Despite improvement from an overall standpoint of points given up, the Marshall defense had its fair share of struggles with only three players grading above a 70 overall PFF and only seven above a 60 PFF in the Herd's 16-7 loss to Troy to start Sun Belt Conference play.
We take a look at who performed well and who needs work in this week's PFF grades.
Of Marshall's seven players that posted above a 60 overall PFF grade, five of them were on the defensive front, with Sam Burton accumulating a 91.5 PFF in his 21 total snaps to head up the charge.
Of his 21 snaps, Burton made three stops, garnered a sack, and forced a fumble from his left tackle spot. Burton finished inside the top five in every PFF defensive category except pass rushing, where he was sixth in among all defensive players.
Behind him, Koby Cumberlander (69.8 PFF grade) and Damion Barber (68 PFF grade) made positive impacts, with Barber being credited with four tackles and two sacks and Cumberlander making a pair of stops on his own. Barber tied with Burton for the fifth-best tackle grade on the roster (74.6 PFF) while Cumberlander posted the fourth-best tackle grade (74.7 PFF).
Jayshaun Coffman's 64.3 PFF and Elijah Alston's 64 PFF rounded out the linemen who finished with a PFF grade above 60 while Emmanuel Balogun's 57.0, Isaiah Gibson's 55.1, Anthony Watts' 54.6 and Jordan Calomese's 50.2 were among the additional grades for the defensive linemen who finished above a 50 PFF. Owen Porter's 49.4 PFF, Esisas Carpenter's 38.9 PFF and Immanuel Bush's 29.7 PFF rounded out the D-line.
In the linebacking core, Charlie Gray (80.1 PFF) and Eli Neal (71.5 PFF) posted the second and third-best PFF grades on the defense, with the pair combining for 17 tackles. The duo also posted strong coverage grades of 74.9 and 72.5, with Gray and Neal combining to allow just two catches for 10 yards.
However, Jace Bobo (48.3 PFF) and Abraham Beauplan (46.5 PFF) did not grade out well. Bobo played just 13 snaps and posted a 41.9 PFF grade from a run defense standpoint, while Beauplan matched Gray with nine tackles but allowed four pass catches in five passes that were targeted his way. Beauplan also had a low 51.2 PFF grade against the run.
In the secondary, no defensive back graded above a 60 PFF for the first time in 2022 as the DB's were targeted on 15 pass attempts and allowed nine completions as a group. The room -- and the entire defense -- however, did not allow a passing touchdown.
Steven Gilmore's grade of 59.7 from a PFF standpoint headed up the charge. Gilmore made four tackles but allowed two pass catches in three targets and gave up 52 yards. Jadarius Green-McKnight (57.8 PFF) made six tackles, but allowed completions on both of his targets for 62 yards. Local native Kerion Martin (57.5 PFF) allowed only one catch on four passes thrown his way for 18 yards, while Micah Abraham (57.3 PFF) allowed a catch in two targets for 24 yards.
Outside of Green-McKnight, safeties had more vast struggles as Andre Sam (50 PFF) allowed receptions in all three of his targets for 132 yards while E.J. Jackson posted a low 48.5 PFF grade. Jackson, however, was the only defensive back on the entire unit with a pass breakup.
We take a look at who performed well and who needs work in this week's PFF grades.
DEFENSIVE LINE:
Of Marshall's seven players that posted above a 60 overall PFF grade, five of them were on the defensive front, with Sam Burton accumulating a 91.5 PFF in his 21 total snaps to head up the charge.
Of his 21 snaps, Burton made three stops, garnered a sack, and forced a fumble from his left tackle spot. Burton finished inside the top five in every PFF defensive category except pass rushing, where he was sixth in among all defensive players.
Behind him, Koby Cumberlander (69.8 PFF grade) and Damion Barber (68 PFF grade) made positive impacts, with Barber being credited with four tackles and two sacks and Cumberlander making a pair of stops on his own. Barber tied with Burton for the fifth-best tackle grade on the roster (74.6 PFF) while Cumberlander posted the fourth-best tackle grade (74.7 PFF).
Jayshaun Coffman's 64.3 PFF and Elijah Alston's 64 PFF rounded out the linemen who finished with a PFF grade above 60 while Emmanuel Balogun's 57.0, Isaiah Gibson's 55.1, Anthony Watts' 54.6 and Jordan Calomese's 50.2 were among the additional grades for the defensive linemen who finished above a 50 PFF. Owen Porter's 49.4 PFF, Esisas Carpenter's 38.9 PFF and Immanuel Bush's 29.7 PFF rounded out the D-line.
LINEBACKERS:
In the linebacking core, Charlie Gray (80.1 PFF) and Eli Neal (71.5 PFF) posted the second and third-best PFF grades on the defense, with the pair combining for 17 tackles. The duo also posted strong coverage grades of 74.9 and 72.5, with Gray and Neal combining to allow just two catches for 10 yards.
However, Jace Bobo (48.3 PFF) and Abraham Beauplan (46.5 PFF) did not grade out well. Bobo played just 13 snaps and posted a 41.9 PFF grade from a run defense standpoint, while Beauplan matched Gray with nine tackles but allowed four pass catches in five passes that were targeted his way. Beauplan also had a low 51.2 PFF grade against the run.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
In the secondary, no defensive back graded above a 60 PFF for the first time in 2022 as the DB's were targeted on 15 pass attempts and allowed nine completions as a group. The room -- and the entire defense -- however, did not allow a passing touchdown.
Steven Gilmore's grade of 59.7 from a PFF standpoint headed up the charge. Gilmore made four tackles but allowed two pass catches in three targets and gave up 52 yards. Jadarius Green-McKnight (57.8 PFF) made six tackles, but allowed completions on both of his targets for 62 yards. Local native Kerion Martin (57.5 PFF) allowed only one catch on four passes thrown his way for 18 yards, while Micah Abraham (57.3 PFF) allowed a catch in two targets for 24 yards.
Outside of Green-McKnight, safeties had more vast struggles as Andre Sam (50 PFF) allowed receptions in all three of his targets for 132 yards while E.J. Jackson posted a low 48.5 PFF grade. Jackson, however, was the only defensive back on the entire unit with a pass breakup.
