What has happened to our Defense?...

[skinfan43]

...and can they get back to playing like the Defense we've normally been so confident in? Can GW facilitate breaking this wretched funk they've been in the entire year thusfar?
We expected some growing pains offensively with a new coordinator, players and system, but leaning on the Defense has been and was expected to be our M.O. Hopefully, with GW going against his former team where he first became known as a top coordinator, the D can get back to focused and fierce playmaking... starting with their attitude on the very first snap.
COME ON REDSKINS DEFENSE, PLAY LIKE YOU KNOW YOU CAN, FROM THIS WEEK FORWARD!:rpunch:

[Redskinfan28]

I'd like to see us stop blitzing so much - we don't have the DBs to cover. We need to protect them as much as possible and not put them on an island all the time.

[skinfan43]

I'd like to see us stop blitzing so much - we don't have the DBs to cover. We need to protect them as much as possible and not put them on an island all the time.
Good point, and when we have blitzed it's looked like we got Mike Nolan back here as our DC:rolleyes:
This just means the DLine and 'backers gotta get their "nasty" back, and hit their opponents in the mouth again and again, for 60 minutes, no excuses.

[Dolla Bill]

Good point, and when we have blitzed it's looked like we got Mike Nolan back here as our DC:rolleyes:
This just means the DLine and 'backers gotta get their "nasty" back, and hit their opponents in the mouth again and again, for 60 minutes, no excuses.


The DL need to generate some amount of pressure. Anything is better than what we have. The secondary and LB unit need to get back to the basics of wrapping up a tackle and to hold onto a pick.

[greatest2]

it all starts with the run stopping!!

stop the run, allows us the pin the ears back for the pass.

key to our defense is the key to every defense, we just did it well the past years : run stop and TACKLE

[RedskinRyan]

maybe the dline had overachieved the last 2 years(remember that 4 of daniels 8 sacks last year were in the dallas thrashing). griffin seemed to be the most consistent of our players, and the one we missed the most on the line. golston is filling in very nicely for saleve'a though. who knows with carter.

[GibbsFan]

Right now it looks like we are trying to be a bend but not break defense. Keeping everything in front and depend on other teams to beat themselves with mistakes and turnovers. The problem with that strategy is that good teams will just take what you give them, possess the FB and score which puts more pressure on an inconsistent offense.

As I see it Springs was more valuable than anyone thought. Without him we are playing so soft that on 3rd & short we stay 8-10 yds off the ball. Alot of waht GW was doing in 04 had to do with rolling the corners up and challenging offenses to throw the ball, while mixing his blitz packages from multiple positions. Now we are just begging them to throw it on us, while we look way too predictable.

Up front the DL is not getting off blocks. Carter does not shed blocks at all against the run, once he's engaged any play at his POA will get 4 or 5 yds, and a lot more if the 2nd level gets blocked. He would be better utilized as situational pass rusher only. AA has not filled against the run either, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of doubt for now because of our weak coverage. Sean Taylor's game appears to have dipped too, but I'm not sure whats bothering him, maybe some little injury or something.

Our best D to me was in 04, since then we have been in steady decline...

[redskin_rich]

I'd like to see us stop blitzing so much - we don't have the DBs to cover. We need to protect them as much as possible and not put them on an island all the time.
We didn't blitz much at all last week, other than a few DB blitzes. The couple times we brought two LB's on a blitz, were the couple times we actually stopped or broke up a play. I saw us rush 3 DL and still get torched deep repeatedly. We need to get pressure anyway it takes, even if it means bringing 7 guys at the QB. I'd rather lose being aggressive than watch these QB's sit back all day until they find someone open.
To answer the title of this thread, our defense has been castrated, that's what has happened.

[oldskinfan]

I'd like to see us stop blitzing so much - we don't have the DBs to cover. We need to protect them as much as possible and not put them on an island all the time.

It seems like when we play cover 2 we *still* get beat down the middle of the field. So, on the contrary I think we need to blitz more! (or at least more creatively)...do some zone blitzes, stunts...if we are gonna get beat, at least blitzes put the QB's on their tocas and have them thinking more.

