BurgundyNGold Glasses: Williams Looks for a Different 46 Defense

[BurgundyNGold]

New on the blog, Gregg Williams has something to prove:

http://www.hailredskins.com/?p=144

Guff on.

[redskin_rich]

That was an incredibly concise summation of the recent past and the present state of affairs with GW's defense.
Who wrote this? ;)

[BurgundyNGold]

That was an incredibly concise summation of the recent past and the present state of affairs with GW's defense.
Who wrote this? ;)
I'm too tired and sober to be amusing, lol. ;)

[MikeBass]

I think that you are finally getting it BnG.

[DoGood]

Judging by the preseason, I think the players have a lot to prove as well. We looked mad in the preseason and I believe that both the players and GW are on a mission to carry this team. I haven't forgotten our Defense completely keeping us in games in 2004. This year they will have much more help from the offense, however. The lack of turnovers is killing us though. Once we start raking in the turnovers this defense will be intimidating to face.

Also, Landry's presence alone gives this defense a huge shot of speed. He makes up his mind and makes a bee-line towards it. Our safeties are SICK.

[MikeBass]

Judging by the preseason, I think the players have a lot to prove as well. We looked mad in the preseason and I believe that both the players and GW are on a mission to carry this team. I haven't forgotten our Defense completely keeping us in games in 2004. This year they will have much more help from the offense, however. The lack of turnovers is killing us though. Once we start raking in the turnovers this defense will be intimidating to face.

Also, Landry's presence alone gives this defense a huge shot of speed. He makes up his mind and makes a bee-line towards it. Our safeties are SICK.

I think that you're right but GW has nothing to prove, he is already an accomplished defensive coordinator. Last season it would not have mattered if we had Buddy Ryan or whomever, good defensive players were either not there or healthy enough for a successful season on D.

[jaylen]

Good read.

I wonder with Washington ailing will he activate Wilson and play him in that pass rush end spot on 3rd downs in game 1.

Would be a nice option.

In your read it talks about Evans and Daniels being the pass rush tackles on obvious passing downs, well I hope thats not the case that often I still like griff more than Daniels or Evans rushing the passer.

I'm a tad disappointed we didn't cut Daniels.

[The Skinsinator]

He can be the best defensive mind in nfl history. With the rash of injuries we had and with plenty of suspect talent any plan will ultimately fail. I'm happy they brought in lots of new defensive talent despite the inattention to the dline.

[DoGood]

I think that you're right but GW has nothing to prove, he is already an accomplished defensive coordinator. Last season it would not have mattered if we had Buddy Ryan or whomever, good defensive players were either not there or healthy enough for a successful season on D.

Can't argue with that. Although, it is safe to say that GW is one determined individual. He is a great addition to our staff and is set about a purpose.

[shally]

New on the blog, Gregg Williams has something to prove:

http://www.hailredskins.com/?p=144

Guff on.

i think the most important aspect of the defensive offseason was the recognition that, no matter what scheme used, speed and tackling ability are paramount. or in other words, getting as many players to the ball in a hurry is what has to happen

the short term results looked promising, but that was preseason and so it makes it hard to tell if it will carry over to the regular season. we wont have to wait long to find out

[shally]

I think that you're right but GW has nothing to prove, he is already an accomplished defensive coordinator. Last season it would not have mattered if we had Buddy Ryan or whomever, good defensive players were either not there or healthy enough for a successful season on D.

i think you are totally wrong about GW having nothing to prove.. not only have his dreams of becoming a head coach taken a body blow, but even his potential retention as def coordinator took a lot of hits as well. it does not matter what your prior reputation is if your defensive stats take you from top 10 to bottom 3 inthe course of 3 years. owners and personnel men take notice of that sort of thing.

this is a critical year for williams. either he shows he is creative enough to adapt to the changing offenses of the nfl or his star will continue to plummet

[redskinz#1fan]

Good write-up BNG! I'm eager to see what our D-fense is going to do!

[VegasSkinsFan]

Great read. The only thing that scares me is if teams pass on the early downs or if they go hurry-up on 3rd....we will always have our slow-rush line in. All in all I still expect a huge upgrade in our d this year. GO SKINS !!!

[jaylen]

i think you are totally wrong about GW having nothing to prove.. not only have his dreams of becoming a head coach taken a body blow, but even his potential retention as def coordinator took a lot of hits as well. it does not matter what your prior reputation is if your defensive stats take you from top 10 to bottom 3 inthe course of 3 years. owners and personnel men take notice of that sort of thing.

this is a critical year for williams. either he shows he is creative enough to adapt to the changing offenses of the nfl or his star will continue to plummet

I agree with this, I think the reasons he failed with the Bills resurfaced as Def cord last season with the Skins. I think he thought he was gonna inherit the Skins head coaching job when Gibbs leaves and that was the primary reason he didn't leave the prior off season for the Rams which he was speculated to have been a candidate for. With last seasons debacle his star fell so far and fast that Cowher talk has killed his chance possibly here suceeding Gibbs and may have ruined any other outside head coaching opportunities.

