Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

I've been reading alot of threads on here lately talking about our defense and how bad it was and it's gonna be. I know alot of you have been sipping the bitter "skins suck" cool aid that has been leaked into the Washington Media for the past few years sense Snyder got here... but believe me, it's not true. I see the defense that they have put together this year and you know what, I like it!

This year the skins listened to the advice of the fans that have been screaming the same thing over past ten years, they did not give away draft picks or chase the big name free agents. They used sound scouting and nabbed some gems in the draft, free agent market and undrafted market that WILL help this defense for many years to come.

H.B. Blades will be a star for the skins in 3 years. He will learn the system from fletcher and become a fletcher/ Zach Thomas type player for the skins. Justin Hickman can become the pass rusher that we have been looking for, although undersized at 6'1 254 he has a high motor and had major results in college. Byron Westbrook has the speed 4.35 and aggressiveness to become a good young player for us. Landry combined with Taylor has the potiential to be the best safety tandem in the league.

In the free agent market we picked a solid back ups in Macklin and Stoutmire. A leader and playcaller in Fletcher, and the Swagger/ attitude for our D in "the mouth of the south", Smoot. So What, we don't have the biggest baddest physical specimen on our team, but if the coaches motivate these guys properly we'll be a top defense in 07. Rocky wil be better in 07 and so will Rogers. Hopefully we keep Springs for one more year and he is healthy for the 07.

The Defensive line will be fine because of the better secondary, that can actually COVER, we will be able to send more blitzes from all over. Golston and Montgomery should be expected to do good things now know what to expect and most like have put on some more muscle in the off season.

In Conclusion Remember the saying "its not the size of the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog"? Don't underestimate the heart this Defense in 07 The Skins will be a force to reckon with.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

Man, I hope you are right!

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

I believe you're correct on your points. If we stay healthy, we'll have one of the better Ds in the league, just like we did a few years ago. Even if we lose some players to injuries, we won't repeat last year because we have the depth that can keep us going. Last year, our lack of depth, especially in the secondary KILLED us.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

The key will be how much Golsten and Montgomery develop. We need those guys to step it up a couple of notches...couple that w/ Daniels and Carter at DE, we have a semi-decent pass rush.

If we can stay injury free, I don't see why our D can be top 10, if not, top 15. I think Top 15 is a little more realistic.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

Not to burst your bubble, but you're putting a WHOLE lot on the pure measurables of our undrafted picks.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

Top 10 in terms of what? Points allowed? Yards? Turnovers?

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

This much I DO know and it makes me take heart in at least a ten to twelve ranking raise defensively:

[B]Warrick Holdman is gone.[/B] I don't care how bad Rocky or Lemar are, there is NO WAY that either of them could play worse than Holdman.

[B]Marshall out of the middle. [/B]While I think he's a great backer, he should thrive more in his natural spot at weakside.
[B]
London Fletcher IN the middle. [/B]Has he lost a step? That's tough to say, but you couldn't have picked a better person to fill the middle.

[B]Landry, Smoot, Pierson, Macklin all provide us QUALITY depth.[/B] Kenny Wright, Adam Archuleta and Mike Rumph were NOT quality depth. How many times were you beating your head against a wall watching AA or Kenny Wright get torched?

Those facts alone are enough to make me feel better about our defense.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

Westbrook has 4.3 speed? I scowerd the internet and I found 4.6 speed. Please forward source.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection;308255]This much I DO know and it makes me take heart in at least a ten to twelve ranking raise defensively:

[B]Warrick Holdman is gone.[/B] I don't care how bad Rocky or Lemar are, there is NO WAY that either of them could play worse than Holdman.

[B]Marshall out of the middle. [/B]While I think he's a great backer, he should thrive more in his natural spot at weakside.
[B]
London Fletcher IN the middle. [/B]Has he lost a step? That's tough to say, but you couldn't have picked a better person to fill the middle.

[B]Landry, Smoot, Pierson, Macklin all provide us QUALITY depth.[/B] Kenny Wright, Adam Archuleta and Mike Rumph were NOT quality depth. How many times were you beating your head against a wall watching AA or Kenny Wright get torched?

