Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[quote=Dirtbag359;736822]In todays NFL turnovers and sacks are starting to serve as identifiers for the leagues best defenses. Besides it's only 2 games and one of them was against what I'm not afraid to call the NFL's best offense.

We really should get used to it. We'll be lucky to be in the top 15 of the traditional defensive rankings. The style is now feast or famine. We're either going to destroy teams with our defense or we're going to struggle. What happens will differ on a week to week basis.[/quote]

Yep, also look at points allowed per game, thats the indicator I look at with most significance when determining a good defense.

To your point of turnovers and sacks...look at the Saints last year. Bottom third of league in yards allowed, but near the lead, if not led, the nfl in turnovers. I would easily call the Saints one of the better defenses in the league last year.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[quote=Dirtbag359;736822]
We really should get used to it. We'll be lucky to be in the top 15 of the traditional defensive rankings. The style is now feast or famine. We're either going to destroy teams with our defense or we're going to struggle. What happens will differ on a week to week basis.[/quote]

Couldn't agree more. I was actually going to include fans who are bitching about aggressive D in the smackdown. People complained last year about no turnovers and sacks but really low yardage. Now our philosophy is the complete opposite and the same people complain.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

I love the Tuesday Morning QB article that Gregg Easterbrook writes for ESPN this week.
I've cut and pasted an interesting view he has on the Redskins defense from this past Sunday..........

[B]On opening day, Redskins' defensive coordinator Jim Haslett called a dozen safety blitzes against Dallas, a high number, and the Skins escaped with a one-point victory on the final snap. On Sunday, Washington held a comfortable 17-point lead over the visiting Texans late in the third quarter. Play straight defense, and victory is likely. Instead, Haslett called 19 blitzes on the 40 Houston remaining snaps; Washington lost in overtime. Houston ran 40 plays from the late third quarter on? That's the sort of thing that happens against a blitz-wacky defense. Blitz, blitz, blitz resulted in 526 yards of offense, 29 first downs and 30 points allowed.

If you were wondering why NFL teams don't blitz constantly -- listening to sportsyak, you'd think the blitz is a magic formula for instant success -- the Washington collapse against Houston is your answer.

The low point came with the Redskins leading 27-20, the Moo Cows facing fourth-and-10 on the Washington 34 just before regulation's two-minute warning. Washington did not need a sack or turnover, just an incompletion. The Skins blitzed, leaving Andre Johnson -- among the league's best players -- single-covered in the end zone by safety Reed Doughty. Johnson out-leapt Doughty for the touchdown that caused overtime, a great catch. Three Skins defensive backs from the nickel package were standing in the center of the field covering no one, as the opposition's best player was single-covered in the end zone. This is the sort of thing that happens when a team blitzes too much. [/B]

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

Apparently we will live and die by the blitz this year.
We're gonna need to create more pressure up the middle to make that work.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

We've got Peyton Manning on the schedule, I shudder to think what he will do to us if we continue to blitz all day. At some point you have to mix things up a bit.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

If Doughty and Horton are in the secondary when the Skins play the Colts or the Packers, we will lose. I think with the Rams this week, the only way the Skins WON"T lose is if they just play strait up Defense. I don't think the Rams can consistently move the ball down the field. If the Skins blitz however they will have an opportunity to hit the big one on occcasion. Don't Blitz! Just rush 4 and cover. Stop Steven Jackson and they win.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[quote=Mattyk;736958]We've got Peyton Manning on the schedule, I shudder to think what he will do to us if we continue to blitz all day. [B]At some point you have to mix things up a bit.[/B][/quote]100% correct. Any NFL OC with a solid QB will destroy any predictable defense.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

I know this is the smackdown thread, but in defense of Haslett and the running game... While predictable, the defense is still learning a new scheme, an entirely new scheme; to prevent predictability, the defense needs to disguise itself, and this is the most complicated part of learning a defense, as well as the last thing to be mastered. Give it time, we're not that bad. As far as the running game, quite frankly, I'm excited. Yes, it was awful, but the offense too is learning a new scheme, and Shanahan's zone-blocking run game has ALWAYS been succesful. Our line? Not so good, sure. But once they get the hang of things, the run game will improve. Combine that with McNabb's abilities, and we've got an offensive threat.
Last but not least, the Texans might very well be a damn good team.
Just sayin'...

