New Look Defense
 

I took a screen cap with my phone (shown below) of Will Wink Strong Free a Cover-1 type of defense played by the Chargers.
[IMG]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B751lsYIYAAJgSc.jpg[/IMG]
C1-Chris Culliver
C2-Breeland/Amerson/Hall
FS-Dashon Goldson
SS-Ihenacho/Jeron Johnson

S-Trent Murphy
E-Stephen Paea
N-Pot Roast
E-Hatcher
W-Kerrigan

M-Riley
Mo-Keenan

This defense is one of many concepts found in the Chargers/Barry's or any defense. The Chargers website took down the video on Barry explaining this defense but here is a quick re-cap:

Will Wink Strong Free is the chargers version of a common Cover 1 Man defense often called "Robber"

Cover 1 has a single high post safety playing deep in the middle of the field or "hole".
The underneath defenders are in man to man. In the "robber" defense another defender 'plugs' the void underneath the FS.

A more detailed breakdown of Cover 1:[url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2032934-nfl-101-introducing-the-basics-of-cover-1]NFL 101: Introducing the Basics of Cover 1 | Bleacher Report[/url]

4-Man pressure with the Kerrigan (1-gap DL)

Ihenacho moves down creating an 8 man box
Corners are in man

Trent has TE man to man
Dashson plays single high deep FS

Ihenacho-Riley-Robinson are responsible for the 2 backs out of the backfield and 'plugging' the underneath hole
IF both running backs flow to the right then Ihenacho is the plugger
IF the backs split then Ihenacho has the back to his side, Robinson has the back to his side and Riley is the plugger etc...

I wish the video was still up, but one thing Barry mentioned he likes this defense because its good vs the run and the pass.
I never did a breakdown or kept track of how often Haslett played with a 2-gap front on 1st down.
But imho one of the downfalls of playing Okie (2-gap) base on 1st down is the lack of pressure compared to playing 1-gap when/if teams pass on 1st down. Sure Okie is stout against the run but in the modern NFL more and more offenses pass on 1st down.
So playing in a 1-gap front with Pot roast clogging the middle and Hatcher and Paea on the Ends getting upfield and Kerrigan coming from the Edge they should have a good rush going if its pass.

Thoughts?

Re: New Look Defense
 

Love it. Absolutely love talking Xs and Os at this level.

Pluses:
Gets Goldson into a single high and allows him to range to the ball once the ball is put into play. That's much better than using him in Tampa 2.

Run defense should be stifling. This takes advantage of Knighton's presence who demands the double team, allowing Paea and Hatcher to penetrate and shoot gaps. Robinson, Riley and Johnson can all run to the ball and hit.

Minus:
Man this puts a ton on our CBs and Goldson. They become the key to the entire defense. On downs where the pass rush doesn't get home we're counting on them to hold up against the likes of Dez Bryant and Odell Beckham. Culliver and Breeland in particular are built for a press-man style, they'll need to be disruptive as hell. If they whiff, it's a TD. Man, Sean Taylor would have made this the #1 D in the NFL.

Re: New Look Defense
 

How do you adapt this to a team playing with a terrific TE? I wouldn't trust Murphy to run with the Jimmy Grahams. Seems like you'd need to shade the SS overtop of the TE for an over-under coverage with Murphy dropping to a short zone and the SS over top once Murphy releases him deep. Murphy could take the dual responsibility of covering the short zone and taking the back in the flat, leaving Robinson or Riley free to plug and cover the other back.

Re: New Look Defense
 

Nevermind...

Re: New Look Defense
 

We don't have the type of FS to pull this off though. Our only hope is if our front 7 can get enough pressure to cover up for the back-end of our defense.

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=Schneed10;1111230]How do you adapt this to a team playing with a terrific TE? I wouldn't trust Murphy to run with the Jimmy Grahams. Seems like you'd need to shade the SS overtop of the TE for an over-under coverage with Murphy dropping to a short zone and the SS over top once Murphy releases him deep. Murphy could take the dual responsibility of covering the short zone and taking the back in the flat, leaving Robinson or Riley free to plug and cover the other back.[/quote]

That was my first thought as well. Murphy playing off the los would be a major issue that opposing o coordinators would drool about. Forget a terrific TE, a TE with a pulse would beat him easily. My guess jeron or Robinson would have to be responsible. Now if it's beasly or fowler jr then we may not the same issue.