Those facts alone are enough to make me feel better about our defense.[/QUOTE]

exactly my thoughts...good points dude

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

[quote=T.O.Killa;308259]Westbrook has 4.3 speed? I scowerd the internet and I found 4.6 speed. Please forward source.[/quote]

I didn't find 4.3 anywhere. I found quite a few places stating he had 4.4. Nothing to be ashamed of.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

hey, I would be exstatic if he ran that fast. I foung nothing but this link.
[url=http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/NFLDraft/Player+Rankings/StrongSafeties.htm]NFL Draft - NFL draft preview and analysis from Pro Football Weekly[/url]

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

Not a huge fan of PFW. Not the most reliable source for information.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

Do you have a link

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

No, I only have my word as bond. ;)

Seriously, search for Byron Westbrook with quotations around his name, measurables, forty yard dash time, anything like that and you'll find it in the descriptions.

Because to be totally honest, I'm not going to exert myself over .1 difference in forty times. :D

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

He went to Salisbury, all he can do is fast drink a case of Natty Light. I should know.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

And knowing is half the battle...

[IMG]http://www.tomsimpson.org/images/gijoe.jpg[/IMG]

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

[YT]PYkWWnZm6-w[/YT]


[SIZE="1"]*this probably wont stay on youtube for very long.[/SIZE]

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

HAHA!

"Question?! WHICH...BEAR...IS BEST?"

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

That's a ridiculous question.

Question, who will be better against the run: Taylor or Landry?

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

Michael!

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

[quote=ArtMonkDrillz;308280]That's a ridiculous question.

Question, who will be better against the run: Taylor or Landry?[/quote]

Seriously though, something tells me that Landry is going to be the player we all THOUGHT ST was supposed to be. That's unfortunate, but we COULD do worse than to have an awesome safety and a great one.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

[url=http://www.nfldraftnews.com/players/details?pyid=11692]NFL Draft News[/url] - 35k
googled it and came from NFL Draft news, its a pay site though

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

Prior to the draft I didn't read all that much on Landry, and I guess I sort of assumed he was more like a hard-hitting CB. I thought he'd be great against the deep ball and only so-so against the run.
Now that I've become more versed on him I agree with you that he seems very similar to Taylor.
That article on him in the post had the quote from his HS coach that said something like "if he had to choose between grabbing an INT for a touchdown or putting a guy in the hospital he'd have a hard time making up his mind." That sounds a lot like Taylor's attitude, IMO.
I just hope we don't have another situation where both of them seem more concerned with making the highlight hit than covering the pass.
I don't think that will happen, but there's always a chance.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

I think the key for the defense will be establishing an offensive identity and having sustained drives and keeping the D off the field and rested. Last year, that rarely happened. And until we decide whether we're a flashy Al Saunders offense or a smash-mouth Joe Gibbs offense, we will not establish that identity.

I suspect that last year's gravitation toward the Gibbs offense will ultimately be permanent, although there's still the matter of that 700 page playbook that we have all heard WAY too much about and the prospect of Saunders calling plays. Until this is ironed out, I think it will mean too many 3-and-outs and having our D on the field too much.

Having said all that, I do think we've upgraded on D (hell, getting rid of ArchDeluxe was itself an upgrade), although I do think we still need improvement on the D-line. But there's no doubt we should be better. The question is how much, and I think that whether we can hold the ball on offense will be a big factor.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

I could see us being #15 in total yds. (usually the category that the d is ranked on). That seems realistic, yet sill optimistic as that's a big jump from 31.
I don't think we're a shut down dominating d at all, we will still give up some big plays. I think the difference will be in playmaking; turnovers! You don't have to be the most dominant d if you can make big plays & I look for more of them to happen. Similar to our 05 d, it wasn't as good as 04 but they made some big plays.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

[quote=T.O.Killa;308270]hey, I would be exstatic if he ran that fast. I foung nothing but this link.
[URL="http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/NFLDraft/Player+Rankings/StrongSafeties.htm"]NFL Draft - NFL draft preview and analysis from Pro Football Weekly[/URL][/quote]

Umm this is slightly off-topic but I was reading player rankings for TE's and some of them it had side notes for projections to the NFL - H-B (Half Back) and FB (Full Back) What does Ch. stand for? I cant for the life of me think right now....

Does someone care to help me out...?