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

On Fred Davis field goal block: he's not responsible for blocking (or even chipping) Pollard, who blocked the FG. I don't think he blocked particularly well in the gap he [I]was responsible for[/I] on that play, but that's neither here nor there. That ball was held for a long time. The timing between Gano and the snapper/holder just wasn't adequate.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/09/fred_davis_and_the_blocked_fie.html]D.C. Sports Bog - Fred Davis and the blocked field goal[/url]

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

After reading this I can see the blame shouldnt be put on FDavis. In fact, it really seems like gano was SLOW to step up and chip it. Their special teams just had the right call- load up one side and Pollard is just an awesome safety- I see now he has added special teams value.

What a heart breaker it was. I was in 221 just dumbfounded. Haven't witnessed a blocked FG since the Terps at home blocked Florida State years back to seal their win as time expired.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

theplay reminded me when troy vincent blocked a fg for us but he was called offsides. vincent came from the same left outside positon pollard does, comes clean off teh line, blocks the fg but was called offsides. i forget which head coach said it at teh time, but he said it is mathmatically impossible for an outside rusher to block a fg if the the snap, hold and kick get executed on time.

sounds like the time it took for us to snap, hold and kick the ball was longer than the average nfl time.

how long does/should it take for a fg to be kicked? 2.3 seconds? less? i know they time these things and college kickers and punters entering the league have growing pains as they try and speed up their motion to fit within the nfl time for such plays.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[quote=scowan;736956]I love the Tuesday Morning QB article that Gregg Easterbrook writes for ESPN this week.
I've cut and pasted an interesting view he has on the Redskins defense from this past Sunday..........

[B]On opening day, Redskins' defensive coordinator Jim Haslett called a dozen safety blitzes against Dallas, a high number, and the Skins escaped with a one-point victory on the final snap. On Sunday, Washington held a comfortable 17-point lead over the visiting Texans late in the third quarter. Play straight defense, and victory is likely. Instead, Haslett called 19 blitzes on the 40 Houston remaining snaps; Washington lost in overtime. Houston ran 40 plays from the late third quarter on? That's the sort of thing that happens against a blitz-wacky defense. Blitz, blitz, blitz resulted in 526 yards of offense, 29 first downs and 30 points allowed.

If you were wondering why NFL teams don't blitz constantly -- listening to sportsyak, you'd think the blitz is a magic formula for instant success -- the Washington collapse against Houston is your answer.

The low point came with the Redskins leading 27-20, the Moo Cows facing fourth-and-10 on the Washington 34 just before regulation's two-minute warning. Washington did not need a sack or turnover, just an incompletion. The Skins blitzed, leaving Andre Johnson -- among the league's best players -- single-covered in the end zone by safety Reed Doughty. Johnson out-leapt Doughty for the touchdown that caused overtime, a great catch. Three Skins defensive backs from the nickel package were standing in the center of the field covering no one, as the opposition's best player was single-covered in the end zone. This is the sort of thing that happens when a team blitzes too much. [/B][/quote]

Good find. I mentioned something similar in another thread, and GTripp sort of shot down the notion. But honestly it seems pretty simple to me. They've been throwing all over us all day, why not play a little safer with a 17 point lead in the second half by running the ball more and blitzing less? I can appreciate Haslett's aggressiveness, but we have to be smart about it. That kind of blitzing against one of the premier passing attacks in the league is obviously not too smart.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[quote=GMScud;737017]Good find. I mentioned something similar in another thread, and GTripp sort of shot down the notion. But honestly it seems pretty simple to me. They've been throwing all over us all day, why not play a little safer with a 17 point lead in the second half by running the ball more and blitzing less? I can appreciate Haslett's aggressiveness, but we have to be smart about it. That kind of blitzing against one of the premier passing attacks in the league is obviously not too smart.[/quote]

GMScud, I think what Easterbrook is saying (and he says this a lot because I read his column every week and have for at least 3 years) is that Hasslet and Shannahan for that matter need to manage the clock a little better. I mean if you are up by 17 late in the 3rd Qtr, the other team should not be able to come back on you if you play straight up Defense and make them plod their way down the field. That's not to say you play "prevent", just play normal Defense, rushing 4, and tackling everything, and let the clock run.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[quote=Mattyk;736958]We've got Peyton Manning on the schedule, I shudder to think what he will do to us if we continue to blitz all day. At some point you have to mix things up a bit.[/quote]

I'm in harmony with your fear. If we blitz Manning consistently and don't get there, he'll surely make us pay.

