Posted this over on another forum, but here it is for you guys!
Welcome to Week 1's Results of my review of the game with an emphasis on the defensive secondary. I charted the results of the game, while hopefully doing a slightly better job than PFF. Instead of assigning catches to the nearest defender, I attempted to do a better job of trying to figure out responsibilities and put the blame on the defender that was most responsible for the catch. In some instances, if I really can't figure it out, I'll throw it into the "Hole in a Zone/Screen" category and describe the play. I don't claim 100% accuracy, but hope to do a good enough job where the information here is relevant. Other than that, I hope you enjoy this weekly piece, so long as I have access to a replay of the game. I will try to get it up before the "next" week's game if possible.
Week 1 @ Philadelphia Eagles:
The QB Rating and Completion Percent may point to Charles Woodson, but Tramon Williams was our best Cover Corner in Week One. He played a spectacular game at LCB for virtually the whole game, which allowed Woodson to move inside and get physical with receivers in the slot, namely Avant. Woodson's numbers probably reflect a better game than he actually had, with Vick missing at least a pass or two under his watch that should have been completions with an accurate QB. Tramon was draped on his receiver in man coverage and quickly found his assignments in zone coverage. He made several highlight plays on the ball and was unfortunate to not come down with at least one.
Though the QB rating is the worst possible against Sam Shields, he actually played an outstanding first game, given his situation. With only 1 year of CB experience under his belt, Shields started his career as a starter for a largely Nickel defense. To be targeted only twice, while going up against Maclin and DeSean Jackson for most of the game is a very good result, even if the two times he was targeted ended up in a TD and a first down (which a tough completion in his zone).
Our safeties played one heck of a game. I didn't see too much of them in the picture and given the explosiveness of the opposing offense, that's a damn good result.
Chillar was our most targeted on the day and also let up the most completions, but that's more the nature of the offense and defense on the field. The Eagles were relegated to attacking us solely with short routes in the middle of the field. Our DBs were taking away too much on the outside, so most of their receivers made catches in the middle of the field. Chillar was almost always a sure tackle soon after the catch.
Brad Jones was victimized on the 27 yard pass to Celek up the seam. He was also the OLB on the screen side, which I officially didn't chalk up to his credit. The play was a 3 man rush while dropping 8 deep into coverage. Seemed like they were playing for a deeper pass, but our DL bit right into the trap, leaving a trio of blockers in front of Jones who was already 10 yards downfield at the time of the pass.
All in all, the Eagles took advantage of deep safeties, finding their long completions in front of them, while eating up the defense on short crossing routes and slants. It's tough to fault the pass D for the near comeback in Week 1. It was Vick's legs and a couple screen passes that did most of the damage on offense.
(Let me know if there's anything you'd like me to add, within reason.)