Jay Ajayi: Week 12 Film Breakdown

I loved the trade for Jay Ajayi. Whereas some people thought he was a little overrated and just a one-year wonder, I saw a really good talent that was stuck on a bad team. My expectations for him are pretty high, not only for this season but for the next few as well.

Each week I will be examining each of his snaps and will break down all of the ones I find significant. I’ll be looking at not only his runs but how he does in the passing game as a receiver and a blocker as well.

Week 12 vs Chicago Bears

Ajayi might have only gotten 6 touches in the game, but he did get the most amount of snaps he’s had since joining the team, 22 (17 in Week 9, 13 in Week 11). By comparison, LeGarrette Blount had 37 and Corey Clement had 15.

1st Quarter, 9:34 mark, 2nd & 10 from Chi 44

It wasn’t a great start to the game for Ajayi. On his first snap, which was the play right before this one, he dropped an easy catch in the flat. On his first carry, his inconsistencies in finding the right running lane showed up again. As he takes the handoff a hole opens up right up the middle to the left of Jason Kelce (#62). Bears linebackers Christian Jones (#52) and Nick Kwiatkowski (#44) are unblocked and waiting for him in the 2nd level, so Ajayi continues to the outside. Kwiatkowski then comes around to seal the edge, and at that point the hole up the middle is still there. If Ajayi can somehow force a missed tackle on Jones he would have a clear path to the 3rd level for a big gain. Worst case scenario is he’s able to gain a couple yards to set up an easier 3rd down situation. But instead he makes a cut to the outside. With no way of getting around the edge, Jones is able to drive on Ajayi and make the tackle for no gain.

1st Quarter, 6:42 mark, 3rd & 8 from Chi 31

This is the first time I’ve seen Ajayi take on a defender head on in pass protection. After the snap he spots out the blitzing defensive back Cre’von LeBlanc. What I like seeing is Ajayi stepping out, positioning himself on the left hip of Hal Vaitai (#72), and attacking LeBlanc first instead of waiting for LeBlanc to come at him first. It’s a very solid blitz pickup by Ajayi that shouldn’t go unnoticed. As a side-note though, Vaitai seems to miss a block on Jones as his eyes are set on LeBlanc. Fortunately Wentz gets rid of the ball just in time.

2nd quarter, 12:39 mark, 1st & 10 from Chi 18

This is a play where Ajayi is almost able to turn a loss of yards into some sort of gain. It’s a counter run play to the open side of the formation (left side) with Brandon Brooks (#79) pulling and Zach Ertz (#86) serving as the lead block. As the play unfolds, Brent Celek (#87) chips on the backside edge rusher Pernell McPhee (#92) before taking on Kyle Fuller (#23). Celek’s chip block isn’t enough though as McPhee is able to get good penetration in the backfield. Ajayi though is somehow able to shed McPhee’s attempted tackle and his instincts get him to reverse field in hopes of taking advantage of defenders over-pursuing. He gets past Bears’ defensive tackle John Jenkins (#73) but is unable to do the same with Kyle Fuller, who was left unblocked after Celek anticipated the run to the play side. Trying to reverse field doesn’t work more times than it does, and the 6 yard loss is evident of that. But I do like seeing Ajayi being able to shed a tackle in the backfield. And in this case I feel like it wasn’t a case of missing the running lane and making an ill-advised decision. Ajayi’s instincts were correct, but Fuller just happened to be in a fortunate spot and made a very good tackle. You could try to make an argument that he should have cut inside instead of trying to beat Fuller to the corner, but that would have been a cut that not a lot of players in the league could make.

3rd Quarter, 7:54 mark, 3rd & 5 from Phi 30

Screen play! When I originally saw this on Sunday I thought there were a few more yards that were left on the field by Ajayi, but I don’t think that’s the case after watching the All-22. Stefan Wisniewski (#61) and Jason Kelce set up the blocks in the second level, but Hal Vatai isn’t able to sustain his on Sam Acho (#93). Acho is almost able to tackle Ajayi short of the 1st down, but a good stiff arm by Ajayi helps him slip the attempt. If Acho hadn’t made him stumble a little bit coming out of the broken tackle then Ajayi probably could have made another move for more yards, but instead he’s immediately met by the defensive tackle Eddie Goldman (#91) who’s able to bring him down just past the 1st down marker. It was a good play by Goldman to shed Wiz's block. I personally would like to see more screens called for Ajayi because of his ability in open space.

4th quarter, 13:50 mark, 1st & 10 from Phi 35

Like clockwork, Ajayi comes up with yet another big run for the 3rd straight game. There’s a lot to like here but also one big mistake at the end not to like. The play is a misdirection zone run. After the snap, Carson Wentz extends the ball to the right, which ends up being the back side of the play, with Ajayi taking his first couple of steps the same way. Wentz then switches arms, directing Ajayi to take the run to the left / front side. Watch Ajayi’s patience, vision, and footwork here. There’s a hole off the edge but the safety Eddie Jackson (#39) climbs down in the box ready to seal it off. Ajayi sees him, so he makes a quick shuffle to his right to press the pile. This is important because this move allows Wisniewski to get his hands on linebacker John Timu (#53). Wiz gets away with a hold, and that delays Timu just enough to prevent him from getting back into the play with a better pursuit angle once Ajayi gets upfield. Ajayi shows off his agility and acceleration as he sees a running lane on the back side, makes a quick cut that way, and explodes through it. Linebacker Isaiah Irving (#47) and defensive end Akiem Hicks (#96) both whiff with attempted arm tackles. Safety Deon Bush (#26) misjudges Ajayi’s speed and isn’t able to make the diving tackle. The only ones left to beat are the defensive backs Kyle Fuller and Cre’von LeBlanc. Ajayi has to fight off Fuller for a good 10 yards while running, and because of that he doesn’t see or feel LeBlanc chasing from behind. By the time he’s able to finally shake Fuller off of him, LeBlanc is able to come in and punch the ball out for a fumble about 7 yards from the goal line. Ajayi isn’t able to recover the ball as it rolls into the end zone, but thankfully Nelson Agholor (#13) is able to fall on and recover it for the touchdown. If you look closely at Ajayi though, even after the referees signal touchdown, he is visibly upset with himself for fumbling. During the broadcast you can see him still very angry on the sideline. To me, that’s not a sign of him being selfish because he wasn’t the one who got the score, but a sign that he hates the fact that he committed a fumble. He knows that turnovers are unacceptable, especially come playoff time when they’re even more costly.

Stats: 5 carries, 26 yards rushing, 1 catch, 7 yards receiving

Overall Grade: D

There’s no way around it; Jay Ajayi didn’t have a good game against the Bears. Outside of his one long run, which ended with him fumbling, he was held in check all game. He also dropped a pass and committed a false start penalty. It’s becoming a constant thing every week where he will have at least one run in which he’ll miss the running lane that’s available but then he’ll have a big run later on. That’s a similar issue we saw here with LeSean McCoy where he would constantly look to make the big play instead of taking what’s there in front of him. That could be something we just might have to live with when it comes to Ajayi, but we have to hope that as he starts to get more and more touches he’ll hit on those opportunities way, way more times than he misses.