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=Schneed10;1111230]How do you adapt this to a team playing with a terrific TE? I wouldn't trust Murphy to run with the Jimmy Grahams. Seems like you'd need to shade the SS overtop of the TE for an over-under coverage with Murphy dropping to a short zone and the SS over top once Murphy releases him deep. Murphy could take the dual responsibility of covering the short zone and taking the back in the flat, leaving Robinson or Riley free to plug and cover the other back.[/quote]

Either the SS or even K. Robinson ? We need that pass rush to bring the heat this year . Of course both of our F/A safeties have played against Graham during the playoffs , that might help some .

Re: New Look Defense
 

A few points to keep in mind.

It was said in the OP but bares repeating: Will Weak Strong Free is just [B][U]one of many (hundreds)[/U][/B] different defenses that Barry could use. [B][U]It does not represent the entire defense[/U][/B]. It is just one, common (cover-1 robber), defensive call/concept that was explained by Barry when he was with the Chargers that could be called depending on the situation and circumstances.

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=Schneed10;1111230]How do you adapt this to a team playing with a terrific TE?[/quote]For me, like with most things football it would depend the circumstances. Down, distance, quality of their OL vs our rush, quality of their backs etc. Can Murphy give the TE a good jam and overplay out breaking routes forcing the TE in the middle of the field where the help is from the robber and deep from the FS. Can we expect the pass rush to get home before a slower/longer developing route can develop.

But the easiest answer is they probably wouldn't call this defense against a team that has a beast at TE (i assume were talking about an inline TE and not a 'move' TE).

Re: New Look Defense
 

Looks good. Who The Skins draft in the first round will help out immensely too (if they go defense). If Willaims or Beasley land here it will magnify Barry's schemes.

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=Schneed10;1111230]How do you adapt this to a team playing with a terrific TE? [/quote]

That's an easy question to answer. You draft a terrific athlete such as Vic Beasley or Randy Gregory and one of them will be covering the TE.

Re: New Look Defense
 

houston also runs a defense that'll be close to what we'll be trying out next year.

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=KI Skins Fan;1111242]That's an easy question to answer. You draft a terrific athlete such as Vic Beasley or Randy Gregory and one of them will be covering the TE.[/quote]

Now you're drafting for need instead of BPA. If Barry and Gruden are worth their salt, you draft BPA and tell them to figure it out.

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=30gut;1111226]I took a screen cap with my phone (shown below) of Will Wink Strong Free a Cover-1 type of defense played by the Chargers.
[IMG]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B751lsYIYAAJgSc.jpg[/IMG]
C1-Chris Culliver
C2-Breeland/Amerson/Hall
FS-Dashon Goldson
SS-Ihenacho/Jeron Johnson

S-Trent Murphy
E-Stephen Paea
N-Pot Roast
E-Hatcher
W-Kerrigan

M-Riley
Mo-Keenan

This defense is one of many concepts found in the Chargers/Barry's or any defense. The Chargers website took down the video on Barry explaining this defense but here is a quick re-cap:

Will Wink Strong Free is the chargers version of a common Cover 1 Man defense often called "Robber"

Cover 1 has a single high post safety playing deep in the middle of the field or "hole".
The underneath defenders are in man to man. In the "robber" defense another defender 'plugs' the void underneath the FS.

A more detailed breakdown of Cover 1:[url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2032934-nfl-101-introducing-the-basics-of-cover-1]NFL 101: Introducing the Basics of Cover 1 | Bleacher Report[/url]

4-Man pressure with the Kerrigan (1-gap DL)

Ihenacho moves down creating an 8 man box
Corners are in man

Trent has TE man to man
Dashson plays single high deep FS

Ihenacho-Riley-Robinson are responsible for the 2 backs out of the backfield and 'plugging' the underneath hole
IF both running backs flow to the right then Ihenacho is the plugger
IF the backs split then Ihenacho has the back to his side, Robinson has the back to his side and Riley is the plugger etc...

I wish the video was still up, but one thing Barry mentioned he likes this defense because its good vs the run and the pass.
I never did a breakdown or kept track of how often Haslett played with a 2-gap front on 1st down.
But imho one of the downfalls of playing Okie (2-gap) base on 1st down is the lack of pressure compared to playing 1-gap when/if teams pass on 1st down. Sure Okie is stout against the run but in the modern NFL more and more offenses pass on 1st down.
So playing in a 1-gap front with Pot roast clogging the middle and Hatcher and Paea on the Ends getting upfield and Kerrigan coming from the Edge they should have a good rush going if its pass.

