The Truth about Orakpo against the Eagles

by milroyigglesfan on Oct 21, 2011 8:19 PM EDT

Since the Eagles have "upset" the Redskins, I've have the fortune of discussing the game with some knowledgeable fans, and some not so knowledgeable fans. And while there are beachheads of agreement, there will always be a matter of perspective.

The point that is confusing to me is the Redskin fanbase blind defense of the rather invisible performance of one of their defensive stars in the game - Brian Orakpo. Fan after fan insists that this guy chewed up and spit out whichever blocker came his way, and if not for the miraculous dodges out of nowhere by Michael Vick, he would have ended the game with serious sack numbers.

But my eyes never saw it that way. I saw an offensive line that has struggled this season rise to the occasion and play one of its most inspired games of the year. I saw run blocking that opened huge holes in the waning minutes of the game to ice a victory. I saw very adequate pass protection from a line that has played together for the first time this year (Justice first time this year and Herremans first time at left tackle). I saw reason to feel somewhat optimistic offensively from the play of our front 5.

And yet, the number and usual sanity of the Redskin fans who insist that Orakpo was all over the field terrorizing makes me question what I, and virtually all of the objective rating groups who saw the game and rate Matthis and Herremans as the two top performing NFL offensive linement for the week. Did anyone else think that Orakpo dominated the eagles line all day?

I'm open minded. What did you see?

Poll

Did you think that Orakpo won his battle against the eagles offensive line?

Yes, he clearly dominated

6 votes

Are you kidding me? He was pwnd!

65 votes

He had some penetration, but it was all for naught.

95 votes

He was just being Orakpo. Close on each play.

44 votes

210 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Wait…. What? He did nothing at all last Sunday.

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by d-jackfan10 on Oct 21, 2011 8:49 PM EDT reply actions

He was mostly shut down.

Had some minor play disruptions but was far from the game-changer they expected him to be.

Something against him in that game was that almost all of 7’s sprints and rollouts were called to his side to ease up the pressure on Justice and he still didn’t make plays. If you’re supposed to be an elite player, when the QB is pinched in your half of the field multiple times, you pile up sacks.

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by DSmith215 on Oct 21, 2011 9:04 PM EDT reply actions

beachheads of agreement

Nice phrase

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by KByars on Oct 21, 2011 9:10 PM EDT reply actions

I think a lot of people are referring to the fact that Orakpo came free off the edge a few times. But that was by design; Vick was supposed to either throw the screen, roll out, or pass after a short drop back.

by mayoandketchup on Oct 21, 2011 9:27 PM EDT reply actions

i didn't see your guys game

but i think orakpo is mildly overrated in general, by Skins fans. his numbers this year are pedestrian, and even his career bests are underwhelming a bit. he gets to the QB, but what else does he really do? i don’t see him as a run disrupter, he doesn’t pile up tackles, and IMO is the 5th best OLB/DE in the BEast, behind Tuck, Cole, Ware and Osi(with JPP creeping up on that ass)

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by wilddre22 on Oct 22, 2011 12:58 AM EDT reply actions

5th best OLB/DE in the BEast, behind Tuck, Cole, Ware and Osi(with JPP creeping up on that ass)

Agreed, although here’s the order of which players I’d actually want on my team, with age/health considerations in effect, but not contracts. I’ll do all the starters, with an extra for the Giants:

1. Ware
2. Cole
3. Tuck
4. JPP
5. Orakpo
6. Kerrigan
7. Babin
8. Osi
9. Spencer

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by JimmyK on Oct 22, 2011 1:45 PM EDT up reply actions

how about taking just this year's play into effect

Babin’s got to be higher… Just read that article Front Page’d about him… Didn’t realize the extent of his awesomeness so far this year.

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by Ralf E Chubbs on Oct 22, 2011 10:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Gotta give you guys props on JPP, really wish we took him instead of Graham… dumbasses overused the old cliche “he’s a workout warrior so he’ll automatically suck”

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by Djax10 on Oct 23, 2011 10:15 PM EDT up reply actions

You missed it. Orakpo played better than Tuck ,Osi and JPP.
Go to NFL.com and buy a replay. It will open your eyes.

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by waterfield on Oct 22, 2011 11:54 AM EDT reply actions

Watched it twice.

Herremans completely dominated Orakpo. Herremans’ performance was probably the 2nd most impressive game by an Eagles O lineman this season after Peters in Atlanta. Orakpo never sniffed Vick. Whatever Redskins fans that are suggesting otherwise are just saying things without having a semblance of a clue.

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by JimmyK on Oct 22, 2011 1:41 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs