Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10

But weren't we top 10 in 2005? So if we can drop so much in one year why can't the opposite happen?

Becuase its much easier to be bad than to be good. It takes no effort to fall, you simply have to do nothing, it takes a lot of effort to climb.

does anyone know how to change you name? mine needed to go a long time ago...

But weren't we top 10 in 2005? So if we can drop so much in one year why can't the opposite happen?

Never said it couldn't happen, I just said it would be a rare jump. You very seldom see teams go from nearly dead last in overall D all the way to top tier-caliber in one season. Don't get me wrong, I hope it happens, I just don't think it's probable.

Becuase its much easier to be bad than to be good. It takes no effort to fall, you simply have to do nothing, it takes a lot of effort to climb.

Exactly.

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.

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. :(

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

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.

The fact of the matter is we're all speculating right now. I tend to disagree that our secondary will get toasted as it did last year. No one knows that for sure.

I think GW and Gray will work more closely this year. I would also count on guys like Rogers, Taylor, and yes, Landry playing quite well which will help us out. Throw in role players like PP and Smooty, and we should be fine. I think stellar would be the exception, but solid would be the expectation here.

I think that with Marshall back in his natural position, teams will TRY that and find it to be unsuccessful really quick. It's not that I didn't give him a chance, I just cannot fathom how Warrick Holdman was an NFL player.