Plus that zone defense we play 90% of the time is an open invitation for a great QB like Manning, he'll methodically pick a zone defense apart.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[quote=Slingin Sammy 33;736968]100% correct. Any NFL OC with a solid QB will destroy any predictable defense.[/quote]

The way you beat Peyton Manning is by getting pressure with just four guys and dropping everyone back into coverage. Obviously it's easier said then done. The Texans are designed to do this and look where it got there passing defense. Then again we blitzed a lot and look where it got our defense.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

I am still flabbergasted by our defensive laying down in the second half.

Gotta be smarter than that..........

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[quote=GMScud;737017]Good find. I mentioned something similar in another thread, and GTripp sort of shot down the notion. But honestly it seems pretty simple to me. They've been throwing all over us all day, why not play a little safer with a 17 point lead in the second half by running the ball more and blitzing less? I can appreciate Haslett's aggressiveness, but we have to be smart about it. That kind of blitzing against one of the premier passing attacks in the league is obviously not too smart.[/quote]I want to clarify that I was speaking in general terms about the rushing four, dropping seven stunts. I might find soon that we actually ended up unnecessarily aggressive vs. the Texans when we needed to make them throw underneath. Still have to watch the second half to know for sure.

If you're rushing 6 in 3rd and 13, that's Blache level stuff. Just because Haslett is someone new wouldn't make it defensible. Just play coverage and go make the tackle.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[quote=skinsfaninok;736833]Yea our D will play very good at times and bad at others.. Next week I wouldn't be shocked if the Rams only scored once.[/quote]

I also wouldnt be shocked if they get their one win of the season against us, ala Dallas and Detroit.......

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[quote=GTripp0012;736977]On Fred Davis field goal block: he's not responsible for blocking (or even chipping) Pollard, who blocked the FG. I don't think he blocked particularly well in the gap he [I]was responsible for[/I] on that play, but that's neither here nor there. That ball was held for a long time. The timing between Gano and the snapper/holder just wasn't adequate.[/quote]

Agreed... FD was left with two guys.. jumped out a bit realizing nobody was going to get to Pollard, and went back inside to his guy

he had a solid block on the play to Moss to the 1 after the Galloway catch, looked stout.. fell asleep watching the replay though so didn't get to watch much more

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

Cooley explains how you control both gaps on a FG

[url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/09/how_to_block_two_guys_on_a_fie.html]D.C. Sports Bog - How to block two guys on a field goal[/url]

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

Exactly what I was talking about. All he had to do was get a shove on him to knock him off his path to the ball.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

the Tripp and I eat crow

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

I seriously doubt FD will do it again... :) lesson learned

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[quote=Chico23231;736707]1. Gano...come on man, stop biting on them jedi mind tricks
2. Reed...because its fun
3. [B]Joey Galloway...dude right through the hands[/B][/quote]

A ball moving right over top of the helmet is the hardest catch in football to make. I cannot fault Galloway for that.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[quote=Angry;737638]A ball moving right over top of the helmet is the hardest catch in football to make. I cannot fault Galloway for that.[/quote]

tough catch for sure...but like that my other two i criticized, Gano and Reed, the plays were there to be made, but we couldnt make'm. All these were plays which could have sealed victory.....any of the 3 would have done.

0 for 3 on make-able plays were fail. so we are 1-1, but at crunch time good teams make at least one of them. We need to continue to improve the roster.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[quote=tryfuhl;737625]Cooley explains how you control both gaps on a FG

[url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/09/how_to_block_two_guys_on_a_fie.html]D.C. Sports Bog - How to block two guys on a field goal[/url][/quote]Davis clearly makes some sort of effort to get in Pollard's way, however ineffective. I think most special teams coaches would tell you that they don't block the outside guy, though on this play, Pollard was pretty flat in his pursuit of the kick.