I remember GW's first year here. Journeyman Matt Bowen seemed like a superstar.

[ryflan47]

I can't begin to explain what the heck happened! How does 1 player have such an affect? He doesn't!!

[becky]

We didn't blitz much at all last week, other than a few DB blitzes. The couple times we brought two LB's on a blitz, were the couple times we actually stopped or broke up a play. I saw us rush 3 DL and still get torched deep repeatedly. We need to get pressure anyway it takes, even if it means bringing 7 guys at the QB. I'd rather lose being aggressive than watch these QB's sit back all day until they find someone open.
To answer the title of this thread, our defense has been castrated, that's what has happened.


I agree Rich, we're getting burnt deep now.. why not step it up and see what happens? I totally get the secondary concerns (I think we are all well versed in them by now after collectively cringing every time the opposing QB drops back to pass), but playing it safe doesn't really seem to be working.

[shally]

It seems like when we play cover 2 we *still* get beat down the middle of the field. So, on the contrary I think we need to blitz more! (or at least more creatively)...do some zone blitzes, stunts...if we are gonna get beat, at least blitzes put the QB's on their tocas and have them thinking more.

I remember GW's first year here. Journeyman Matt Bowen seemed like a superstar.


we do not play cover 2... by definition when one of your safeties is within 5 yards of the line, that is NOT cover 2... that is part of the problem. when you see marshall trying to cover terry glenn 40 yards downfield in the endzone that is NOT cover 2.. whatever it is, it is some combination of 4-4-3.. and it simply is not working without tremendous pressure onthe passer. and that is something we have never gotten consistently through 5 games.

[shally]

I agree Rich, we're getting burnt deep now.. why not step it up and see what happens? I totally get the secondary concerns (I think we are all well versed in them by now after collectively cringing every time the opposing QB drops back to pass), but playing it safe doesn't really seem to be working.

not when a guys like bledsoe and leftwich who are immobile had so much time they never had to even move around.. brad johnson beat the pressure by making really pretty hot reads and it looked like the defense got spooked and started to pull back and try to cover rather than pressure. that simply is not going to work with the quality of coverage men we have

[redskin_rich]

not when a guys like bledsoe and leftwich who are immobile had so much time they never had to even move around.. brad johnson beat the pressure by making really pretty hot reads and it looked like the defense got spooked and started to pull back and try to cover rather than pressure. that simply is not going to work with the quality of coverage men we have
I've never seen a defense that worked by pulling back more players into coverage. Any time a QB is given 5 or more seconds in the pocket, he will find an open receiver. We don't have to blitz every play but we can disguise the coverages and the pass rush better than we are. We are playing vanilla defense, for lack of a better word.

Actually, this week may be the one time I agree with what we have been doing, since we are playing a rookie QB that has serious wheels. I'll tell you what though, we had better have this defense fixed when we play McNabb and the Eagles or he is going to light us up with his arm and his legs.

[santanadasavior]

I've never seen a defense that worked by pulling back more players into coverage. Any time a QB is given 5 or more seconds in the pocket, he will find an open receiver. We don't have to blitz every play but we can disguise the coverages and the pass rush better than we are. We are playing vanilla defense, for lack of a better word.

Actually, this week may be the one time I agree with what we have been doing, since we are playing a rookie QB that has serious wheels. I'll tell you what though, we had better have this defense fixed when we play McNabb and the Eagles or he is going to light us up with his arm and his legs.

I completely agree, the one time I saw us disguise coverages Mike Rumph hit the line way early and they saw it coming and Jacobs was able to make a block and they got a big play. I think that we need to do more overloading and zones and things of the such to confuse Young. If we play vanilla defense he will even be able to pick us apart.

[shally]

I've never seen a defense that worked by pulling back more players into coverage. Any time a QB is given 5 or more seconds in the pocket, he will find an open receiver. We don't have to blitz every play but we can disguise the coverages and the pass rush better than we are. We are playing vanilla defense, for lack of a better word.

