Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Prior to the draft I didn't read all that much on Landry, and I guess I sort of assumed he was more like a hard-hitting CB. I thought he'd be great against the deep ball and only so-so against the run.
Now that I've become more versed on him I agree with you that he seems very similar to Taylor.
That article on him in the post had the quote from his HS coach that said something like "if he had to choose between grabbing an INT for a touchdown or putting a guy in the hospital he'd have a hard time making up his mind." That sounds a lot like Taylor's attitude, IMO.
I just hope we don't have another situation where both of them seem more concerned with making the highlight hit than covering the pass.
I don't think that will happen, but there's always a chance.

[calia]

I think the key for the defense will be establishing an offensive identity and having sustained drives and keeping the D off the field and rested. Last year, that rarely happened. And until we decide whether we're a flashy Al Saunders offense or a smash-mouth Joe Gibbs offense, we will not establish that identity.

I suspect that last year's gravitation toward the Gibbs offense will ultimately be permanent, although there's still the matter of that 700 page playbook that we have all heard WAY too much about and the prospect of Saunders calling plays. Until this is ironed out, I think it will mean too many 3-and-outs and having our D on the field too much.

Having said all that, I do think we've upgraded on D (hell, getting rid of ArchDeluxe was itself an upgrade), although I do think we still need improvement on the D-line. But there's no doubt we should be better. The question is how much, and I think that whether we can hold the ball on offense will be a big factor.

[freddyg12]

I could see us being #15 in total yds. (usually the category that the d is ranked on). That seems realistic, yet sill optimistic as that's a big jump from 31.
I don't think we're a shut down dominating d at all, we will still give up some big plays. I think the difference will be in playmaking; turnovers! You don't have to be the most dominant d if you can make big plays & I look for more of them to happen. Similar to our 05 d, it wasn't as good as 04 but they made some big plays.

[dmek25]

finally, a positive thread. i also think our defense will be much improved. when healthy, the skins boast a hard hitting, ball hawking, gang tackling bunch. this also might be a tryout for Greg Williams resume, because if the skins defense falters again this year, Dan Snyder might want to rethink our next head coach

[GhettoDogAllStars]

Really, we have nowhere to go but up. We were just about the worst defense in the league last year. It shouldn't be too difficult to improve. Just the fact that we're healthy should put us into the top 20. A few more turnovers, and we could be top 15.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by GhettoDogAllStars

Really, we have nowhere to go but up. We were just about the worst defense in the league last year. It shouldn't be too difficult to improve. Just the fact that we're healthy should put us into the top 20. A few more turnovers, and we could be top 15.

Yeah, this is pretty much the only reason I can see us improving defensively this year is that it just couldn't have been any worse.

More turnovers will come. You can't really do anything roster-wise to create more turnovers. Just teach the fundamentals, tackle and strip, and hope for the best. There is no chance we don't force at least two more turnovers than last year. Just catch the ball, Carlos.

Our secondary is still going to get toasted all year though. While our pass rush will be better than last year, it still isn't going to be very good. Taylor and Landry are going to spend all day backpedaling.

But the big difference will be that the linebackers will be much better in coverage this year. It's going to make a big difference in third down situations where we were awful on both sides of the ball.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Yeah, this is pretty much the only reason I can see us improving defensively this year is that it just couldn't have been any worse.

More turnovers will come. You can't really do anything roster-wise to create more turnovers. Just teach the fundamentals, tackle and strip, and hope for the best. There is no chance we don't force at least two more turnovers than last year. Just catch the ball, Carlos.

Our secondary is still going to get toasted all year though. While our pass rush will be better than last year, it still isn't going to be very good. Taylor and Landry are going to spend all day backpedaling.

But the big difference will be that the linebackers will be much better in coverage this year. It's going to make a big difference in third down situations where we were awful on both sides of the ball.

What made me mad last year was that even freaking STATISTICIANS were saying: "They're going to come. The odds are HIGHLY STACKED in their favor." and it never happened.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

What made me mad last year was that even freaking STATISTICIANS were saying: "They're going to come. The odds are HIGHLY STACKED in their favor." and it never happened.

At midseason, Football Outsiders predicted a huge defensive jump for the Redskins.

Contrary to popular belief, forcing turnovers isn't a repeatable skill. Admittedly a team who teaches their players to strip the ball is going to force more turnovers than a team who doesn't. But outside of that, I mean, what can you do outside of going to church on Sunday and praying for a pair of turnovers? Not a whole lot.

Let me be the first to assure you that they will come this year.

[holmester]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Let me be the first to assure you that they will come this year.

Phewwwwwwwwwwww. I feel so much better.

[Longtimefan]

The first line of defense still poses a concern for me. Some say the additions to the secondary will offset the lack of a consistent pass rush, since that concept goes against conventional wisdom we'll have to wait and see.

However, barring injury, the defense should perform at a higher level this year. I shy away from making predictions because too many things can go wrong, but if our offense can do a better job of sustaining drives, and finish them off with points allowing the defense an opportunity to collect itself we should be better overall. Changes, injuries and mindset had a profound affect on last years performers, they will play better this year...........Good post, good to see some optimism flowing.