Thoughts?[/quote]

I would think that Jeron Johnson would be starting over Duke, but I like the scheme look right now, the only thing that gives me pause right now is Trent Murphy guarding a TE 1 on 1 when it is a TE who is a pass catcher first but like everyone said it might be Trent underneath and Jeron over the top

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=Schneed10;1111253][B]Now you're drafting for need instead of BPA.[/B] If Barry and Gruden are worth their salt, you draft BPA and tell them to figure it out.[/quote]

That's right, man! I'll confess to being a draft for need guy. With Scot here now, I may need to join Draft for Need Guys Anonymous.

My only caveat is that it must be a close call between the position of need and the BPA in order to draft for need. Also, there is always the possibility of a trade down which causes the the player in the position of need to actually become the BPA.

It's all up to Scot, of course, but if we end up drafting a fast, athletic OLB he would surely help us against the TE's who have been tearing up our defense.

Re: New Look Defense
 

Stopping TE's from gashing us down the middle is imperative. I don't think this is the particular D to stop such an attack. To me, the problem is at ILB - Riley is generally okay but, it seems to me he is a liability in coverage. Hopefully, Robinson progresses and they figure out how to use him in coverage, I think he has the size, speed and quickness to cover TE's. Not sure, never really studied his tape, but just seemed like he was always where he needed to be before he was needed there.

For teams without a good receiving TE, this is a pretty solid usage of our personnel and seems to play to the strengths of Goldson in particular - play deep, keep everything in front of him so he can take appropriate angles. A

s Schneed said, this alignment places a lot of stress on the back four and, hopefully, we have improved ourselves at least a little back there.

Re: New Look Defense
 

[url=http://redskinscapitalconnection.com/film-breakdown-redskins-34-under-defense/]Film Breakdown: The Redskins New 3-4 Under Defense[/url]

I found this to be a great write-up .

Re: New Look Defense
 

I'm sure every 3-4 team in the NFL runs this, as well as many other 3-4 fronts. For Barry it's going to come down to can he get the defense to be middle of the pack? Can he get this defense to stop blowing a basic coverage? Can he get someone to cover a TE?

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=Schneed10;1111253]Now you're drafting for need instead of BPA. If Barry and Gruden are worth their salt, you draft BPA and tell them to figure it out.[/quote]

If Winston, Williams, Fowler, and Cooper are off the board then Beasley is the BPA. Its just a nice coincidence he fills a need, as well. Even if it comes down to him and Fowler or Cooper the argument can be made he's better than either one of them.

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=Bishop Hammer;1111271]If Winston, Williams, Fowler, and Cooper are off the board then Beasley is the BPA. Its just a nice coincidence he fills a need, as well. Even if it comes down to him and Fowler or Cooper the argument can be made he's better than either one of them.[/quote]

I might be a little biased because I like Cooper, but I don't think he is better than Cooper.

Re: New Look Defense
 

Funny I'm the opposite, more biased towards Beasley because I like him more LOL.

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=skinsfan69;1111270]...For Barry it's going to come down to can he get the defense to be middle of the pack? Can he get this defense to stop blowing a basic coverage? Can he get someone to cover a TE?[/quote]Improving on the backend is gonna be a major factor in the quality of defense. I am not sure how much of a role coaching played in some of the breakdowns in coverage last year. They blew some basic coverages that highschool defenses call. So I think upgrading the personnel goes a long, long way to fixing the blown coverages from last year. Having enough depth that Amerson knows that he can't miss a meeting, blow a coverage and start/play the next week. Heck, Amerson is gonna have to compete for his job. Perry Fewel has a some talent to work with, I'm gonna watch how he handles and brings along Amerson and the rest of the secondary.

In regards to guarding TEs that's gonna fall alot on scheme imo. Many modern TEs are mismatches against LBs. One aspect of both Fewell and the Chargers (from an article I read that I didn't save) but it said that they like to use a lot of subpackage personnel and we know Fewel does from watching the Giants play 'big nickel' and sub out a LB to get another S on the field. In know passing down I think putting a S on a TE is a good move, and maybe based on the coaching staff's background we'll see it more then we under Haslett who stayed in base personnel vs 3 wides often which created some glaring mismatches WRs/TEs vs LBs.

When I first posted this breakdown it was in another forum and its interesting to see how much better it seems know then when I first posted based on the personnel additions Scott has made.

Imo the DL has been [B][I][U]greatly[/U][/I][/B] upgraded with Knighton and Paea joining Jason Hatcher. Knighton is a force in the middle that still provides some inside pressure and Paea finally adds another pass rushing DL to finally create a pair of DL that can penetrate. We only saw that a few times in the past regime (and only once last year when Hatcher and Cofield were both healthy vs the Jags).

