Evaluating the Eagles’ Defense in Week 1 Victory at St. Louis Rams

The Philadelphia Eagles made waves during free agency because of the additions to the defensive side of the ball. Guys like Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Cullen Jenkins, and Jason Babin were all signed away from their previous teams in an effort to rebuild a defense was that pedestrian at best in 2010.

Sean McDermott was fired, offensive line coach Juan Castillo moved to the other side of the ball to take over the defense, and Casey Matthews was drafted in the fourth round to take over in the middle of the defense.

All that effort culminated in only 13 points given up to the St. Louis Rams in a Week 1 victory that also included a fumble recovery for a touchdown in contribution to the team’s 31 points.

The defense was marred by penalties — some deserving, some not so much — on third down and extended drives far too often. There also seemed to be a bit of confusion between the three levels of the defense and some calls seemed to get in fairly slowly from the sidelines, but that’s all to be expected with a rookie coordinator and a whole cast of new characters.

The defense as a whole will need time to gel, but let’s move away from a general view of the defense and take a look at the individual play of the guys on the defensive side of the ball.

— Overall, Trent Cole did not have a great game as he finished with only two tackles, but he got pretty good pressure all night and got to Sam Bradford once. This could be the stat-line to expect from Cole in Juan Castillo’s defense, however, as he won’t be playing the run nearly as often.

— Jason Babin certainly made his presence felt with two sacks in his second Eagles debut. The new “wide nine” technique is obviously doing its job already as Babin was simply too much to handle for the Rams’ second overall pick last season, Jason Smith.

— Like Babin, Cullen Jenkins made an immediate impact with a sack and a couple very nice plays against the run. Jenkins, along with Mike Patterson, did a good job for most of the game of pushing the pocket on Bradford and not allowing him to step into a lot of his throws. These two could be a dangerous combination moving forward.

— Darryl Tapp must have a big season after the Eagles gave up a lot for him last offseason, and he got off to a good start with a sack, even though it came with a price. Tapp will undergo tests this week as he strained either his shoulder or chest while taking Bradford down. Tapp came across the line so quickly he nearly ran by Bradford and hurt himself trying to slow his momentum.

— He wasn’t great as far as getting a pass-rush goes, but there was one play in particular that stood out to me from Juqua Parker (other than the touchdown). On the goal line, the Rams handed it to Cadillac Williams who was forced to bounce it outside at Parker. Parker, with two guys on him, simply lowered his head into Williams and gave up him a good enough knock with his head alone to hold him up just long enough for help to get there. The hit jarred his helmet off, but Parker stuck with it and made one hell of a play.

— The duo of backup defensive tackles, Antonio Dixon and Trevor Laws, will have to perform better. Both got some decent pressure, but in a one-gap system, they should be able to do that. They will have to do it more consistently if they want the rotation to remain as favorable for them as it is currently. Dixon played much better than Laws and is good against the run, but consistency in this new system will be key.

— How long until the Eagles admit Casey Matthews is not a middle linebacker? And as far as that goes, how long until they admit he’s not even a starter? He consistently got caught in the wash and did not show an ability to get off a block. There was also one time I noticed where Jamar Chaney was forced to move the defensive line into place because Matthews didn’t do it. He’s lacking physically and seemingly mentally, as well. If he’s not replaced soon, he will lose this team a big game.

— Jamar Chaney is, without a doubt, the Eagles’ best linebacker, and he’s doing it playing out of position. Chaney must be kicked back into the middle and given control of the defense. Akeem Jordan can then step in and fill the vacant SAM position and the linebacking corps will improve substantially.

— Moise Fokou played better than I expected, but he still looked slow to react at certain points and could likely be replaced via a free agent transaction, even at this point. As it stands, the Eagles have two guys starting at linebacker who are nothing more than backups, and with the strain this system puts on the linebacker, they will continue to get exposed and put the defense in a whole.

— Brian Rolle came a couple feet away from making a great play on third down. Unlike Matthews and Fokou, he read the play, reacted, stepped into the hole, and made contact with the runner. Unfortunately, he was unable to overpower Williams and he got the first down, but up to that point it was an impressive play.

— Jarrad Page is looking like a great pickup. He did a fine job against the run and nearly made an incredible interception. Page finished the game tied with Chaney for the team lead in tackles with six, and kept last year’s second-round pick Nate Allen relegated to special teams for the entire game.

— It seemed like Kurt Coleman took his new corner for granted a little, as on both targets to Nnamdi Asomugha, Coleman was late getting over the top. Coleman also got blocked by the much smaller Danny Amendola on Steven Jackson’s long touchdown run and seemed a bit confused and frustrated all game long.

— Nnamdi Asomugha was targeted only twice, and both worked for the Rams. One was a 41-yard pass interference penalty, and the other was a 30-yard completion to Brandon Gibson. It seemed like both could be the fault of Coleman, but even if they weren’t, Asomugha still shut down his entire half of the field.

— With Asomugha on the right side, the Rams came at Asante Samuel on the left. But as expected, it was less than fruitful. Outside of a ridiculous illegal contact penalty on third down, Samuel was nearly flawless and even had a good day tackling. He’s clearly going with more of a submarine technique and it seems to be working.

— Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was disappointing in his debut as the team’s nickel corner. He clearly struggled playing in such a tight space and is much better suited to play on the outside. The team re-signed Joselio Hanson, but for some reason kept one of the best nickel corners in the league stashed on the sideline. DRC needs to be the primary backup at all three positions, but Hanson needs to be the starter in the slot.