[GMScud]

They are discussing the NFC East on NFL Live right now if anyone in case anyone is interested....

[holmester]

Originally Posted by diehardskin2982

I've been reading alot of threads on here lately talking about our defense and how bad it was and it's gonna be. I know alot of you have been sipping the bitter "skins suck" cool aid that has been leaked into the Washington Media for the past few years sense Snyder got here... but believe me, it's not true. I see the defense that they have put together this year and you know what, I like it!

This year the skins listened to the advice of the fans that have been screaming the same thing over past ten years, they did not give away draft picks or chase the big name free agents. They used sound scouting and nabbed some gems in the draft, free agent market and undrafted market that WILL help this defense for many years to come.

H.B. Blades will be a star for the skins in 3 years. He will learn the system from fletcher and become a fletcher/ Zach Thomas type player for the skins. Justin Hickman can become the pass rusher that we have been looking for, although undersized at 6'1 254 he has a high motor and had major results in college. Byron Westbrook has the speed 4.35 and aggressiveness to become a good young player for us. Landry combined with Taylor has the potiential to be the best safety tandem in the league.

In the free agent market we picked a solid back ups in Macklin and Stoutmire. A leader and playcaller in Fletcher, and the Swagger/ attitude for our D in "the mouth of the south", Smoot. So What, we don't have the biggest baddest physical specimen on our team, but if the coaches motivate these guys properly we'll be a top defense in 07. Rocky wil be better in 07 and so will Rogers. Hopefully we keep Springs for one more year and he is healthy for the 07.

The Defensive line will be fine because of the better secondary, that can actually COVER, we will be able to send more blitzes from all over. Golston and Montgomery should be expected to do good things now know what to expect and most like have put on some more muscle in the off season.

In Conclusion Remember the saying "its not the size of the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog"? Don't underestimate the heart this Defense in 07 The Skins will be a force to reckon with.

This is a pretty broad statement that really doesnt have much backing. Getting Fletcher was great cause now our linebackers are fine, Smoot and Macklin were good for CB depth, and I think Landry's gonna be great with Taylor but I think our defense is gonna come down to one thing. Since GW is going away from the Cover 2/Tampa 2 this year and looks to be heading more towards the cover 1 our defense is gonna come down to how well our top corner plays. With the Cover 1 Landry will be blitzing helping put pressure on QB's to make mistakes and helping with run support alot leaving Taylor deep to help the CB's. It's almost impossible for a free safety to help cover the whole field (if anyone could do it, it would be Taylor) so he's gonna have to trust one of our CB's to be pretty close to a shut down corner, that way he know's who will need help. I think this is why they were so pressed on getting Dre Bly because of his skills in man-to-man. So unless over the offseason Darrell and Deion have turned Rogers into the beast we thought we drafted its up to Springs. If springs can stay healthy all year i think the d will be back in the top 10 but if not I think were in trouble.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by holmester

This is a pretty broad statement that really doesnt have much backing. Getting Fletcher was great cause now our linebackers are fine, Smoot and Macklin were good for CB depth, and I think Landry's gonna be great with Taylor but I think our defense is gonna come down to one thing. Since GW is going away from the Cover 2/Tampa 2 this year and looks to be heading more towards the cover 1 our defense is gonna come down to how well our top corner plays. With the Cover 1 Landry will be blitzing helping put pressure on QB's to make mistakes and helping with run support alot leaving Taylor deep to help the CB's. It's almost impossible for a free safety to help cover the whole field (if anyone could do it, it would be Taylor) so he's gonna have to trust one of our CB's to be pretty close to a shut down corner, that way he know's who will need help. I think this is why they were so pressed on getting Dre Bly because of his skills in man-to-man. So unless over the offseason Darrell and Deion have turned Rogers into the beast we thought we drafted its up to Springs. If springs can stay healthy all year i think the d will be back in the top 10 but if not I think were in trouble.

This is a really good post, good thought process regarding the Xs and Os here.

Best way to think about our defense is to pretend you're an offensive coordinator and try to gameplan for the 'Skins. As I look at our D, the number one weakness in my opinion is run defense up the middle. Until the Redskins prove they can stop it, I'm going to run up the middle on first down every damn time. I'm going to force Joe Salave'a, Kedric Golston, and Cornelius Griffin to show that they've got what it takes to stop me. If I can get 5 yards on first down, I'm in a 2nd and five.

2nd and five seriously limits what Gregg Williams can do schematically. If he wants to blitz me on 2nd and 5, I'll take that any day of the week as my hot routes can pick up 5 yards. I'm also quite comfortable continuing to pound away on the ground.

Maybe GW wants to bring LaRon Landry up in the box against me to help stop the run on 1st down. As soon as I see that, I'm going to max protect and run play actions. I'll have two WRs on the outside with LaRon Landry attacking the line, leaving Sean Taylor as the only safety. I'll need a savvy QB to be able to look Taylor off, because if the QB can't hold Taylor with his eyes, then my QB is going to toss interceptions.

