Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
TEAM DEFENSE
Overall: +18.0
Run Defense: +7.9
Pass Coverage: +5.1
Pass Rush: +4.6
QB Hits: 8
QB Hurries: 21
DEFENSIVE LINE
Jason Pierre-Paul answered the call in preseason game #2, racking up a QB hit, three solo tackles and a stop on 19 snaps.
We gotta take the good with the bad from young Damontre Moore. The good: a QB hit (he laid out Gradkowski), a QB hurry and two solo tackles. The bad: -0.2 run defense rating and a missed tackle. +1.2 overall in 25 snaps, which includes a +0.5 coverage grade… beats me.
Free agent addition Robert Ayers played to a +1.3 run D grade and +1.3 pass rush grade. The damage included a QB hit, a QB hurry, two solo tackles and two stops. -0.9 in the penalty category dropped his overall rating to +1.7.
Rookie DT Jay Bromley continues to wreak havoc getting pressure from the inside, as buttressed by a +2.3 pass rush grade on 13 QB drop-backs. Two hurries and a stop isn’t too shabby in limited duty. You can be sure there is reserved excitement in East Rutherford.
Markus Kuhn, whose primary imitative is to be a space eater in the middle against the run, finished up with a -1.3 run D grade. He did pick up a sack.
LINEBACKERS
The roster bubble inhabiting Mark Herzlich played a solid game versus Pittsburgh. His +0.9 pass coverage grade was particularly pleasing to see (not his calling card), in addition to his three solo tackles and team-high three stops.
Spencer Paysinger‘s performance was quite the opposite. The former Oregon Duck graded out at +1.8 against the run (three solos and two stops), but he looked lost in coverage (-0.6). Nevertheless, he tackled securely in space.
Jameel McClain wasn’t in there for long, but he earned a less than stellar -1.3 run D grade on ten rushing snaps.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Second-year safety Cooper Taylor played 40 snaps — the highest mark on the defense — and his field time was productive: +2.1 overall rating (+1.2 run D and +0.9 in coverage), three solo tackles and two stops. Bruce Gradkowski and Landry Jones posted a 79.2 NFL QB Rating when attacking him through the air. Back to back strong efforts from Taylor.
Zackary Bowman is a physical corner with a nose for the football, but he’s not particularly agile in coverage. Bowman played to a -1.7 pass coverage rating in 17 snaps (118.8 NFL QBR against).
In 13 coverage snaps, UDFA safety C.J. Barnett graded out at +1.2 (zero targets) and he forced an effort fumble to seal the deal.