OL Review: Bell Signing a Disaster


Here’s a player-by-player look at how the Eagles’ offensive line performed on Monday night against the Saints.

And before we get started, I broke down the seven sacks (with images!) in an earlier post, so click here for that.

King Dunlap – This had to be his worst performance of the season. Dunlap struggled throughout, often times with veteran defensive end Will Smith. He did a really poor job against Smith on a play-action sack in the first. Dunlap got beaten by Smith again and allowed a hit on Michael Vick on third down late in the first half. He did a poor job on LeSean McCoy’s 4-yard run in the fourth. And he got beaten by Smith again in the fourth, although Vick walked right into the sack. Smith got past Dunlap and forced Vick to scramble on another play. A couple bright spots: He did a good job on the linebacker on Bryce Brown’s 40-yard run in the first. And Dunlap was effective on the 13-yard McCoy run in the first.

Evan Mathis – To be honest, I pretty much had nothing written down for Mathis. I guess I was focused on watching for glaring errors, and he didn’t have many (although I didn’t notice any exceptional plays either). Mathis was the only true starter left standing on this offensive line Monday night.

Dallas Reynolds – It’s tough to tell how many errors are being made pre-snap and whether Reynolds or Vick are responsible. Reynolds was OK in this one and didn’t have as many issues as his teammates. He missed his block at the second level on McCoy’s 2-yard run in the first. And he failed to pick up Jonathan Vilma, allowing a sack/forced fumble in the first. Reynolds gave up a hit on Vick on third down in the red zone in the third. On the flip side, he did a good job on McCoy’s 25-yard run. And again on Brown’s 8-yard run. He’s actually done some good things in the run game this season.

Dennis Kelly – Last week, I thought he played relatively well, especially considering it was Kelly’s first career start. This week? As Jon Gruden pointed out on several occasions, not so good. Kelly whiffed on his block at the second level on McCoy’s 4-yard run in the first. And he got beaten by Cameron Jordan on the same drive, allowing a hit on Vick. Kelly did not get much of a block on Jordan on McCoy’s 2-yard run in the first. Later, he was gearing up for Curtis Lofton to blitz, but Lofton didn’t rush the passer. Meanwhile, Martez Wilson ran right past Kelly and crushed Vick for a sack. He whiffed on his block on the shovel pass inside the 5, although the play probably would have been stopped anyway. Kelly got tossed aside by Tom Johnson, who then dropped McCoy for no gain. He and Bell allowed a delayed blitzer to get through untouched between them, forcing Vick to scramble in the fourth. If Bell hadn’t gotten beaten so badly on another play, Kelly would have given up the sack, as Akiem Hicks got past him. A couple bright spots (but not many): Kelly and Reynolds created a running lane for McCoy’s 25-yard gain in the first. And he did a decent job on McCoy’s 5-yard run in the second.

Todd Herremans – He played an inconsistent quarter before leaving the game with an ankle injury. Good job by Herremans of pulling on McCoy’s 4-yard run. And he led the way on McCoy’s 8-yard scamper. But Herremans had trouble with Jordan’s speed rush around the edge on Vick’s incompletion to Brent Celek on the first possession. He was beaten badly by Jordan on the sack/forced fumble in the first. And Herremans missed his block against Vilma on the McCoy run that lost 1 yard (right before the red-zone interception). We should find out soon how serious his injury is.

Demetress Bell – The Bell signing looks like a complete disaster. When Jason Peters went down, the Eagles signed Bell to take over at left tackle. The hope was that he would be adequate with a high ceiling. Instead, he has been a complete liability nearly every time he’s stepped onto the field. In this one, Bell entered the game for Herremans in the first. He didn’t get a hand on Vilma as the linebacker dropped McCoy for a loss of 1 in the first. Bell allowed pressure around the edge, forcing Vick to step up and throw short to Stanley Havili in the second. It’s tough to say whether he was expecting help or just got beat as Jordan went right past him and Kelly in the red zone in the third. Bell was beaten by Jordan and gave up a hit on Vick with the Eagles backed up near their own end zone in the third. He did a poor job on McCoy’s 4-yard run in the fourth. Bell was called for a false start in the fourth, and on the very next play, was beaten badly by Jordan for a sack. He and McCoy let Wilson get around the edge, forcing Vick to scramble on the final drive.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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