Where my gameplan runs into trouble, first and foremost, is if suddenly the Redskins defensive line becomes stout against the run. As an offensive coordinator I'm concerned about the savvy London Fletcher in the middle. If he is reading my offense well and getting his linemen in the right places, I might have trouble getting into 2nd and 5. I might find myself in 2nd and 10 or 2nd and 8 a lot. And in that case, I'm going to get blitzed from God knows where.

Secondly, as holmester said, if the 'Skins CBs are monsters in coverage, my plan is shot to hell as Landry is going to shut down my running game, and I'll have nowhere to go with the ball. But I'm not as worried about that as Springs has shown a penchant for injury, and Rogers and Smoot both underachieved last year.

For the Redskins defense, it hinges on two things: Can we stop the run well enough to allow GW to get back to his exotic blitzes? And can our secondary cover well enough to dedicate an 8th man in the box to wreaking havoc on the run game and on blitz attempts?

I'm hopeful. But who knows.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

This is a really good post, good thought process regarding the Xs and Os here.

Best way to think about our defense is to pretend you're an offensive coordinator and try to gameplan for the 'Skins. As I look at our D, the number one weakness in my opinion is run defense up the middle. Until the Redskins prove they can stop it, I'm going to run up the middle on first down every damn time. I'm going to force Joe Salave'a, Kedric Golston, and Cornelius Griffin to show that they've got what it takes to stop me. If I can get 5 yards on first down, I'm in a 2nd and five.

2nd and five seriously limits what Gregg Williams can do schematically. If he wants to blitz me on 2nd and 5, I'll take that any day of the week as my hot routes can pick up 5 yards. I'm also quite comfortable continuing to pound away on the ground.

Maybe GW wants to bring LaRon Landry up in the box against me to help stop the run on 1st down. As soon as I see that, I'm going to max protect and run play actions. I'll have two WRs on the outside with LaRon Landry attacking the line, leaving Sean Taylor as the only safety. I'll need a savvy QB to be able to look Taylor off, because if the QB can't hold Taylor with his eyes, then my QB is going to toss interceptions.

Where my gameplan runs into trouble, first and foremost, is if suddenly the Redskins defensive line becomes stout against the run. As an offensive coordinator I'm concerned about the savvy London Fletcher in the middle. If he is reading my offense well and getting his linemen in the right places, I might have trouble getting into 2nd and 5. I might find myself in 2nd and 10 or 2nd and 8 a lot. And in that case, I'm going to get blitzed from God knows where.

Secondly, as holmester said, if the 'Skins CBs are monsters in coverage, my plan is shot to hell as Landry is going to shut down my running game, and I'll have nowhere to go with the ball. But I'm not as worried about that as Springs has shown a penchant for injury, and Rogers and Smoot both underachieved last year.

For the Redskins defense, it hinges on two things: Can we stop the run well enough to allow GW to get back to his exotic blitzes? And can our secondary cover well enough to dedicate an 8th man in the box to wreaking havoc on the run game and on blitz attempts?

I'm hopeful. But who knows.

If I'm gameplanning against Washington, I run right at Carter using a double team scrape technique with my TE and T. A double team scrape is simply line lingo for the T and TE hitting the DE at the same time, and one guy slides over or "scrapes" to the outside linebacker. I run this play early and often because I know the Redskins won't be able to stop it.

After establishing that I'd use a play action game to throw over the top of Sean Taylor. I'd use deep posts, slot corners, post corners, anything I could use that would take advantage of him being out of position.

I also would run a lot of bootlegs with my QB to tire out the dinosaurs on the defensive line, setting up plays where I run right at them.

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Schematically, Gregg Williams could adjust for the latter two things by wisely using a defensive line rotation, and mixing coverages to make it hard for teams to predict who is going to be the deep safety. But he could do nothing for the Carter issue except to pull him from the game and play Wynn or Evans.

[70Chip]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

If I'm gameplanning against Washington, I run right at Carter using a double team scrape technique with my TE and T. A double team scrape is simply line lingo for the T and TE hitting the DE at the same time, and one guy slides over or "scrapes" to the outside linebacker. I run this play early and often because I know the Redskins won't be able to stop it.

The difference is that Lemar Marshall will be behind Carter this year instead of Holdman. The Redskins were stout against the run when they lined up with Marshall, Pierce, and Washington, or Arrington, Marshall, and Washington for that matter. (that might be the first nice thing I've said about Lavar on this site). Marshall's better instincts should put him in position at the point of attack before the TE can release the DE. At the worse he pops the TE a good one and forces the play back to persuit (Fletcher).

Also, I think they need to just put a bigger body in at DE on 1st Down. Wynn, as old as he is, can't be worse against the run than Carter. (I know, I know, he really came on those last five games). Or, they need to make sure that Carter isn't freelancing. He has to provide some resistance. You can't let blockers get to the second level so easily.