I thought the alignment looked a bit odd before the kick, though anytime (including this one) that the outside guy blocks the kick, the kicker's timing HAS to be at fault. He shouldn't get there quick enough.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

yeah he just missed his punch

someone mentioned that Pollard has had a history of being effective on the rush against the FG

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

The blocked FG isn't an issue if Haslett knew what he was doing.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

every play counts..

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

They'll lose to STL if they don't do something different. Teams do watch film and that's likely a half time adjustment HOU made.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

I think that with what we did vs Houston we'd beat STL, doesn't mean you don't correct your mistakes though.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

Fairly conclusively: the blitz was not a limiting factor on the defense in this game. If anything, it was necessary: the Texans OT duo played a great game, to the point where no stunt = no pressure on Schaub. All the pressure in this game came from between the tackles, vs. the backs and guards. And there was a ton of it from all angles.

We got killed on the same routes while rushing six as we did while rushing four. We might need to call better coverages maybe, but we ran a bunch of different zone coverage variants and disguised a lot of what we did: we just couldn't stop the Texans from running the routes they wanted to run. They did whatever they wanted to against us.

The solution might ultimately include using man coverage more. We just haven't played very much man coverage yet, and we're bad at reading route combinations at zone. That's a problem that went back to last year.

Couldn't be happier with the pressure schemes, but the pass defense, as a unit, still sucks.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

It's obvious that the defense is vulnerable to play action. Houston employed that strategy in OT last week.

We're facing an elite back in Steven Jackson next week, so they better dig deep.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

deja vu?

on the 3-10 completion to Andre Johnson for 29 yards

[IMG]http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/orakpotexanshold910.jpg[/IMG]

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[quote=tryfuhl;737712]deja vu?

on the 3-10 completion to Andre Johnson for 29 yards

[IMG]http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/orakpotexanshold910.jpg[/IMG][/quote]

Eff the Refs.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[quote=SirClintonPortis;737721]Eff the Refs.[/quote]

Lol, even with juice he still couldn't stop Orakpo. Still I wish they let him play one more week. We need them to beat Dallas.

By the way, should Raven fans start blaming Zorn for Flacco's slow start?

[url=http://www.hogshaven.com/2010/9/21/1701489/zorn-again-flacco]ZORN-AGAIN FLACCO? - Hogs Haven[/url]
[quote]Just wondering if anyone else thinks the Ravens hiring Jim Zorn as quarterbacks coach could have been a boo-boo. ESPN seems to (almost) say as much: "Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco's mechanics look off. Flacco usually has one of the smoothest throwing motions in the NFL. But his footwork and follow-through were unusually shaky in Sunday's 15-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. It's part of what led to Flacco's career-high four interceptions."

Hmmmmm. A strong-armed QB suddenly displaying shaky footwork and bad follow-through after Zorn takes over coaching his position. Does that sound familiar?[/quote]

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[QUOTE]Just wondering if anyone else thinks the Ravens hiring Jim Zorn as quarterbacks coach could have been a boo-boo. ESPN seems to (almost) say as much: "Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco's mechanics look off. Flacco usually has one of the smoothest throwing motions in the NFL. But his footwork and follow-through were unusually shaky in Sunday's 15-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. It's part of what led to Flacco's career-high four interceptions."

Hmmmmm. A strong-armed QB suddenly displaying shaky footwork and bad follow-through after Zorn takes over coaching his position. Does that sound familiar?[/QUOTE]

Hmm, IF this is true, Zorn has to realize that every QB is not Matt Hasselbeck (MAYBE Campbell as well). Don't fix what ain't broke!

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

[quote=SirClintonPortis;737697]It's obvious that the defense is vulnerable to play action. Houston employed that strategy in OT last week.

We're facing an elite back in Steven Jackson next week, so they better dig deep.[/quote]The stretch plays in this game, both teams created major separation for the receivers. Schaub actually had half a field to himself after our lineman chased their lineman away from where the ball was.

They were much more disciplined at holding contain than we were, but McNabb is so much ahead of Schaub in physical skills that he could hit an open receiver on a throwback downfield while falling away from pressure in his face.

Re: Plenty of blame to go around, time to lay some smack down!
 

Albert's fault for not coming to training camp, getting injured, and not contributing his 100 million dollars worth