GBK’s Top Three Defensive Players in the 1st Four Games of 2023
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We continue our discussion of MVPs for the first 4 games of the season with our staff picks on defense. As we did with the offense, we’ll also list the defenders with the three highest ratings by Pro Football Focus (PFF) as of this date.
Video Credit: Crossan Illustrated/GBK
MVP Picks For Top 3 Defenders
Joe Iacono’s Picks:
1) Jimmy Ciarlo - Ciarlo is not only Army’s second leading tackler; he is Army’s most improved player on defense in my opinion. He always seems to be at the center of the action and makes big play after big play. He had a crucial 3rd down sack to hold Syracuse to a FG this weekend. The Sr Co-Captain can drop back in pass coverage as effectively as he can rush the passer from his Apache position and brings back flashes of another great Army Apache, Malkelm Morrison. Ciarlo has 20 total tackles; 3.5 TFL’s; 3 sacks and a forced fumble on the season.
2) Cam Jones - playing opposite shut-down Corner Jabari Moore is no easy task. Opponents typically attack the 5’9” Jones and stay away from Moore’s side of the field. Cam Jones has risen to the occasion so far in 2023. He is third on the team in tackles with 19; 2.5 TFL’s; a key interception and a blocked kick against ULM for good measure. We all wish Jones had 1 more INT against Syracuse. Things may have turned out differently.
3) Leo Lowin - No surprise…the Sr. Co-Captain leads the team in tackles again with 28 and a forced fumble. The only reason Lowin isn’t higher on this list is he occasionally misses tackles and gets juked in the hole at the point of attack. We would also like to see him make more havoc plays near and behind the line of scrimmage.
A.M. Allan’s Picks
1) Quindrellin Hammonds has stepped up this season as a solid defender. The strong safety position is one of the harder positions to play in Army’s defense and he's done a good job there.
2) In my opinion, Cam Jones has made the most improvement to date of anyone in Black Knights' defense. He along with Jabari Moore have provided strong play at the corner position.
3) Jimmy Ciarlo has played as well or better than any defender this season in assignment, tackling and pass defense. Jimmy has improved every season and is playing his best ball in Black & Gold.
Gordon’s Picks:
Once again taking advantage of my senior authorship of this article, I offer my choices for the top 3 defenders.
1) My top pick on defense is Cam Jones, for many of the same reasons offered by Joe and AM. In my opinion, he has been the best open-field tackler on the Black Knight defense and he’s protected his side of the field well on running plays as well as pass coverage. While, technically not an aspect of defense, Jones has done a terrific job of returning punts so far this year.
2) My #2 pick is Jimmy Ciarlo for pretty much the same reasons voiced by Joe and AM. I’m impressed with his attitude and leadership on the field. His situational awareness and response to the flow of the play have shown continuous improvement since he moved into the starting lineup last season. Despite having responsibility for just one side of the field, he gets to the point of attack as frequently as any other player on defense.
3) My #3 Pick is a little tougher because I see a few possibilities for different reasons. Leo Lowin is the leading tackler and presumably one of the leaders on the defense in his role as captain. He also has taken more snaps than any other defender. However, I’ve decided to cast my third-place vote for Jabari Moore, for a reason that Joe alluded to in his comments. The offense gets to choose which side they want to attack, and if Joe is right, they avoid going up against Jabari. That gives him fewer opportunities to make a splash on the game stats, but he has done pretty well despite offenses avoiding him. He’s played the most snaps of any of the DBs, and the statistics indicate that opponents are less inclined to attempt passes to the men he’s covering. Cornerbacks aren’t supposed to get all that many TFLs but Moore and Jones have 2.0 each, second only to Ciarlo in that statistic.
PFF’s Top Rated Defenders based on Overall Rating
PFF rates players on 4 separate aspects of their defensive performance which factored into an overall rating. Team high ratings for each separate aspect are indicated in bold. It’s interesting to note that the top 3 PFF-rated defenders are all cornerbacks.
•Cam Jones (161 Snaps): Overall rating = 79.3; Run Defense = 66.7; Tackling = 87.4; Pass Rush = 65.9; Coverage = 79.3
•Jabari Moore (170 snaps) Overall rating = 78.1; Run Defense = 81.9; Tackling = 86.2; Pass Rush = 71.7; Coverage = 76.3
•Bo Nicholas Paul (149 snaps): Overall rating = 77.8; Run Defense = 73.3; Tackling = 69.7: Pass Rush = 70.0; Coverage = 76.1
Top PFF Rating for Pass Rush went to Kyle Lewis with a 78.0
For what it’s worth Ciarlo with 211 snaps was ranked #4 in the PFF ratings.
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