Jay Ajayi: Week 15 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 15 @ NY Giants

Although Jay Ajayi once again got the majority of snaps amongst the Eagles’ RBs against the Giants, he only had 14 total touches. By comparison, the rest of the Eagles RBs together logged in 14 touches as well. Ajayi received exactly half of the RB touches overall, but it can/should/will be argued that he should have gotten more.

1st Quarter, 7:12 mark, 1st & 10 at NYG 41

Center Jason Kelce (#62) has not only been one of the best centers in the league this season but one of the best lineman overall and very instrumental in much of Ajayi’s success with the Eagles so far. His ability to get to the 2nd level is arguably the best among all linemen. This was especially even more evident against the Giants in Week 15. On this run Kelce pulls and lead blocks up the B-gap between Hal Vaitai (#72) and Chance Warmack (#67).  Notice how Ajayi continues to run parallel to the line of scrimmage first with his shoulders and hips being square to the sideline. This little detail helps with setting up blocks as it makes the defenders play the outside angle. Then right as Kelce engages with linebacker BJ Goodson (#93) Ajayi plants his foot and makes a cut upfield for a 4-yard gain.

2nd Quarter, 5:26 mark, 3rd & 8 at NYG 18

Ajayi doesn’t get many opportunities as a receiver, but the few times he has he’s made the most of them. Here he’s the checkdown option in the flat and shows good awareness with the route. With it being 3rd down and no Giants defender in the immediate area, he extends the route up a few more yards. Foles makes the quick read and gets the ball to Ajayi with room to run. Linebacker Calvin Munson (#46) takes a bad angle and Ajayi is able to outrun his pursuit and picks up the 1st down after lowering his shoulder into cornerback Eli Apple (#24).

3rd Quarter, 11:47 mark, 1st & 10 at NYG 34

Ajayi did a decent job in pass protection and blitz pick up the whole game, except for this play. Granted, it was against defensive end Olivier Vernon (#54) who is one of the best pass rushers in the game, but Ajayi still could have done a better job on the block. Vaitai does deserve most of the blame as he just gets flat out beat by Vernon on a swim move, which forces Ajayi to pick him up one on one. A defensive end against a RB in pass protection is never a matchup you want as an offense. Ajayi does a good job at sinking his hips and attempting to use leverage to impede Vernon, but he doesn’t get enough explosion in his push which allows Vernon to power through. He also gets a bit too flat-footed and is unable to shuffle his feet and stay in front of Vernon longer. Luckily Foles is able to get out of the pocket and throw the ball away, but had he been given just one or two more seconds he might have been able to see Celek leak out and hit him for a short gain.

3rd Quarter, 8:32 mark, 2nd & 10 at Phi 41

Remember how on the 4-yard run in the 1st quarter I talked about Kelce’s ability to get to the second level? Well that was the main reason Ajayi was able to pick up 22 yards on this power sweep run, as Kelce takes care of linebackers Kelvin Sheppard (#47) and BJ Goodson at the 2nd level. That made Ajayi’s job easy, as all he had to do was wait for his blocks to set up, make one cut, and burst through. The timing of the cut as well as his exceptional acceleration gets him to the 3rd level almost untouched. I will say though that Ajayi does have to start finishing these long runs by beating that last defender, which in this case was safety Darian Thompson (#27). Come playoff time a 22-yard run instead of a touchdown run can come back to bite the team.

3rd Quarter, 7:48 mark, 1st & 10 at NYG 37

On the very next play the Eagles go right back to Ajayi, this time on a screen play, and they’re able rip off another big gain. It’s set up very nicely off of the play action as Kelce and Warmack stay home to block before eventually leaking out in front of Ajayi. By the time Ajayi catches the pass Kelce and Warmack are well out in the 2nd level and running up field with plenty of space in front of them. Ajayi does what every RB is supposed to do on a screen play and lets the blocks develop first instead of just going full speed ahead right away. Once they’re set up, he accelerates to top speed and races towards the end zone. If Alshon Jeffery (#17) had been able to sustain his block on Darian Thompson then there’s no doubt that Ajayi would have scored a touchdown.

4th Quarter, 8:09 mark, 2nd & 7 from NYG 31

I’m going to reference that 1st quarter run one more time. This play is another example of Ajayi’s awareness to run parallel to the line of scrimmage forcing defenders to play their angle to the outside. The call is a zone run to the weak side. Guard Brandon Brooks (#79) gets out to the 2nd level and is able to seal up a running lane by blocking linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong (#55). If you watch Armstrong right off the snap, he immediately runs to the weak side edge and over-pursues because he’s anticipating Ajayi to keep going to the outside. Once Ajayi sees Brooks engage with Armstrong, he hits the hole, slips through a couple arm tackle attempts, and maintains his balance enough to dive forward for 6 yards.

4th Quarter, 6:09 mark, 1st & Goal at NYG 8

This was Ajayi’s only bad run of the day, it just hurts more because it comes late in a tight game and in the red zone. This is another zone run, but what disrupts it is defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (#90) getting a good bull rush on offensive tackle Lane Johnson (#65). This drives Johnson back and forces Ajayi to hesitate. What Ajayi does wrong here is trying to force the run to the edge still. JPP senses that and completely cuts it off. By the time Ajayi realizes he can’t get around him and looks to takes the run inside, defensive tackle Robert Thomas (#99) is able to close in on him. He tries to wrestle free but Thomas is too strong and the tackle is made for a loss of 4 yards. Had Ajayi been more decisive and cut inside sooner, he at worst could have made it back to the line of scrimmage. It’s even possible that he could have had a positive gain or a touchdown. In a close game like that, great running backs don’t miss that type of opportunity often.

Stats: 12 carries, 49 yards rushing, 2 catches, 40 yards receiving

Overall Grade: B+

I’ve maintained my position for weeks now that Jay Ajayi should be getting the majority of snaps and touches as the lead back of this offense. He’s getting the snaps, but seeing that he only had half of the RB touches overall is frustrating. Having Blount in there on that final offensive possession to close out the game shouldn’t happen. After watching the film of all 3 of those carries, I do believe that Ajayi could have picked up the 1st down to end the game, especially on the 3rd down run. That -4 yard loss in the 4th quarter that I broke down was a bad play by Ajayi, but what’s encouraging is that we’ve seen him get more and more comfortable each passing week. He’s not making the same mistakes as often as he was weeks ago. If the coaches are trying to save Ajayi right now so that he’s as fresh as possible for the playoffs then I guess I can understand that. But that doesn’t excuse them from not having him be the guy in the backfield to close out the game against the Giants. If the Eagles are going to have any hope of winning the Super Bowl, one of the things they need to do is lean on Ajayi as one of the focal points of the offense.