Actually, this week may be the one time I agree with what we have been doing, since we are playing a rookie QB that has serious wheels. I'll tell you what though, we had better have this defense fixed when we play McNabb and the Eagles or he is going to light us up with his arm and his legs.

we have not had much success against mcnabb (other than last year) since his second year as a pro.. we will be very lucky to split against the eagles this year..

and you are correct that sitting back in coverage only works if you have people who can actually cover..

[GibbsFan]

I hope we blitz Young early and often but with Peyton Iwould go back to the conservative approach and hope we canget back to running the FB and ball control.

[shally]

I hope we blitz Young early and often but with Peyton Iwould go back to the conservative approach and hope we canget back to running the FB and ball control.

sitting back against peyton simply does not work.. you have to get in his face.. we do not have the horses to do that so the only thing we can hope to do is control the game by running the ball about 40 times and hope that the colts receivers drop a few 3rd down passes...

[AliBabba]

sitting back against peyton simply does not work.. you have to get in his face.. we do not have the horses to do that so the only thing we can hope to do is control the game by running the ball about 40 times and hope that the colts receivers drop a few 3rd down passes...
read Shawn Merriman and the Chargers D last year

[bgforever]

maybe the dline had overachieved the last 2 years(remember that 4 of daniels 8 sacks last year were in the dallas thrashing). griffin seemed to be the most consistent of our players, and the one we missed the most on the line. golston is filling in very nicely for saleve'a though. who knows with carter.

these guys have fooled us. They have been playing hurt all along, bearing it and to be honest, some may have been doing too much, in spite of not just excruciating pain, but a likelihood of reinjury (Saleve'a, Grif, Wynn, MW(he may have far more ill than we could have imagined). Maybe Taylor's bearing some hidden scares too. Many players play with pain and all, but I have a feeling they really been bearing a lot more than we thought. Like C. Samuels last year, and even Ray Brown.

Look at SS, he tried twice to come back too soon. Man they want it, but time is their best bet. Now Salave'a's singing that tune. Good for our team to be able to do all of this early on, this should bode well in the winter stretch! :)

[shally]

read Shawn Merriman and the Chargers D last year

i had hoped we had the same type of player in andre carter.. i was sadly mistaken...

but that is the concept.. beat him up.. legally bounce him around and make his feel uncomfortable.. it is not easily done, but since the nfl tightened up on hitting receivers that is the only option.. play keep away and rough him up.

the chargers had the perfect type of team. pittsburgh also... we do not.

[shally]

these guys have fooled us. They have been playing hurt all along, bearing it and to be honest, some may have been doing too much, in spite of not just excruciating pain, but a likelihood of reinjury (Saleve'a, Grif, Wynn, MW(he may have far more ill than we could have imagined). Maybe Taylor's bearing some hidden scares too. Many players play with pain and all, but I have a feeling they really been bearing a lot more than we thought. Like C. Samuels last year, and even Ray Brown.

Look at SS, he tried twice to come back too soon. Man they want it, but time is their best bet. Now Salave'a's singing that tune. Good for our team to be able to do all of this early on, this should bode well in the winter stretch! :)

unfortunately, we may be so far behind in the division by then it may not matter if we are healthier

[redskin_rich]

i had hoped we had the same type of player in andre carter.. i was sadly mistaken...

but that is the concept.. beat him up.. legally bounce him around and make his feel uncomfortable.. it is not easily done, but since the nfl tightened up on hitting receivers that is the only option.. play keep away and rough him up.

the chargers had the perfect type of team. pittsburgh also... we do not.
The teams that Peyton Manning has struggled with have mostly been 3-4 defenses. San Diego, Pittsburgh and most notably, New England. We don't have the personnel to use that formation more than a couple times, so we are just going to have to pull out all the stops. If GW has been saving anything, he better break it out for that game.