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

finally, a positive thread. i also think our defense will be much improved. when healthy, the skins boast a hard hitting, ball hawking, gang tackling bunch. this also might be a tryout for Greg Williams resume, because if the skins defense falters again this year, Dan Snyder might want to rethink our next head coach

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

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.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection;308253]Not to burst your bubble, but you're putting a WHOLE lot on the pure measurables of our undrafted picks.[/QUOTE]

Pierce was undrafted, so was Antonio gates, also Willie Parker

Arron Kampman DE of greenbay 5th round, Mark Anderson DE Chicago 5th round
Kevin Kaesviharn safety of the saints 6 ints most among safeties~undrafted

So Yes I feel i can put alot on measurables because where your drafted doesn't mean anything. Talent is talent. Fight in the Dog!

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

[quote=diehardskin2982;308246]I've been reading alot of threads on here lately talking about our defense and how bad it was and it's gonna be. I know alot of you have been sipping the bitter "skins suck" cool aid that has been leaked into the Washington Media for the past few years sense Snyder got here... but believe me, it's not true. I see the defense that they have put together this year and you know what, I like it!

This year the skins listened to the advice of the fans that have been screaming the same thing over past ten years, they did not give away draft picks or chase the big name free agents. They used sound scouting and nabbed some gems in the draft, free agent market and undrafted market that WILL help this defense for many years to come.

H.B. Blades will be a star for the skins in 3 years. He will learn the system from fletcher and become a fletcher/ Zach Thomas type player for the skins. Justin Hickman can become the pass rusher that we have been looking for, although undersized at 6'1 254 he has a high motor and had major results in college. Byron Westbrook has the speed 4.35 and aggressiveness to become a good young player for us. Landry combined with Taylor has the potiential to be the best safety tandem in the league.

In the free agent market we picked a solid back ups in Macklin and Stoutmire. A leader and playcaller in Fletcher, and the Swagger/ attitude for our D in "the mouth of the south", Smoot. So What, we don't have the biggest baddest physical specimen on our team, but if the coaches motivate these guys properly we'll be a top defense in 07. Rocky wil be better in 07 and so will Rogers. Hopefully we keep Springs for one more year and he is healthy for the 07.

The Defensive line will be fine because of the better secondary, that can actually COVER, we will be able to send more blitzes from all over. Golston and Montgomery should be expected to do good things now know what to expect and most like have put on some more muscle in the off season.

In Conclusion Remember the saying "its not the size of the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog"? Don't underestimate the heart this Defense in 07 The Skins will be a force to reckon with.[/quote]

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.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

I couldn’t disagree with this post more. I think our defense will be average at best next year. I say again, who is gonna rush the passer? Who is gonna stuff the run? In order for us to be a successful team next year, our offense is gonna have to immerge as a top 5 SCORING unit. Then hopefully teams will be one dimensional. That’s the only hope our D has at stopping anyone. I remind everyone that our D was second worse in the entire NFL last year. This would be like an Oakland Raiders fan saying their offense is gonna be dynamic next year.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

I think the biggest key to a turnaround next year is upping our turnover ratio. I'm afraid we are still gonna be gashed by the run game and game again. But with speedy Landry blitzing or even helping the run that allows ST to be the ball hawk... I beleive ST will display the coverage skills that he was acclaimed for when he first entered the league.

I would love our defense to have some gaudy stats like 50yds rushing 150yds passing /game but its amazing how much more turnovers equate to wins. Tenesee's late season surge last year was just as much a product of Pacman's picks as the much acclaimed heroics of Vince Young.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

[quote=skins009;308302]I couldn’t disagree with this post more. I think our defense will be average at best next year. I say again, who is gonna rush the passer? Who is gonna stuff the run? In order for us to be a successful team next year, our offense is gonna have to immerge as a top 5 SCORING unit. Then hopefully teams will be one dimensional. That’s the only hope our D has at stopping anyone. I remind everyone that our D was second worse in the entire NFL last year. This would be like an Oakland Raiders fan saying their offense is gonna be dynamic next year.[/quote]

I gotta agree with you. We were 31st overall last year. To move into the top 10 would be a huge, very rare jump statistically. If we stay healthy and the new additions pan out, then I can see us maybe getting into the top half of the league. I just hope we run the ball 40 times a game to help keep our defense off the field....

