They take their lumps. They are often criticized, but we're going to give Pro Football Focus some credit. In a world where someone making an honest living has to pay for what feels like ten streaming services to watch every Philadelphia Eagles game, PFF remains one of those platforms we pay premium pricing for.
The content is amazing. We can't tell you how many times they have dropped one of those list articles and we logged on to see how many Birds were on the list. We check player ratings constantly. We are addicted to their stat engine (even if we don't understand how they come up with some of the calculations).
Maybe there's a knowledge gap here. Maybe PFF is imperfect, and they just get it wrong sometimes because, respectfully, we don't know what they were looking at during the most recent Eagles game
Will Shipley and E.J. Jenkins are noticeably absent from PFF's highest-graded offensive players from their Week 2 win.
There weren't any offensive explosions in a game where Philly had only scored six points for most of the first and second half. Still, when placed under a microscope, we found cause to be proud of most of the cogs in what was a mostly vanilla display.
Here are the highest-graded offensive players from their win in Foxborough.
- Tanner McKee, QB - 85.3
- Joseph Ngata, wide receiver - 83.9
- Fred Johnson, offensive lineman - 73.6
- Nick Gates, OL - 70.4
- Will Grier, QB - 69.8
- Brett Toth, OL - 69.4
- Kendall Milton, RB - 67.2
Here's where we throw the challenge flag. Where are Will Shipley and E.J. Jenkins?
For the second time in as many weeks.
Shipley was one of the Eagles' busiest rushers. Sure, he only averaged three yards per carry on five attempts, but he also hauled in four of five targets for 31 yards.
Sure, there are some areas where he can grow. He can become a better blocker, but he should at least be graded ahead of Will Grier, right?
E.J. Jenkins absence is another head-scratcher. He hauled in five receptions for 47 yards. That includes a 19-yard reception.
Maybe he needed to get in the end zone. Maybe that's why Kendall Milton is mentioned. Still, it stands to reason that Jenkins' grade should at least be over 70.
Nolan Smith is among the noticeable absences from PFF's highest-graded defensive players from their Week 2 win while Bryce Huff might be rated too low.
No disrespect is intended, but PFF seems to be a tad more pumped about the Eagles' linebacker corps than the rest of us. Four ranked among Philly's top seven players on their Week 2 highest-graded defenders list.
- Nakobe Dean, linebacker - 90.0
- Avonte Maddox, defensive back - 89.9
- Zack Baun, LB - 80.4
- Devin White, LB - 76.1
- Ben VanSumeren, LB - 74.0
- Bryce Huff, EDGE - 72.7
- Tarron Jackson, EDGE - 70.4
it seems as though Nolan Smith could use a nod here. The same can be said for Moro Ojomo. Smith notched a sack, an additional QB hit, and tackle for loss. Ojomo caused disruption during his appearance, but he didn't crack the stat sheet. Maybe that's the issue.
A Week 1 hero, Johnson didn't earn a mention either, but he almost got home for a sack. The disruption almost resulted in an interception. Bryce Huff probably needs a higher grade as well. Two solo tackles (and three total) on about 12 snaps seems like that should bump his score up some.
But, again... These are PFF's rankings, so what the heck do we know?