Thats why he released those vets, drafted the player in Landry I think he thought could help him immediatly and simplified the gameplans. He wants to estore his rep as a defensive guru to say the least and possibly restore dreams of being a head man again.

[hogskins]

I agree with this, I think the reasons he failed with the Bills resurfaced as Def cord last season with the Skins. I think he thought he was gonna inherit the Skins head coaching job when Gibbs leaves and that was the primary reason he didn't leave the prior off season for the Rams which he was speculated to have been a candidate for. With last seasons debacle his star fell so far and fast that Cowher talk has killed his chance possibly here suceeding Gibbs and may have ruined any other outside head coaching opportunities.

Thats why he released those vets, drafted the player in Landry I think he thought could help him immediatly and simplified the gameplans. He wants to estore his rep as a defensive guru to say the least and possibly restore dreams of being a head man again.

And even if the defense rebounds bigtime this year (and I think it will), he has HC credentials in the neighorhood of Norv's .

[skinfanjon]

i think you are totally wrong about GW having nothing to prove.. not only have his dreams of becoming a head coach taken a body blow, but even his potential retention as def coordinator took a lot of hits as well. it does not matter what your prior reputation is if your defensive stats take you from top 10 to bottom 3 inthe course of 3 years. owners and personnel men take notice of that sort of thing.

this is a critical year for williams. either he shows he is creative enough to adapt to the changing offenses of the nfl or his star will continue to plummet

I couldn't agree more. This is such a critical year for everyone involved with the Skins....Gibbs, Saunders, Williams, Portis, Campbell...everyone has a lot on the line. We are at the perverbial fork in the road as a franchise and this year will determine which way we are headed, I think.

Great read BnG, well written and carefully constructed. Right on the money, too.

[panthro]

excellent read BnG. very good writing and couldn't agree more with the points made.

[MikeBass]

i think you are totally wrong about GW having nothing to prove.. not only have his dreams of becoming a head coach taken a body blow, but even his potential retention as def coordinator took a lot of hits as well. it does not matter what your prior reputation is if your defensive stats take you from top 10 to bottom 3 inthe course of 3 years. owners and personnel men take notice of that sort of thing.

this is a critical year for williams. either he shows he is creative enough to adapt to the changing offenses of the nfl or his star will continue to plummet

Well put Shally but, whether we like it or not, I think that after this season he inherits the job from Gibbs even if we have an average ranked defense so it really does not matter what the rest of the league's owners think of his abilities.

We actually became top 10 to to bottom 3 in a matter of a season and that does not usually happen because of the coaches inability to coach , he has proved that he is a top 10 producing defensive coach (heck Williams has proven that he can produce a #1 ranked defense), it is more a product of drastic player personel changes, either by losing players via free agency or injuries and we have experienced both in the last couple of seasons. I am sure that owners and personel men has taken notice of this as well.

[smoak]

Great article man. I'm looking forward to standing sholder to sholder with you tomorrow.

[MikeBass]

I agree with this, I think the reasons he failed with the Bills resurfaced as Def cord last season with the Skins. I think he thought he was gonna inherit the Skins head coaching job when Gibbs leaves and that was the primary reason he didn't leave the prior off season for the Rams which he was speculated to have been a candidate for. With last seasons debacle his star fell so far and fast that Cowher talk has killed his chance possibly here suceeding Gibbs and may have ruined any other outside head coaching opportunities.

Thats why he released those vets, drafted the player in Landry I think he thought could help him immediatly and simplified the gameplans. He wants to estore his rep as a defensive guru to say the least and possibly restore dreams of being a head man again.

Where is the "Cowher talk" coming from? Certainly not from anyone within the 'Skins organization. Cowher is not coming back to the NFL especially while his daughters are playing Princeton basketball.

Anytime things seems to be going wrong, fans and media starts to prematurely jump on the the first person they can find to jump on. This guy has been with us for 3 seasons and produced 2 top 10 defensive squads, ran into a little trouble last season and reorganized a team that should get the defense back to prominance and all we can focus on is the one season that failed.

[jaylen]

Where is the "Cowher talk" coming from? Certainly not from anyone within the 'Skins organization. Cowher is not coming back to the NFL especially while his daughters are playing Princeton basketball.