[shally]

The teams that Peyton Manning has struggled with have mostly been 3-4 defenses. San Diego, Pittsburgh and most notably, New England. We don't have the personnel to use that formation more than a couple times, so we are just going to have to pull out all the stops. If GW has been saving anything, he better break it out for that game.

agreed.. the only chance we have is if they come out flat and we play the best game of the season.. on any given sunday... but it would be a major upset

[SpicyMcHaggis]

The thing that I don't get about our D is that Williams is allegedly holding back on the blitzing because he does not want to leave the corners and safeties on an island because they will get burned. But hello? That is exactly what is happening!! I think we are the second worst team in the league in terms of giving up big plays. So, at this point, since the personnel is not gonna change, and Springs is not coming back this Sunday (and I honestly don't know when he will), we might as well try something different, since what has happened so far has been a disaster. Hey, at least if we let them score on an 80 yard bomb instead of after an 8 minute drive, we will have the opportunity to get the offense in rhythm because we will run more plays...

[SkinsKY]

I'd like to see us stop blitzing so much - we don't have the DBs to cover. We need to protect them as much as possible and not put them on an island all the time.

I don't think we're blitzing all that much. Here is our problem: We can blitz and leave inexperienced DBs in man coverage, or we can keep guys back in coverage and give QBs ten seconds to throw the ball, in which time they can read the coverage and make the throw. A rule of thumb is an ounce of pass rush is worth a pund of coverage. Simply put, if we hurry the QB, doesn't have time to always make the smart thow. No DB is very good if he has to sit in coverage for 5+ seconds. Williams also hasn't blitzed nearly as much as he used to, or at least hasn't been as creative.

[Patrick]

WHAT HAS HAPPEN TO OUR DEFENSE? ............

How about a lack of field leadership. From what I've seen, there is simply no-one stepping up an assuming that role. The D has plenty of talent to be one of the best units in the league but there is just no one stepping up and "Bringing It" on a weekly basis consistently.

[smoak]

I would do the following:

Reinsert Wynn into the lineup over Carter immediately.
Bring Carter in on obvious passing downs
Phase McIntosh in on passing downs to both blitz and cover TEs
Hold people accountable for poor play. All CBs get burned, but when it the same type of mistake over and over, they should be replaced in the lineup. I'd insert Jimoh over Wright.
I'd play Evans more (D-line rotations are great, and I've never understood why we don't do this more)
If PP wasn't hurt, I'd get Arch out of the lineup.... but he is so I'd at least look at some of the other guys in practice. Maybe Jimoh could play S in Nickle and Dime coverages. Or try Fox/Doughtey.
I'd moe Sean Taylor around a lot more including blitzes and man to man coverage. So what if we get burnt... we're being burnt now.
I'd carefully choose when to blitz and disguise it better. Several times I've felt players have given away the blitz before the snap only to have the offense adjust.
I'd play some underneath man-zone hybrids so that we have a guy allowed to "roam" underneath.

But GW didn't forget how to coach and we are fine. The player just need to make plays or be replaced.

People may not remember this or agree, but a lot of these problems started last season when our defense was very "hit or miss". I was very critical of them and GW (even though I had and have faith.)

[BigPlayJay]

I'd insert Jimoh over Wright.


Wow, I thought I was the only one thinking this! Banner day for the once embattled Mr. Jimoh when at least two Redskin fans are longing for his return to the CB position!

By the way couldn't our blitzers do a better job of disguising their blitzes? We get no element of surprise!

[joethefan]

we need to look for a cover corner.... Auburn played alot of Zone coverage...meaning that Carlos has issues with one on one coverage...
(We all see it). He may have to be moved to the nickel.....if and when we get another cover corner.

[BigPlayJay]

we need to look for a cover corner.... Auburn played alot of Zone coverage...meaning that Carlos has issues with one on one coverage...
(We all see it). He may have to be moved to the nickel.....if and when we get another cover corner.

IMO Carlos isn't playing too bad considering the assignments he's been getting. If he had any help he would probably be very solid, aside from his hands which must be made of cement!