At times it was fun. At times it was sloppy. But mostly it was frustrating.
That not only sums up the Philadelphia Eagles visit to the New York Giants yesterday, but also the seasons of both teams who will be sitting at home in January rather than contesting in the postseason.
Still both teams will not just focus on where they can improve this offseason, but also where they have improved. And it’s there that we’ll start with our ReFocusing.
Philadelphia Eagles – Performances of Note
Jason Peters, LT: +3.4
Breakdown: An odd game for Peters. There were times where you wondered if he was phoning it in such was the trouble Jason Pierre-Paul was giving him. But then in the run game he made some of the blocks of a day that are what football is all about. Credit to JPP for giving him his only negative grade in pass protection all year, but credit to Peters for doing so much good work in the run game.
Signature Play: Jameel McClain won’t like reminding, but with 13.56 left in the game Peters sprints to the second level, drills the linebacker backwards and with such force he ends up on his backside. You don’t see a lot of blocks in space like that.
Mark Sanchez, QB: -3.7
Breakdown: So can we put that experiment to bed? Away from the glaring eye of New York and with a chance to change the perception on him, Sanchez is the player we thought he was. Capable of teasing you into believing he can get it done, before ultimately wilting in the face of pressure. Given the spotty play of Nick Foles, the Eagles quarterback situation becomes one to watch this offseason if the team are to take the next step.
Signature Stat: Ended the year with a +0.1 grade when not pressured, and a -7.5 grade when he was, completing just 47.4% of passes under duress.
Bennie Logan, NT: +3.3
Breakdown: While he hasn’t delivered on a consistent basis, Logan put in a real tour de force in this one. Intent with wrecking the Giants running game, his penetration on zone runs eliminated cutback lanes and slowed down runners at the point of attack. No surprise he finished with four stops as the Giants mustered 18 yards off through the A-gaps.
Signature Play: With 1.21 to go in Q3 he gets inside John Jerry to make a tackle for no gain.
New York Giants – Performances of Note
Odell Beckham Jr, WR: +3.5
Breakdown: A fantastic end to a fantastic year. Imagine what Beckham Jr. could have done if he hadn’t missed training camp and the first four games of the year. Routinely beat the Eagles defenders, with the fear he instilled in them forcing them to play off coverage for the most part. It didn’t end well when they tried to meet him at the line.
Signature Stat: His 2.74 yards per route run were the third most of all receivers.
Eli Manning, QB: -3.4
Breakdown: 7 grades in the green, five in the red. For all the good he showed at times, there was an awful lot of bad from Eli this year. The stats won’t be too unkind to him given he only threw the one pick but he had a ridiculous four interceptions dropped as he was extremely careless with the ball.
Signature Play: With Rueben Randle stop-and-going past Jaylen Watkins, Eli saw a sure touchdown passes to be pinged in. But he’d not accounted for the safety, and with 3.10 left in the game Nate Allen’s picked him off to end things.
Antrel Rolle, S: -4.8
Breakdown: A poor end to a poor year. Rolle is one of the guys who will look at 2014 and wonder where his 2013 form went. He added two more missed tackles to his totals and looked ill equipped to cope with the Eagles cutback lanes in the run game.
Signature Play: Only seven safeties missed more tackles than Rolle this year.
PFF Game Ball
A team effort, but the ability of Bennie Logan to clog up the middle of the line was crucial in the Eagles defense forcing the Giants to go pass heavy.
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