Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10

[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.