By: Joey Esquire
Last offseason I wrote a series of 11 articles ranking the NFCE teams on the strength of each position group: Quarterback, Running Back, Wide Receiver, Tight End, Offensive Line, Interior Defensive Line, Edge Defenders, Off-Ball Linebackers, Cornerbacks, Safeties and Special Teams. Now through 9 weeks I’m taking a look back to see how I did. I wrote up offense last week, and this week I’ll look at the defenses.
Interior Defensive Line:
Pre-season: 1. Eagles; 2. Giants; 3. Cowboys; 4. Redskins
Mid-season:
1. Philadelphia Eagles – This one isn’t close. Timmy Jernigan and Fletcher Cox have been dominant through nine games, making the Eagles probably the best defensive line against the run in the NFL. No team holds opposing RBs to 0/negative runs more than the Eagles; and they rank 4th in the NFL on third/fourth and short vs the run. Cox also remains among the elite interior pass rushers in the NFL .
2. Dallas Cowboys – The Cowboys have been brutal against the run. Teams running on third/fourth and short have converted 100% of the time through week 8, and the Cowboys only stuff 20% of runs for zero/negative yards. I gave them an edge over the other two teams based on strong interior pass rush from David Irving and, to a lesser extent, Maliek Collins.
3. New York Giants – This could be the biggest dropoff of any unit in the division. The Giants are mediocre overall against the run (but do a decent job in third/fourth and short) and offer nothing in the way of pass rush from their interior defensive line.
4. Washington Redskins – Part of this ranking reflects the loss of Jonathan Allen, who was a really strong presence as a rookie before getting injured. Mostly it reflects poor metrics vs the run and only Matt Ioannidis offering anything as far as interior pass rush goes. If Allen stayed healthy, this unit might have been higher.
Edge Defenders:
Pre-season: 1. Redskins; 2. Eagles; 3. Giants; 4. Cowboys
Mid-season:
1. Philadelphia Eagles – The Eagles don’t have one dominant rusher with gaudy sack totals, but they have had solid sack production from Graham, Curry, Long and Barnett, and are the best defense in the NFL at defending runs to the edges.
2. Dallas Cowboys – If the Giants interior is the biggest dropoff in the division, the Cowboys edge rushers are probably the biggest improvement. DeMarcus “Charles Harris” Lawrence has been nearly unstoppable as a passrusher through 8 games. This unit has struggled against the run though, and through Week 8 the Cowboys ranked 26th defending runs behind the left tackle and 32nd on runs behind the right tackle.
3. Washington Redskins – Surprise, surprise, this is another Redskins unit that might push for a higher rankings but for injury. Ryan Kerrigan has mostly been his reliable, outstanding self as a pass rusher, and actually looks a bit better than usual in coverage. I think Preston Smith has the ceiling of a dominant edge defender, if he can get and stay healthy.
4. New York Giants – Missing Vernon for four games has definitely hurt this group’s productivity. As has the general poor play from the defense overall. They have been bad against the run and unremarkable against the pass. I expect that to continue and/or for McAdoo to suspend JPP.
Off-Ball Linebackers:
Pre-season: 1. Eagles; 2. Cowboys; 3. Redskins; 4. Giants
Mid-season:
1. Dallas Cowboys – When Lee and Hitchens are both healthy and available they have a transformative effect on this defense, which is giving up just 15.3 points per game with both players available.
2. Philadelphia Eagles – Apart from a rough first half against Washington, the Eagles have taken the loss of Jordan Hicks in stride. Kendricks is playing his best ball as an Eagle probably since 2013.
3. Washington Redskins – Zach Brown would be a strong candidate for the best OBLB in the division and has easily been the best FA acquisition for any of the four teams. That other interior spot is a little shaky, particularly with the loss of Mason Foster. And I would say Manusky should stop asking ILBs to cover TEs, if that didn’t mean that DJ Swearinger would be covering TEs instead.
4. New York Giants – I honestly don’t know who plays LB for the Giants. Dhani Jones, maybe?
Cornerbacks:
Pre-season: 1. Giants; 2. Redskins; 3. Cowboys; 4. Eagles
Mid-season:
1. Washington Redskins – The Norman injury definitely hurt this group for a stretch, but Bashaud Breeland is back to being the good Breeland and Kendall Fuller has had some strong games from the slot.
2. Philadelphia Eagles – If you told me the before the season Eagles CBs would have performed this well without their best cornerback for all but the first half of the first game, I would have assumed you were just being a mocking, Eagles-fan version of Choy. Patrick Robinson has been astonishingly good for a bargain-bin veteran FA, and Douglas and Mills both look like legitimate NFL cornerbacks. This group should only get better after the bye. And if Sidney Jones can recover…
3. New York Giants – Janoris Jenkins, when not suspended, has had mostly good weeks but been picked on occasionally. DRC, when not suspended, has been decent. Eli Apple, when not benched, has been just horrendous. Another candidate for the most disappointing position group in the division.
4. Dallas Cowboys – The defensive secondary is going to keep the Cowboys from being legitimate contenders down the stretch. Jourdan Lewis looks like he’s going to be a player though.
Safeties:
Pre-season: 1. Eagles; 2. Giants; 3. Cowboys; 4. Redskins
Mid-season:
1. Philadelphia Eagles – Again, not close. Malcolm Jenkins is seriously underrated on a national level. He’s a top-five safety in the NFL, and is perhaps the most versatile defensive player in the league.
2. New York Giants – This group ranked 2nd by default, because the bottom three teams have been expectedly awful at safety. Landon Collins looks a lot more like 2015 Landon Collins than 2016 Landon Collins, which is to say he looks more like a linebacker than a safety.
3. Washington Redskins – These guys in coverage… oh man. It’s bad. DJ Swearinger has made some nice downhill plays versus the run, and he is a really excitable guy. Perhaps a future as a cheerleader.
4. Dallas Cowboys – Still bad vs the deep ball. Still unable to cover TEs. Still lacking impact plays.
Special Teams:
Pre-season: 1. Eagles; 2. Cowboys; 3. Redskins; 4. Giants
Mid-season:
1. Philadelphia Eagles
2. Dallas Cowboys
3. Washington Redskins
4. New York Giants