But you are right I think this defense has enough talent to move out of the cellar.

There are many metrics I look when it comes to defense (and I'll post them later) but 2 quick ones that imo give a good look into the quality of defense being played are DVOA (Football Outsiders) and QB rating against.

The defense was dead dog last in QB rating against at [B][U][COLOR="red"]108.3[/COLOR][/U][/B]DVOA on defense was [B][U][COLOR="Red"]30th[/COLOR][/U][/B]

Re: New Look Defense
 

Just throwing this in here.[url=http://247sports.com/Bolt/Defensive-line-additions-excite-Keenan-Robinson-36956367]Defensive line additions excite Keenan Robinson[/url]

Re: New Look Defense
 

Heard an interview with Fowler and John Clayton. The kid is fairly well spoken. I personally liked what he had to say. A lot of PC stuff, but he talked much about kickin' it on practice days and study to make game day go well....etc

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=53Fan;1111642]Just throwing this in here.[URL="http://247sports.com/Bolt/Defensive-line-additions-excite-Keenan-Robinson-36956367"]Defensive line additions excite Keenan Robinson[/URL][/quote]

I actually believe part of the reason for inconsistent play at LB is all of the injuries at DL , Carriker , Cofield , Bowens , Jenkins , Hatcher and Neild . Not to mention at Safety and CB . Lets hope we have good luck with injuries this year .

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=Hog1;1111643]Heard an interview with Fowler and John Clayton. The kid is fairly well spoken. I personally liked what he had to say. A lot of PC stuff, but he talked much about kickin' it on practice days and study to make game day go well....etc[/quote]

I've read he has a motor like Kerrigan. I'd LOVE to see him in B&G. What a great pair of bookends at LB that would be!

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=budw38;1111645]I actually believe part of the reason for inconsistent play at LB is all of the injuries at DL , Carriker , Cofield , Bowens , Jenkins , Hatcher and Neild . Not to mention at Safety and CB . Lets hope we have good luck with injuries this year .[/quote]
Agreed Bud. The D-Line makes a world of difference for LB's. With the D-Line creating havoc in the backfield as KR alludes to, we should see more gaps to the QB and hurried passes. I've seen too many plays where a safety blew his coverage and a LB ended up alone covering a TE 40-50 yards downfield because the QB had time to do a crossword puzzle before releasing the ball. I'm right there with you man.

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=53Fan;1111646]I've read he has a motor like Kerrigan. I'd LOVE to see him in B&G. What a great pair of bookends at LB that would be![/quote]

I would as well. All these moves we are making are going to help Kerrigan a bunch. Will be fun to see some changes that should be improvement and will last for a while

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=53Fan;1111647]Agreed Bud. The D-Line makes a world of difference for LB's. With the D-Line creating havoc in the backfield as KR alludes to, we should see more gaps to the QB and hurried passes. I've seen too many plays where a safety blew his coverage and a LB ended up alone covering a TE 40-50 yards downfield because the QB had time to do a crossword puzzle before releasing the ball. I'm right there with you man.[/quote]
Hope that Pot Roast can turn up the heat in the middle , and our new ends control their gaps as well as get into the backfield . I want a Dominating defense , hoping to see it start to take shape this year .

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=budw38;1111713]Hope that Pot Roast can turn up the heat in the middle , and our new ends control their gaps as well as get into the backfield . I want a Dominating defense , hoping to see it start to take shape this year .[/quote]Agreed.

Upgrading the DL is a great place to start building a dominating defense.

Knighton helps stop the run; and I'm one of those guys that believes playing good defense still starts with stopping the run. You stop the run and you create 'known passing situations' which gives your defense the opportunity to rush the passer (attack).

But for me the next steps to creating a dominating are pass rush and coverage. Knighton and Paea both add to the interior pass rush which makes the outside pass rush more effective.

So we've improved there too.

Adding Culliver, Goldson, Jeron Johnson and a healthy Ihenacho improves our coverage in the seconday a lot.

Culliver is instantly our best corner which bumps all our other corners down a spot which makes them better. We still need a slot/nickel CB to emerge in addition to improved played from any one of our other CBs. Everyone loves Breshard, myself included, but he's got some things to clean up to take the next step and Amerson has all the talent in the world but he's needs to play better.

I think Scott as already done a great job improving the defense with this off-season moves. If he can add another difference maker we're gonna be well on our way to creating an above average defense (talent-wise) then with coaching we can start talking about dominance.