Anytime things seems to be going wrong, fans and media starts to prematurely jump on the the first person they can find to jump on. This guy has been with us for 3 seasons and produced 2 top 10 defensive squads, ran into a little trouble last season and reorganized a team that should get the defense back to prominance and all we can focus on is the one season that failed.

It was in the media last season.

I think GW can coach. I like the guy we had a bad year because of lack of depth and he gambled on bad talent. Holdman should have never played and signing of Archuleta was a terrible decision all on his watch combine that with the injuries and it was a debacle.

He has to reestablish himself somewhat in NFL circles I think to reenergize himself as a head coaching candidate.

I think he was the heir apparent here, but with the bad season I think the whispers of Cowher are real. He reestablishes himself and I think attention turns back towards him when Gibbs leaves.

[MikeBass]

It was in the media last season.

I think GW can coach. I like the guy we had a bad year because of lack of depth and he gambled on bad talent. Holdman should have never played and signing of Archuleta was a terrible decision all on his watch combine that with the injuries and it was a debacle.

He has to reestablish himself somewhat in NFL circles I think to reenergize himself as a head coaching candidate.

I think he was the heir apparent here, but with the bad season I think the whispers of Cowher are real. He reestablishes himself and I think attention turns back towards him when Gibbs leaves.

Even if we would have a #1 defense this season and Cowher would be remotely available for us he would be a better choice because he has proven himself to be a top NFL head coach just as GW has proven himself to be a top NFL DC but Cowher is not going to happen because he is not going to be available.

Regardless of what the media says, it is Snyder's decision to make and I am sure that Gibbs will have an influence on the decision as to who is going to be his heir and GW was, and probably still is, his guy. I just hope that Gibbs knowledge will rub off on a younger Williams and he too will be a top head coach for years to come.

[GibbsRules!]

B & G...I think you missed your calling my friend! Great write up.

I'm looking forward to a healthy, fast, punishing defense reminiscent of the one we enjoyed a mere 2 years ago. I have a strong feeling this unit will bounce back with a vengeance!

[shally]

I couldn't agree more. This is such a critical year for everyone involved with the Skins....Gibbs, Saunders, Williams, Portis, Campbell...everyone has a lot on the line. We are at the perverbial fork in the road as a franchise and this year will determine which way we are headed, I think.

Great read BnG, well written and carefully constructed. Right on the money, too.

i hope we see everyone approaching the miami game with a tremendous sense of urgency.. nothing would be worse than if the team lays an egg the way it did against the vikes last year.

i think gibbs and the other coaches really have the team's attention now.. it is up to them

[shally]

Well put Shally but, whether we like it or not, I think that after this season he inherits the job from Gibbs even if we have an average ranked defense so it really does not matter what the rest of the league's owners think of his abilities.

We actually became top 10 to to bottom 3 in a matter of a season and that does not usually happen because of the coaches inability to coach , he has proved that he is a top 10 producing defensive coach (heck Williams has proven that he can produce a #1 ranked defense), it is more a product of drastic player personel changes, either by losing players via free agency or injuries and we have experienced both in the last couple of seasons. I am sure that owners and personel men has taken notice of this as well.

again, i respectfully disagree. i think it is far from certain that GW inherits anything.. another bottom 1/3 defensive effort and he may be looking for another job.. especially if someone like cowher or grimm is brought in from outside. gibbs may or may not move up. and he may or may not coach a full 5 years. but williams is on a short leash as of now and his defense MUST produce

[MikeBass]

again, i respectfully disagree. i think it is far from certain that GW inherits anything.. another bottom 1/3 defensive effort and he may be looking for another job.. especially if someone like cowher or grimm is brought in from outside. gibbs may or may not move up. and he may or may not coach a full 5 years. but williams is on a short leash as of now and his defense MUST produce

Maybe, but from what he has produced in Washington does not dictate that this will happen.

The guy has coordinated very good defensive football in DC when his players were able to show up and produce for him.

[shally]

Maybe, but from what he has produced in Washington does not dictate that this will happen.

