Eagles Movie Evaluation: All-22 protection takeaways from the Patriots preseason sport

Following the Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots preseason sport, that is only a fast reminder to not take the preseason too significantly. I’ll deal with people I believe will likely be related this season and ignore nearly something associated to the scheme as a result of coaches don’t wish to give something away within the preseason! (In case you missed it: the offense model.)

Protection

I’ve been on the Moro Ojomo prepare for the reason that Eagles drafted him. He performed very nicely in restricted snaps final yr, and I believe he’ll get much more enjoying time subsequent yr. I do know it’s solely preseason however he was dominating guards on this one. He was simply too sturdy for them and was having his approach with them. Bryce Huff additionally had some nice reps, which was nice to see. Though he’s been quiet throughout coaching camp, it’s exhausting to guage an EDGE defender who has to go up towards Lane Johnson regularly in coaching camp. Nobody beats Lane Johnson.

This was my favourite play by Huff. He’s generally known as a quick man with electrical burst, however generally you have to present composure and consciousness. Right here, he acknowledges that the offensive sort out is letting him cross, and he instantly turns round and will get to the huge receiver. That is sensible consciousness.

Ah, man, I really feel a little bit for James Bradberry on this sport. I noticed him getting killed on-line for lacking a sort out in house, however that wasn’t the difficulty on this sport. Everybody misses tackles in house. The problem is that the a number of roles he has to play as a security goes to be very exhausting for him. He’s performed in a Fangio’ fashion protection for some time, however enjoying security is totally totally different from enjoying outdoors cornerback. That is Fangio’s Cowl 9 (basically Cowl 3), and he ought to carry the #2 WR if he runs something deep/out, however he doesn’t. He’s only a beat late, however that’s all it takes. He was fortunate this wasn’t accomplished. That is two weeks in a row that the Eagles have been confused by a unclean bunch (2 receivers shut and the operating again attending to the flat shortly), so I’d guess that the Packers will take a look at the Eagles from this look in week 1.

I believe Bradberry has achieved a fairly good job of being bodily in run assist. It’s clearly not his sport, however he’s making an attempt. Anyway, simply watch Ojomo and Huff once more. Huff is all the time going to be undersized, however it’s essential to have the ability to defeat a decent finish in these conditions. I can’t recover from how good Ojomo seemed in a few of these reps. Phew.

This was a optimistic sport for the Eagles’ linebackers. I assumed Nakobe Dean/Zack Baun and Jeremiah Trotter Jr./Dean performed nicely as a pairing. If I had to decide on, I believe Baun and Dean had one of the best video games. Baun was actually fast at getting downhill, and he was very aggressive towards the run. I don’t speak quite a bit about gamers who aren’t anticipated to make the roster, however I’ve to offer credit score to P.J. Mustipher, who had a variety of actually good reps towards the run on this sport. So honest play!

I’m unsure the place he’ll play most of his snaps subsequent yr, however I believe Avonte Maddox should make this roster. Lots of the protection and run-fit obligations are comparable, whether or not you’re enjoying at security or nickel cornerback, so he appears to have discovered the transition fairly seamless. That is an impressive rep, and it was an excellent time to remind everybody, however a wholesome Maddox is an excellent participant! He will likely be a extremely useful participant who can play a wide range of totally different roles.

It’s time to speak about Kelee Ringo once more. His press protection was excellent on this sport. Among the finest issues that outdoors cornerbacks can do is drive the receivers nearer to the road of scrimmage, which makes the throwing window considerably smaller. Ringo had a number of snaps on this sport the place he moved receivers about 4-5 yards nearer to the sideline, making the throwing window extremely small for the quarterback.

I mentioned I wouldn’t talk about the scheme, however I wished to level out this rep as a result of it scared me a little bit. I had flashbacks to Sean Desai’s protection when the center of the sector was wide-open every time they performed plenty of single-high zone match protection (Cowl 3 or 9), and I didn’t get pleasure from seeing how wide-open the slot receiver was. That is simply one thing to notice.

Once more, simply have a look at Ringo. This is excellent stuff. I really like how he will get his head round and performs the ball, too. He’s having an awesome preseason.

This one is fairly robust to observe. Bradberry isn’t used to doing this, and he doesn’t know how you can play the learn choice. I don’t know whether or not he’ll make the roster, and I believe he may play a task if he has to, however I’d be very frightened if he performs plenty of snaps each week. There are simply too many various roles that he isn’t used to and can battle with. I do know most followers have worries about him coming downhill in run protection, however I’m extra frightened about his protection obligations!

Nolan Smith nonetheless doesn’t present any actual pass-rushing plan. I’m simply ready for him to win inside with a counter transfer. I’ll punch the air in celebration. It simply seems like his pass-rushing plan is to attempt to bend the sting with bend and dip on each single snap. I hope the coaches are teaching him exhausting to enhance this, although.

I discussed Nakobe Dean earlier, however I liked seeing him fly out to the receiver right here. I’ve been fed up watching the Eagles sluggish linebackers the previous couple of years (I’ve nightmares about Shaq Leonard), so no matter occurs on the place this yr, no less than the Eagles lastly have some velocity! I’m hopeful that Nakobe Dean is beginning to take a step ahead, and it’s so essential that he stays wholesome for a protracted time frame to seek out some rhythm. Fingers crossed.

Regardless of mentioning the issues in his sport, there isn’t any doubt that Nolan Smith is a useful participant to have. He flies across the discipline and is a superb athlete who performs with good hustle. He’ll get plenty of cleanup sacks. However it will be good for him to have an inside transfer with out having the assistance of the opposing operating again!

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