Demetric Evans, Killings; defensive breakdowns

[skinsfan1982]

I have been really impressed with the pressure Demetric Evans and Cedric Killings have been getting in the short amount of playing time they have received. Demetric Evans had a sack, and a few pressures, and Killings also collapsed the line a few times and kept Cornelius fresh. Afer Wynn went out, I didn't see too much out of Nic Clemons, but our defensive line still played well and created good pressure. Although Wynn was an emotional leader, I don't think we lose too much with Evans in the game.

I am so glad Gregg Williams will continue to be our defensive coordinator, and the players will continue to learn from the same scheme. Although most of the players have now played for him for two years, there are still some minor breakdowns. When Omar Stoutmire sacked Simms with the delayed blitz, he had signaled to Walt Harris to drop back in the middle to cover the area, but Harris did not. We were fortunate Stoutmire got there, and there wasn't an intermediate route in the middle. With that said, as the players continue to learn from Gregg, those breakdowns will eventually cease, and we'll do even better. I think we used to have about 5 defensive breakdown's a quarter under Spurrier, but now we have 1-2 a game. You can see with Tampa and Monte Kiffin, who has been there for almost 10 years, that their defense does not suffer from miscommunication or other breakdowns. With the amount of turnovers we have been creating in the last few weeks, and the difference in our defense's performance between the first tampa game and this playoff game, its evident that we are getting closer and closer to eliminating miscommunicaton between the players and other mental breakdowns.

[joecrisp]

Great post, skinsfan1982. I do think Evans and Clemons provide more speed off the edge than Wynn, although they may not be as stout against the run, which could be a problem against the Seahawks and Shawn Alexander. But overall, I didn't see any real letdown by the defensive line after Wynn went out.

My main concern is the pass rush and coverage when the Redskins don't blitz. When the linebackers dropped back in coverage, the D-line didn't seem to be able to generate much of a surge, and Simms was just picking apart the coverage. Of course, that was with Springs out and Taylor ejected for much of the game, so with those two back next week, hopefully the coverage will be a lot tighter in Seattle.

But yeah, I feel pretty comfortable with Evans and Clemons rotating in there to replace Wynn.

[saden1]

The Seahawks have two pro bowlers on their offensive line and the best RB and FB combo. We'll definitely have to have a "stuff the run" mentality. Of course the Hawks are dangerous passing team too. They'll nickle and dime your for a bit and then take a shot downfield. I hope we get Springs back next week.

To be honest though, the thing that worries me the most is our offense. Will they show up? And the fact that Portis is banged up doesn't help our cause. I'm kind of pissed the Skins announced how hurt Portis' shoulders are. You can bet your ass they'll be taking shots to his shoulders every chance they get.

[dblanch66]

Originally Posted by saden1

The Seahawks have two pro bowlers on their offensive line and the best RB and FB combo. We'll definitely have to have a "stuff the run" mentality. Of course the Hawks are dangerous passing team too. They'll nickle and dime your for a bit and then take a shot downfield. I hope we get Springs back next week.

To be honest though, the thing that worries me the most is our offense. Will they show up? And the fact that Portis is banged up doesn't help our cause. I'm kind of pissed the Skins announced how hurt Portis' shoulders are. You can bet your ass they'll be taking shots to his shoulders every chance they get.

Believe it or not, I'm not really worried about the offense. This year, if you look at the games in which the offense performed poorly, the next game they were much improved. No disrespect to Seattle, but their D is not anywhere close to what Tampon Bay's is. I think the O bounces back on Saturday with CP seeing much more running time. He was only in the Bucs game for about 50% of the time and that may have been a smart move to give his body a break.