Regrading the Eagles: Does play of Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks warrant benching of James Bradberry?

Re-grading the Eagles’ 20-17 loss to the Seahawks upon reviewing the coaches’ film (original instant grades here):

James Bradberry’s disastrous performance, particularly on Seattle’s game-winning drive, overshadowed an otherwise solid performance from the Eagles’ rookie cornerbacks with veteran Darius Slay sidelined following arthroscopic knee surgery.

Kelee Ringo got the start in place of Slay on the outside and played 32 of 61 snaps, while Eli Ricks was in the spot for the other snaps. Neither allowed a pass when targeted a combined five times. Bradberry, on the other hand, surrendered six passes when targeted six times for 112 yards, including receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s game-winning 29-yard touchdown.

There were many factors that contributed to the success and failure of each of the cornerbacks, but the disparity between the rookies and Bradberry suggested that the Eagles should at least consider more playing time for the youngsters at the expense of the veteran, especially when Slay eventually returns.

» READ MORE: With Matt Patricia as defensive play caller, inexperienced Eagles get a chance to see increased snaps

A benching may be unlikely. New de facto defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will need to factor Bradberry’s record and experience into the equation and weigh the relative inexperience of Ringo and Ricks. Just a week ago, both had their struggles in the loss to the Cowboys.

But if Patricia continues to favor quarters match-up zones and man coverage, it makes sense to go with cornerbacks that can keep pace with wide receivers.

Ringo had a difficult debut snap in Dallas. Tossed outside after safety Reed Blankenship’s concussion forced personnel changes, he allowed a third down conversion and committed two penalties all on the same play.

There were glimpses, though, of how Ringo’s sticky press-man coverage would translate if the Eagles wanted a more aggressive secondary post-Sean Desai. On Monday night, the Seahawks tested him with deep routes vs. receiver Tyler Lockett (No. 16).

Ringo (No. 22) used his hands near to line to disrupt the route and had solid technique that angled Lockett toward the boundary. Quarterback Drew Lock (No. 2) was pressured, threw the ball away, and took an intentional grounding penalty.

Earlier, in the red zone, Ringo dropped into a zone and closed on receiver DK Metcalf (No. 14) to break up the pass.

Ricks (No. 39) has played almost exclusively in the slot this season, mostly on passing downs. But Slay’s injury, and the Eagles not wanting to place too much on Ringo’s plate, resulted in the majority of his snaps coming outside on Monday night.

“I was back to my natural position,” Ricks said Thursday.

His man coverage on Lockett resulted in a third down stop on Seattle’s penultimate fourth quarter possession.

The Eagles’ youngsters didn’t all come out unscathed. Second-year corner Josh Jobe was inserted for Bradberry in the second quarter, and he promptly was flagged for pass interference on Metcalf.

It’s unclear why Patricia made the switch then. But it suggested that Bradberry’s leash may be shorter than it was with Desai. A move inside may be in the cards, although with Avonte Maddox on the mend, there might not be a spot available in the slot.

Sydney Brown’s playing time has increased in the second half of the season and against the Seahawks he played his second-highest percentage of snaps (79%). Patricia utilized the rookie safety in various ways. He lined up in the slot (19 snaps), in the post (17), in the box (11), and even once on the line.

It’s easy to see from the film why the Eagles expended a third-round pick on the Illinois product. He pops off the screen. Here’s Brown (No. 21) pursuing a ball carrier from the quasi-linebacker spot.

Brown, who led the Eagles with four stops at the half, had a high percentage of missed tackles in college. The Eagles didn’t mind the misses as much as some other teams because so many occurred near or behind the line of scrimmage. They loved his awareness and aggressiveness.

But in the NFL, whiffs in the backfield can be more costly.

Later on the same drive, Brown took a bad angle in the open field during a 23-yard touchdown run by running back Kenneth Walker (No. 9).

He was tasked with cleaning up the lack of gap integrity on the edge, likely by defensive end Brandon Graham (No. 55). But Brown continued to hesitate in his tackling, even when he again made the correct read and knifed into the backfield later on.

Stopping the run is an 11-man job. The Eagles didn’t have enough defenders swarming to the ball to support Brown. The rookie’s athleticism and intelligence are obvious, though. The Eagles have shown patience. But for a team with championship aspirations, it may tested just as it could be with the young cornerbacks.

In my original review, right tackle Lane Johnson (No. 65) was incorrectly assumed to have been responsible for a missed block on the Eagles’ opening drive.

Right guard Sua Opeta (No. 78) was responsible for Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (No. 99). He wasn’t the only offensive lineman to get jumped. Left tackle Jordan Mailata missed his block, as well.

But Seattle seemingly knew the Eagles would run the ball there, even on second down and 6. Why? Everything they did screamed “RUN!” Aside from “tush push” quarterback sneaks, fakes, and end-of-game kneels, Jalen Hurts has been under center for only 22 plays this season.

All but two have been rushes. (One pass play resulted in a sack, and the other an incomplete deep pass to double-covered receiver A.J. Brown.)

» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts backtracks from ‘committed enough’ comments, says he was just trying to challenge himself

The other obvious tell that the Eagles were running had to do with personnel. The Eagles took starting tight end Dallas Goedert off the field and inserted two tight ends in “12″ personnel – Jack Stoll and Grant Calcaterra.

The Eagles have the highest percentage of runs in “12″ personnel in the NFL this season. Stoll has been targeted just seven times, despite running 115 routes. Calcaterra has zero targets in 30 routes run. And fourth tight end Albert Okwuegbunam has one target in 40 routes.

The Eagles’ pass distribution at receiver is even more disparate. Their rotating third receivers rank at the bottom of the NFL in yards per route run (minimum 100 routes): 1. Julio Jones (0.20), 4. Quez Watkins (0.33), and 12. Olamide Zaccheaus (0.56).

» READ MORE: Eagles’ Nick Sirianni gives a vote of confidence to Quez Watkins

Nick Sirianni’s scheme is obviously designed to run through Brown, receiver DeVonta Smith and Goedert. Hurts hasn’t thrown as much in the middle of the field. The Eagles dialed up an early pass against split safety coverage that got the ball to Goedert for an 18-yard gain — Hurts’ longest of the game — on third down.

The Eagles actually tweaked the offense some and had several good moments. They used more motion, established Hurts more as a plus-one factor in the running game and were able to break running back D’Andre Swift free on the ground on occasion.

But the passing game was often dismal. The screen game hasn’t been sharp. Many of the throws to the outside are based on box counts, and Hurts had the numbers. But defenders are diagnosing the throws and blocking hasn’t been sound, partly as a result. And quasi-run screens that are designed to get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands for easy yards have often backfired.

The Eagles have seen an increase in two-high safety looks all season. Defenses are attempting to take away the deep explosive passes that have fueled the offense for the last two years, and while Hurts and company found answers through the first two months, they haven’t come as easy over a three-game skid.

Hurts’ struggles in Seattle have been chronicled here and elsewhere. He was mostly at fault for both of the Eagles’ interceptions. But the below play may have been the most disconcerting, because he vacated the pocket without pressure and fruitlessly scrambled in Wentzian fashion.

To Hurts’ credit, the end result wasn’t as bad as some of Carson Wentz’s more infamous hero ball moments toward the end of his Eagles tenure. At least there’s that.

The Eagles host the New York Giants on Monday. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and Jeff McLane as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Lincoln Financial Field.