The guy has coordinated very good defensive football in DC when his players were able to show up and produce for him.
all true.. but his pattern has been one of deterioration from year 1 through year 3.. and this despite having the top overall pick in the draft being a defensive player 4 years in a row now..
moreover, i have to believe that the decision NOT to go after d line help in the draft or free agency was made with his blessing.. the young guys have to produce.

overall, if he cant get it done getting the players he wants, he does not deserve to be a head coach. and further, he has to prove that offenses have not caught on to his schemes. this is a critical off season for GW

[MikeBass]

all true.. but his pattern has been one of deterioration from year 1 through year 3.. and this despite having the top overall pick in the draft being a defensive player 4 years in a row now..
moreover, i have to believe that the decision NOT to go after d line help in the draft or free agency was made with his blessing.. the young guys have to produce.

overall, if he cant get it done getting the players he wants, he does not deserve to be a head coach. and further, he has to prove that offenses have not caught on to his schemes. this is a critical off season for GW

Yes and 3 of the four Taylor, Landry and McIntosh should be VERY prominant in a very good defense this season. Rogers is not a bad corner so he did not do a bad job at drafting good talent. Throw in Montgomery, Golston and Blades and he has done a helluva job at getting good, young talent with what we had to work with.

If we are going to start naming people who are going to have to prove themselves because of one bad season, why are we not mentioning Moss and Portis, are their jobs on the line also?

[redskin_rich]

Maybe, but from what he has produced in Washington does not dictate that this will happen.

The guy has coordinated very good defensive football in DC when his players were able to show up and produce for him.

There was a lot of dysfunction, among the entire defensive staff last year and it falls squarely on the shoulders of GW, who is probably the highest paid DC and the only one with a million $ parachute, if he isn't the next head coach. GW had a LB coach running off at the mouth to the media, two secondary coaches that would not hold meetings together, nor communicate with each other and worst of all, at least one player exposing the dirty laundry to the public.
At that to the stats that are record breaking in futility and you have somebody that is on the serious hot seat in GW.
Once again, he has the players he wanted and his unit got the most attention, this offseason. Now, he has to produce, no excuses and the past doesn't matter.
I say the same thing for Gibbs.

[MikeBass]

There was a lot of dysfunction, among the entire defensive staff last year and it falls squarely on the shoulders of GW, who is probably the highest paid DC and the only one with a million $ parachute, if he isn't the next head coach. GW had a LB coach running off at the mouth to the media, two secondary coaches that would not hold meetings together, nor communicate with each other and worst of all, at least one player exposing the dirty laundry to the public.
At that to the stats that are record breaking in futility and you have somebody that is on the serious hot seat in GW.
Once again, he has the players he wanted and his unit got the most attention, this offseason. Now, he has to produce, no excuses and the past doesn't matter.
I say the same thing for Gibbs.

What!!?? How can Williams control what comes out grown people mouths until after it has been said or the player is exposed?

He should not be in charge of baby sitting players nor coaches but I know for a fact that he fired the LB coach in question.

This guy has produced and from what we have seen thus far, he is ready to produce again. That is what matters

[redskin_rich]

What!!?? How can Williams control what comes out grown people mouths until after it has been said or the player is exposed?

He should not be in charge of baby sitting players nor coaches but I know for a fact that he fired the LB coach in question.

This guy has produced and from what we have seen thus far, he is ready to produce again. That is what matters

You have a somewhat reasonable point about the Lindsay mouthing off thing but what about the secondary coach squabble?

Yeah, he has to produce this year and that is all that matters. And that goes for everybody, from GW, to Saunders, to Gibbs. This is year 4 of the deal and success is mandatory or its time to go in a different direction.

[MikeBass]

You have a somewhat reasonable point about the Lindsay mouthing off thing but what about the secondary coach squabble?

Yeah, he has to produce this year and that is all that matters. And that goes for everybody, from GW, to Saunders, to Gibbs. This is year 4 of the deal and success is mandatory or its time to go in a different direction.

Believe me I agree with you, with the guys that we aquired on defense and offense in the past 4 years it is time to get something done.

Edit....

I have not heard of a secondary coach squabble but if there is one and he knows about it he should get a handle on that. Jerry Gray is the only secondary coach that I know of, Why would there be more?

[shally]

Yes and 3 of the four Taylor, Landry and McIntosh should be VERY prominant in a very good defense this season. Rogers is not a bad corner so he did not do a bad job at drafting good talent. Throw in Montgomery, Golston and Blades and he has done a helluva job at getting good, young talent with what we had to work with.

