OL Review: What To Make Of Scott’s Debut

Here’s a player-by-player look at what we saw from the Eagles’ offensive line in Sunday’s loss to the Redskins:

King Dunlap – Not as bad as last week, but Dunlap was up and down. He was called for a pair of holding penalties – one on a LeSean McCoy run in the first and another in pass protection in the third. Dunlap just got flat-out beat one-on-one on a Rob Jackson sack in the fourth. And he was unable to get to linebacker Lorenzo Alexander on a screen to Brent Celek that lost 3 yards in the fourth. Initially, it looked like Dunlap gave up a sack in the third, but the replay showed Ryan Kerrigan blatantly grabbing his jersey, not allowing him to get over to Perry Riley, who was blitzing off the edge. Dunlap got beat by Alexander on an inside move late in the game. He had some good moments in pass protection, specifically on Nick Foles’ 21-yard completion to Damaris Johnson.

Evan Mathis – The lone starter from the beginning of the season was solid for the most part. Mathis held up well in pass protection. He did a good job on McCoy’s 5-yard run in the third. And Mathis did a great job blocking London Fletcher downfield on McCoy’s 13-yard catch and run in the fourth. In the first, Kedric Golston went past him and dropped Bryce Brown for a 1-yard loss.

Dallas Reynolds –  He had quite a few issues with Barry Cofield, the Redskins’ veteran nose tackle. Cofield gave him trouble in the third, but Foles stepped up and completed a pass to Celek. Really bad moment in the third. The Eagles had a 1st-and-10 at the Redskins’ 20, and Reynolds got abused by Cofield as McCoy was dropped for a 6-yard loss. Later, Cofield went right around him and crushed Foles on an incomplete throw in the fourth. And Reynolds did a poor job on Riley, who blitzed on Foles’ second interception.

Jake Scott – Let’s get the penalties out of the way first. Scott was called for two false starts in the first and holding in the fourth. Can some of that be explained by the fact that he just got signed last week? Probably. Scott had three penalties in 16 games last season, although he had 11 in 2010, per Pro Football Focus. Overall, though, I thought he did some positive things for someone who was just thrown into the mix. Scott showed good athleticism and got his hands on a defensive back on the 8-yard screen to DeSean Jackson. He did a nice job switching off to Kerrigan on a stunt as Foles found Stanley Havili for 9 yards on 3rd-and-2 in the first. Scott delivered a good block on the shovel pass to McCoy that picked up 5. Good job of getting to the linebacker on McCoy’s 4-yard run in the first. He got just enough of the linebacker out in space on the McCoy screen that picked up 25 in the second. And Scott drove Cofield to the ground on McCoy’s 9-yard run around the right side in the second. On Foles’ second interception, it’s tough to say whether he should have picked up the blitzer. Scott ended up not blocking anyone, and McCoy got bowled over. The Redskins rushed five on the play, and the Eagles had six in to block. In the second, Scott had some trouble in protection, but Foles stepped up and hit Riley Cooper. So the penalties were bad, but at 31, he looks like someone who still belongs on a roster.

Dennis Kelly – I actually thought he held his own against Kerrigan, who is a former first-round pick and a pretty good pass rusher. Kelly certainly looks more comfortable at tackle than guard. He did a good job of picking up the defensive tackle on a stunt as Foles found Havili for 9 yards in the first. On the shovel pass to McCoy, Kelly initially executed a double-team with Scott and then got his hands on a linebacker at the second level. He had trouble with Kerrigan and was called for holding, negating a 13-yard completion to Brown in the first. Good block on Golston, creating space for Brown’s 13-yard run in the second. Good job pinning Kerrigan inside on McCoy’s 9-yard run in the second. Nice job one-on-one in pass protection against Kerrigan on Foles’ 21-yard completion to Johnson on 3rd-and-17 in the second.

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