The starting unit was (left to right) Andy Mulumba, Sam Barrington, Nate Palmer and Julius Peppers with Clay Matthews (knee soreness), Mike Neal (hernia), Nick Perry (groin), and inside linebacker Tavarus Danzler (?) sitting out.
The first thing I can say is on the depth chart the often injured Matthews (he is now out with an elbow injury) is listed at left outside linebacker. I hate that move, but knew it was coming. I noted a few posts back how the defense changed for the better when Matthews moved to the middle. However, some times things get stuck in your brain and you can't get past it. Dom Capers thinks in linear terms and Matthews is an outside rusher (2.5 sacks and 19 tackles in the first eight games) plain and simple, conversation over when he actually proved he was a great inside rusher (8.5 sacks with 49 tackles in the last eight games after the move). Facts can be stubborn things and so can some coaches who can't see the forest for the trees. Some people are so hard-headed.
Mulumba has been the talk of training camp, but in the game he had only 3 assisted tackles and a half a sack. He was also the one who got caught inside when Jonas Gray broke outside for the 55-yard touchdown run. He was very sketchy.
Barrington has had a silent camp and didn't do much in the game with one assisted tackle. I hope its just one of those games and not Brad Jones all over again. Speaking of Jones he led the Eagles against the Colts with six tackles and 1 assisted tackle.
Nate Palmer has become the starter at Matthews' inside backer spot. Palmer was converted from outside linebacker (sounds familiar). He missed all of last year after suffering a serious knee injury in the final pre-season game. He has less stats than Barrington with no tackles, solo or otherwise. The starting inside duo were invisible.
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| Old Man River Peppers |
Old Man River Peppers had a good game despite also having no stats. He was always around the ball. I hope he has another good year and not fade out as the season progresses. However, I predicted he would fade and stick with it.
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| Jayrone Elliott is the Sack Master |
The second unit was Adrian Hubbard, Carl Bradford, Jake Ryan and Jayrone Elliott. This group was very productive. Elliott was the leading tackler (3 solo, 4 assisted, half a sack, 1 quarterback hit), Ryan the second leading tackler (3 solo, 3 assisted, 1 sack, 2 quarterback hits), Hubbard the sixth (2 solo, 1 assisted, 1 sack) and Bradford (1 solo, 1 assisted, 1 sack).
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| Jake Ryan getting to Jimmy Garoppolo |
These four guys are making camp very interesting. I didn't notice any problems with their performance unlike the starters. The only thing I can add is Elliott was the pre-season phenom last year and then never saw the field during the season. I would like to see him more in the rotation. Ryan may be pushing Palmer for the starting job.
The third string was Jermauria Rasco, Joe Thomas, Josh Francis and James Vaughters. Vaughters had 2 tackles and Rasco had 1 solo, 1 assisted and 1 sack.
Injuries continue to plague Matthews, but I guess its good he hasn't had a recurrence of the hamstring issues he had his first four seasons. 2013 he had a broken thumb and last year a groin issue when he was playing outside linebacker, but no injuries when he was moved inside. Now that he's outside again the injuries have returned. Is there a connection there? I say there is. But what do I know.
Speaking of injuries Neal and Perry continue to be injury prone. Neal seems to be able to play at a high enough level to not be in trouble, but Perry is on his last rodeo. His option was not picked up and I would guess Perry will end up being put into the bust category when he is cut this year. I guess I just made another prediction.
