Patrick Causey, on Twitter @PhillySportsPMC
ALL-22 BREAKDOWN OF BENNIE LOGAN AND MARK SANCHEZ
Part 1; Part 2
Watching preseason football is an exercise in cognitive dissonance. On the one hand, the game you are watching has all of the symptoms of a real football game. Players are wearing pads and doing football things, like calling audibles, throwing footballs, and tackling. Referees are blowing whistles, head coaches are calling plays, and assistant coaches are yelling at players for mistakes.
It's so easy to get caught up in the hype, to believe what you are watching carries with it some predictive value for the upcoming season.
But you have to remind yourself that this is the preseason. The players involved are usually the backups, or the backups of the backups, fighting for a roster spot or a higher position on the depth chart. In other words, the outcomes of games, and most of the performances that you see, are largely meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
Consider this: there were 151 plays run in Sunday's Eagles v. Colts game. Eleven featured the starting quarterback from either team (Andrew Luck and Sam Bradford). Even if we add Mark Sanchez to the mix, that number only rises to 21 out of the 151 plays. Or 13%.
Or how about this: Bill Belichick's preseason record as coach of the New England Patriots: 34-29, a pedestrian .539 win percentage. His record in regular season games? 175-65, an otherworldly .729 win percentage.
Or my favorite stat: in 2008, the Detroit Lions went 4-0 in preseason play. The only problem? During the regular season, they became the only team in NFL history to finish 0-16.
So take these games with a giant grain of salt. Draw too many concrete conclusions on game outcomes and player performances at your own risk.
With that said, the performances turned in by Bennie Logan and Mark Sanchez deserve further consideration because it lines up with what we have seen from them in the past. Let's look at the tape to see what their performances mean for the Eagles means moving forward. You can see Part 2, which covers Mark Sanchez, here.
Bennie Logan Looks Primed for a Breakout Year
Coming out of college, Bennie Logan was not considered a can't miss prospect. He was described by NFL Network's Mike Mayock as "Another really solid double. Hard-working playmaker. He's also stout against the run."
He slid to the third round of the NFL Draft, the same draft which saw the Eagles select Lane Johnson in the first round and Zach Ertz in the second. (Side Note: Not a bad group of picks by Howie Roseman, eh? But I digress).
Logan slid partly because he is not a prototypical nose tackle by NFL standards, standing 6'2 and weighing 309 pounds. For comparisons sake, Vince Wilfork of the Houston Texans (formerly New England Patriots) is 6'2, 325 pounds. Dontari Poe of the Kansas City Chiefs is 6'3, 346 pounds. Logan's lack of size would, in theory, prevent him from occupying multiple offensive lineman simply by virtue of his lack of girth, which in turn limits his overall effectiveness.
Logan also was not a high draft pick because of his perceived lack of elite quickness and ability to rush the passer. He was compared to Tyson Alualu, the former top-10 pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars who never lived up to the lofty draft status but has become a solid, steady pro during his five years in the league. Many people saw the same future for Logan: a player that did not possess the Pro Bowl caliber ceiling but would be a solid starter for the Eagles for years to come.
However, in just two short years in the league, Logan has quietly flashed the potential to develop into a menace alongside Fletcher Cox and Cendric Thornton. And Logan's play on Sunday and thus far during training camp suggests that his ceiling might be a lot higher than we initially thought.
When I watched the game live, Logan immediately stood out, wreaking havoc on several plays in the run game with his penetration in the backfield. When I went back and watched the film, he stood out even more.
What initially looked like a nice game turned out to be a performance we have come to expect from Fletcher Cox: a one man wrecking ball disrupting run plays seemingly at will.
Let's put this performance in perspective. Logan played only nine snaps. He had a positive impact on six of those plays.
I think it's fair to assume that is not a sustainable rate for the regular season, but it suggests that Logan is ready to make the leap, much like Fletcher Cox did last year, which was also his third year in the league.
Like this play early in the first quarter:
This play is designed for Colts running back Zurlon Tipton to run off left tackle Anthony Castonzo. Castonzo and left guard Jack Mewhort double Fletcher Cox, pushing him to the inside to create a running lane for Tipton. Former Eagle Todd Herremans pulls to pick up the space vacated by Castonzo and gets a good block on Brandon Graham.
The Eagles had the play well defended, with two other linebackers quickly filling in the lane the Colts offensive line had created. But it was irrelevant because Logan blew up the play before the running back had a chance to get back to the line of scrimmage. Notice how quickly Logan gains leverage on the Colts center, Khaled Holmes, shedding the block and getting into the backfield immediately. That takes some serious quickness for a 300 pound man.
This play is just unfair:
Poor Todd Herremans. He's assigned to Logan on the stretch run off the left tackle, a staple that has been used by the Colts since Peyton Manning's heyday. Herremans is simply too slow off his block to even get a hand on Logan, who blows through the A gap (the space between the center and guard) to stop the play for a two yard loss.
Fran Duffy of PhiladelphiaEagles.com provides the Eagle Eye view of this play:
Watch Logan's head. He gets such a clean break through the line that he initially looks to bring Andrew Luck down. When it becomes clear he won't get to Luck before the ball is handed off, he shifts gears and brings Tipton down with ease.
Logan just looks like he is operating at a different speed than the rest of the players on the field. Part of the reason behind Logan's improved play is no doubt a result of Logan's obvious physical tools. Those scouting reports questioning his explosiveness off the block look borderline silly in hindsight.
But part of this is also the result of his improvement in diagnosing plays before they happen.
When asked about Logan's performance, Chip Kelly emphasized that Logan has gotten better on the mental side of the game: "I thought he played really, really well. His knowledge and understanding of blocking schemes now, you know going into year three for him, is really sharp, made some really just, not only physical, tough plays, but he knew what plays they were running based upon what was happening."
The faster mind allows Logan to play faster and take better advantage of his obvious physical gifts. Courtesy of Josh Paunil of Birds 24/7.com, Logan agrees: "My first couple of years was just growth and development and now I'm real comfortable in this two-gap scheme. I understand the ins-and-outs about the defense; not just my position, but the end position also. It allows us to play on the go. It's really simple. In my first year I was worried about playing and waiting and waiting and waiting. Now, it's just … see ball, get ball. There ain't no reason for me to just sit there the whole time to see what's going to happen."
This play is a good example:
While Logan might have been slightly offside on this play (okay, he was clearly offside), you can still see how he is thinking (and therefore moving) faster. Logan disrupts the play before it even has a chance to get started, giving Fletcher Cox an easy opportunity to make the tackle behind the line of scrimmage.
I saved my favorite play for last (again courtesy of Fran Duffy):
The Colts are running a counter to the right side of their offensive line. Logan initially gets double teamed by the center and left tackle. But watch as he sheds the double team and simply engulfs the running back who was expecting an open lane. Logan obviously had other plans in mind, and the play was over before it started.
Current ESPN.com analyst, and former Eagles front office scout, Louis Riddick has been equally impressed with Logan:
Bennie Logan is better than I ever imagined he would be coming out of LSU. He will have a Pro Bowl caliber season. #EaglesRavensPractice
— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) August 19, 2015
If Logan continues to build on this performance, the Eagles defensive line — which was already very good — is going to be an absolute nightmare for opposing teams to play against. They are young, they are hungry, and from the looks of it, they are only getting better.
Part 1; Part 2
