for loss that forced a turnover.
At cornerback, Darryl Roberts and Juston Burris got the first half reps on the outside with Marcus Williams in the slot. Burris gave up a big pass interference penalty on a downfield throw but made a good tackle in the flat and had good coverage on a third down target.
Roberts and Williams both had pretty good games. Roberts gave up three first downs in coverage but had good coverage on four other targets and made a good tackle near the line of scrimmage on the outside. Williams almost intercepted a pass, as he jumped the route to break it up and also - surprisingly - made two good third down tackles.
Finally, Buster Skrine played just five snaps, although he did give up a seven yard catch followed by a first down.
Don't go away because we'll have our special teams review later this afternoon.