Re: New Look Defense
 

Post Draft:

Pass Rushing Situation DL:

Kerrigan-Hatcher-Paea-Preston Smith

or

Kerrigan-Smith-Hatcher-Murphy/Trev Williams

Re: New Look Defense
 

I'm worried about our pass rush next yr, I believe we will be much better against the run but we really only have 1 true pass rusher in RK.

Re: New Look Defense
 

I think a combination of Murphy/Smith will be just fine (till Smith wins the job). I like what I've seen on film from Smith.

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=skinsfaninok;1112951]I'm worried about our pass rush next yr, I believe we will be much better against the run but we really only have 1 true pass rusher in RK.[/quote]I understand the view point of only having '1 true pass rusher' but I think the additional pieces are going to make the overall pass rush much, much better then last year and create a situation where a complementary pass rusher can emerge opposite Ryan (who I consider a top 5 OLB).

Paea 8.7 PRP (pass rush productivity) adds 31 hurries, 11 QB hits and 5 sacks to the team

Murph (6.9 PRP) had 15 hurries, 6 QB hits and 3 sacks playing about half the snaps a typical 34 OLB would...IF doubling his snaps equal doubling production 30 hurries, 12 hits and 6 sacks isn't a bad line for the #2 passing rushing OLB


Preston is a highly productive pass rusher in his own right. Granted its only college, but its the only measure we have right now but he had pass rush productivity of 11.1 which is really good. 307 snaps-24 hurries-8 QB hits-10 sacks.

Add the above three to an already good pass rushing duo:

Ryan-12.2 PRP -50 hurries-8 QB hits-13 sacks
Hatcher-9.1 PRP-26 hurries-5 QB hits-7 sacks

(Also you have 2 guys who were productive right away in limited snaps Trev Williams who physically is a small but fast pure speed rusher and Jeffcoat)

Last year's defense was tied for 21st in sacks with 36; with the pieces Scott added I expect an improvement (5-10 spot jump)

Re: New Look Defense
 

Our D-Line this year just looks like some nasty MFers.

[IMG]http://prod.images.redskins.clubs.nflcdn.com/image-web/NFL/CDA/data/deployed/prod/REDSKINS/assets/images/imported/WAS/photos/clubimages/2015/05-May/temp050615_phase2_58--nfl_mezz_1280_1024.JPG?width=960&height=720[/IMG]

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=30gut;1112972]I understand the view point of only having '1 true pass rusher' but I think the additional pieces are going to make the overall pass rush much, much better then last year and create a situation where a complementary pass rusher can emerge opposite Ryan (who I consider a top 5 OLB).[/quote]

Agreed. Kerrigan along with the added big guys eating up blocks, improved (fingers crosses) secondary play and the duo of Murph/Smith should be able to generate a pass rush.

Can't think of too many teams off the top of my head with two "true pass rushers" anyways.

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=DynamiteRave;1112978]Our D-Line this year just looks like some nasty MFers.

[IMG]http://prod.images.redskins.clubs.nflcdn.com/image-web/NFL/CDA/data/deployed/prod/REDSKINS/assets/images/imported/WAS/photos/clubimages/2015/05-May/temp050615_phase2_58--nfl_mezz_1280_1024.JPG?width=960&height=720[/IMG][/quote]

Our goal line DL of Hatcher / Baker / Knighton / Kearse / Paea is what's going to be nasty.

Re: New Look Defense
 

Preston Smith

6'5--271

40--4.71
10--1.60
Vert--34
Broad--10'01
3 cone--7.07

Miss St Stats:
27 TFL 16 Sacks
[YT]watch?v=EgnJjcG5Two[/YT]

My comp for Preston...Michael Bennett
6'3--274

40--5.13/4.86
10--1.78/1.62
Vert--31
Broad--09'02

A&M Stats:
19.5 TFL 6.5 Sacks
[YT]watch?v=5oMZzA0Dutg[/YT]

Re: New Look Defense
 

orakpo is a better comp if you're just comparing combine numbers.

Re: New Look Defense
 

[quote=That Guy;1113146]orakpo is a better comp if you're just comparing combine numbers.[/quote]I'm comparing them more on playing style (take a look at the vid) and body type then combine numbers, I just threw those up for reference.

Smith played all over the DL like Bennett does. Lined up at DE or DT or as a stand-up rusher. They're physiques are similar and I would bet Scott has Bennett in mind when he sees Smith. I just posted the combine numbers for a common frame of reference; and they actually show that Smith is the better athlete and was a more productive college player between the two players.

When I see Smith I see a more athletic Bennett, hopefully he can come close to matching his Bennett's NFL production.