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

[QUOTE=GMScud;308305]I gotta agree with you. We were 31st overall last year. To move into the top 10 would be a huge, very rare jump statistically. If we stay healthy and the new additions pan out, then I can see us maybe getting into the top half of the league. I just hope we run the ball 40 times a game to help keep our defense off the field....[/QUOTE]

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

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

[quote=GMScud;308305]I gotta agree with you. We were 31st overall last year. To move into the top 10 would be a huge, very rare jump statistically. If we stay healthy and the new additions pan out, then I can see us maybe getting into the top half of the league. I just hope we run the ball 40 times a game to help keep our defense off the field....[/quote]

You agree with him yet how much more rare is it for a team to drop from the top ten to 31st then vice versa. I dont think Ryan Clark and Walt Harris were that important. I know in 05 Clark and Harris played better then Arch and Wright(due to springs being out) in 06 but I see Landry being an up grade over Clark and an improved Rogers being alteast on par with Harris, more then likely better. Then figure in Fletcher whos degree of leadership this D hasn't seen in a long time, Carter's play in the second half of the season which should carry over, and 2 young up and coming interior D-lineman in Montgomery and Golston to add into the DL rotation. I think this defense is definitely capable of making the same leap it did from 05-06 but in the opposite direction if healthy.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

[quote=diehardskin2982;308297]Pierce was undrafted, so was Antonio gates, also Willie Parker

Arron Kampman DE of greenbay 5th round, Mark Anderson DE Chicago 5th round
Kevin Kaesviharn safety of the saints 6 ints most among safeties~undrafted

So Yes I feel i can put alot on measurables because where your drafted doesn't mean anything. Talent is talent. Fight in the Dog![/quote]

Oh, I'm not saying by any means that our undrafted guys can't be total beasts.

But to EXPECT that as our saving grace for the year is only going to set you up for disappointment if they don't pan out (like the majority of undrafted rookies do).

While I, just like you, hope they become perennial Pro Bowlers, the likelihood of that happening is very slim and if they don't pan out, no sweat, because I didn't expect them too anyway. I'm looking at our tangible acquisitions of proven players in the league and to THAT end, I agree with the title of your thread (well maybe 12th or 13th).

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

Dammit Smoot you quick postin jerk.[IMG]http://www.thewarpath.net/images/icons/icon7.gif[/IMG]

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

Lets be realistic here:

1. There is no reason to say HB Blades is going to be a top NFL MLB in three years. He has not played one snap in the NFL.
2. Who are Justin Hickman and Byron Westbrook? I'm being sarcastic here. These guys are UDFA man. They may be good athletes but lets reserve judgment before penciling them in as NFL starters.
3. Golston and Montgomery are marginal starters. We may have a potential starter in Golston but no way is he going to be an impact player.
4. Our defensive line is the least talented in our conference.

Now, I do agree that LBF and Smoot are solid acquisitions. I'm also optimistic that Landry can become an impact-type player, but I think we have to be realistic here in saying that our front seven is average to below-average when you compare it to the front-seven of most other teams that made the playoffs last year.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

[quote=holmester;308301]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.[/quote]

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.

Re: Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10
 

i actually read all the posts!! probaly the only one on here to do that . . .

i would bet my dog that the skins D will be better next year b/c of the upgrades mentioned but i still see some areas of concern:

1 - can the O sustain some drives and not go 3 n out (2nd year for saunders and campbell so that should improve)
2- when we only rush the front 4 are we going to have any pressure or are opposing qbs going to have all day like last year (yes i know now that we have the secondary fixed GW can use other positions to produce pressure like he used to do but that brings me to my next point)
3 - our secondary was down right confused last year, will they be able to line up and play the right assignments this year? (i hope fletch can help read the plays and that gray is gone, dont know if it was true that he had the safeties not wathcing what the o line does right after the snap but he has failed imo)

on the plus side we get to play dallas, giant, eagles 2 times each and i really dont think highly of any of their offenses (unless mcnabb gets back to form, dallas is a threat of romo is a fake) so the nfc east is wide open . . i see us closely winning the nfc east with a balance of O and D this year

go skins