If we are going to start naming people who are going to have to prove themselves because of one bad season, why are we not mentioning Moss and Portis, are their jobs on the line also?

portis does need to prove he is still an elite back.. the offense will revolve around him and if he fails to regain his prior form it will result in too much pressure on JC to have to carry the offense. plus, there is the issue of his less than stellar off season conditioning work. he needs to step things up
and take better care of his body

moss has been consistently productive since he has been here other than when he has been nicked. without him, there are no playoffs 2 years ago.
without him, this year, i do not see a deep threat. but he is a hard worker
and i can find no fault with him

[MikeBass]

portis does need to prove he is still an elite back.. the offense will revolve around him and if he fails to regain his prior form it will result in too much pressure on JC to have to carry the offense. plus, there is the issue of his less than stellar off season conditioning work. he needs to step things up
and take better care of his body

moss has been consistently productive since he has been here other than when he has been nicked. without him, there are no playoffs 2 years ago.
without him, this year, i do not see a deep threat. but he is a hard worker
and i can find no fault with him


My point is why should Portis' shoulder or Moss' "nicks" give them excuses that Williams' injured defense was not allowed to have last season?...Williams does not play on the field but he was just as enabled as they were

I expect all 3 to come back just fine

[shally]

My point is why should Portis' shoulder or Moss' "nicks" give them excuses that Williams' injured defense was not allowed to have last season?...Williams does not play on the field but he was just as enabled as they were

I expect all 3 to come back just fine

the difference is that the buck stops with williams because he is the architect of the defense. calls the formations. picks the players for his side of the roster. he cannot control injuries, but he can decide when to blitz and when not to.. his overall reliance on the blitz has been a subject of intense debate.. i am NOT a fan of any defense that does not use the front four as a focus of qb pressure. GW does not. i think this concept is flawed. and the idea that it takes root in buddy ryans pressure defenses at chicago and philly is also known. in chicago he had one of the best front 4's of a generation. they didnt even need the back 7 to create pressure and stop the run. in philly, the defense got beaten in the playoffs by teams with good enough o lines to expose the weaknesses. but they also had a superior d line.

moreover, someone did a study during the playoff run in 2005 that showed that the less GW blitzed, the better the overall defense performed.

we are going to have a laboratory for GW's philosophy that it is the back 7 that is key to a pressure defense rather than the front 4.. by now, he has the players in place to make this happen. let's see if this works ?

[MikeBass]

the difference is that the buck stops with williams because he is the architect of the defense. calls the formations. picks the players for his side of the roster. he cannot control injuries, but he can decide when to blitz and when not to.. his overall reliance on the blitz has been a subject of intense debate.. i am NOT a fan of any defense that does not use the front four as a focus of qb pressure. GW does not. i think this concept is flawed. and the idea that it takes root in buddy ryans pressure defenses at chicago and philly is also known. in chicago he had one of the best front 4's of a generation. they didnt even need the back 7 to create pressure and stop the run. in philly, the defense got beaten in the playoffs by teams with good enough o lines to expose the weaknesses. but they also had a superior d line.

moreover, someone did a study during the playoff run in 2005 that showed that the less GW blitzed, the better the overall defense performed.

we are going to have a laboratory for GW's philosophy that it is the back 7 that is key to a pressure defense rather than the front 4.. by now, he has the players in place to make this happen. let's see if this works ?

It is about getting the right players to run the scheme that he has put together and I think that he was given the leeway to do this and this is why we did not go DL crazy in free agency nor the draft.

[shally]

It is about getting the right players to run the scheme that he has put together and I think that he was given the leeway to do this and this is why we did not go DL crazy in free agency nor the draft.

you are correct.. so this is the year that GW has to put it all together.
i cant wait to see things working starting today..

[Hr fan]

And even if the defense rebounds bigtime this year (and I think it will), he has HC credentials in the neighorhood of Norv's .

His contract guarantees him $1M if he doesn't get the HC job when Gibbs leaves. To Snyder this is chump change and doesn't even count towards the cap. IMO the guarantee was to keep him here until a new HC is selected, not to guarantee him the HC job. His media relations, a priority HC function, suck, tho he is better here than Buffalo.

[Hr fan]

the difference is that the buck stops with williams because he is the architect of the defense. calls the formations. picks the players for his side of the roster. he cannot control injuries, but he can decide when to blitz and when not to.. his overall reliance on the blitz has been a subject of intense debate.. i am NOT a fan of any defense that does not use the front four as a focus of qb pressure. GW does not. i think this concept is flawed. and the idea that it takes root in buddy ryans pressure defenses at chicago and philly is also known. in chicago he had one of the best front 4's of a generation. they didnt even need the back 7 to create pressure and stop the run. in philly, the defense got beaten in the playoffs by teams with good enough o lines to expose the weaknesses. but they also had a superior d line.

moreover, someone did a study during the playoff run in 2005 that showed that the less GW blitzed, the better the overall defense performed.

we are going to have a laboratory for GW's philosophy that it is the back 7 that is key to a pressure defense rather than the front 4.. by now, he has the players in place to make this happen. let's see if this works ?

Agree. I also believe the lack of TOs is directly related to his blitzes. You can't break on the ball if everybody is blitzing and there is no one behind you.