Doug Farrar on Brian Orakpo

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We already have two or three Orakpo threads circulating, so if my judgment is off here, please merge with an existing thread.

Link here.

After they lost the Mark Sanchez derby, the Washington Redskins took a different tack with the 13th overall pick and selected Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo. In 2008, Washington had the fewest sacks in the NFC with 24, and posted one of the worst Adjusted Sack Rate totals in the NFL for the third straight year. This despite bringing six or more pass rushers 14.4 percent of the time in 2008, third-highest in the NFL. Orakpo was the second part of a front four overhaul that began when the Redskins signed Albert Haynesworth and gave him the gross national product of France to soak up double- and triple-teams. Having Haynesworth on board will help veterans like Phillip Daniels and Andre Carter, but more was needed.



Orakpo put up 23.0 sacks in his 21 college starts, exploding for 11.5 takedowns and 15 quarterback pressures in his senior season. The Redskins slotted him in as a strong-side linebacker, but his primary task right now is to become the edge-rush threat his team desperately needs. If his effort against the Steelers is any indication, Washington made the right choice.



The Steelers started their first drive at their own 29 with 8:08 left in the first quarter. Charlie Batch was in at quarterback, and four-fifths of the starting offensive line was in there (Doug Legursky standing in for Chris Kemoeatu at left guard). The Redskins started out in a 5-2-4 look, with Daniels at left defensive end and Orakpo filling the left B-gap. The steelers put two tight ends right to deal with that threat, but left tackle Max Starks didn't have an answer for Carter, who blew right by him and deflected Batch's pass. To add insult to injury, Starks was flagged for holding, and Haynesworth erased Legursky and center Justin Hartwig on his way to the quarterback -- he just got there after Daniels. The "yes, it's against Pittsburgh's line" qualifier is in full effect, but you start to see what kind of line the Redskins could have this year if Haynesworth stays healthy.


Orakpo showed his closing speed to the quarterback on the next play, a first-and-20 from the Pittsburgh 19. Motioning over from weak side to strong side blitz off the edge (the Washington line was moving around like crazy presnap), he had a clear path to Batch as the tight end released and right tackle Willie Colon set inside to help with Daniels. Batch got the ball off incomplete, and Orakpo blew up the play. A few plays later, on third-and-12 from the Pittsburgh 35 with 5:23 left in the quarter, Orakpo lined up on the right edge, stunted inside, and got another clear path to Batch, who bailed out to his right and threw what was first called a 47-yard completion to Santonio Holmes, but was reversed on replay. Orakpo got through because of his own speed, but also because Starks had to stay inside to help Legursky with Haynesworth. By the time Starks peeled off, Orakpo was already past him.



Pittsburgh began their next drive at the 50-yard line with 4:03 left in the first quarter. Orakpo blitzed off the left edge, and Hines Ward motioned left to right to help Heath Miller with the blocking on that side. The Steelers engaged in a nice bit of influence blocking out of an offset-I, with Ward bunching inside and Orakpo following his lead, The handoff to Willie Parker went to Orakpo's side, but Parker bounced outside and Orakpo couldn't recover in time to make the tackle. Blitzing off the left edge on the next play as well, Orakpo seemed to get the advantage on Miller to start, until Miller used his own momentum against him and pushed him out of the way of Batch, who was dropping back after play-action. This is a pretty common theme among rookie edge-rushers –- they tend to be one-direction missiles, and they have to learn that pro football is a 360-degree game (You'll see the same thing in Aaron Curry to start).


By the end of their second drive, the Steelers had to commit excessive resources to the Haynesworth/Orakpo combination, putting the center/guard on Haynesworth, and Starks/Miller on Orakpo. After Orakpo sacked Dennis Dixon to end Pittsburgh's third drive, and Haynesworth came out of the game healthy, Pittsburgh moved to a "check with me" system between their tackles and running backs re: blocking Orakpo.



The focus is understandable because of the things that Orakpo can do. He's not just an extremely effective pass-rusher off the edge; he also closes a gap with amazing quickness out of the linebacker spot. What he hasn't done, and what he'll have to learn, is the coverage aspect of the linebacker position. He seems lost in space at this point, but that's understandable. What I didn't see was any of the hesitation that puts some rookie ends behind the 8-ball. More than once, I saw Orakpo making sure his teammates were lined up in defensive motion sets before he put his hand down. The Redskins are asking a lot of Orakpo to be an effective edge rusher and strong-side linebacker, but early indications tell me that he's up to the challenge.