Haslett's Defense
 

Watching us the other night, I thought our defense looked good. Not Great, but no bad either. I say this because I still have some questions about it:

1) Why do we line up with 1 defensive lineman when its like 3rd and 4, 3rd and short range, when the other team could easily run the ball right at us?

2) And, why did we have Vonnie Holiday as that 1 DLineman, when we should of had Haynesworth

3) I think our run defense is semi-sketchy. I feel that the cowboys got some big runs on us, whenever they wanted, but for some reason, they decided to pass it pretty much the whole time. If I were them I would have kept running it right at us, especially with the 1 defensive lineman we had.

4) With all the pressure Haslett sent, we only got 1 sack?!? Thats kind of disapointing. I would think we would have gotten at least 3 sacks, especially with Orakpo rushing 700-800 times this year.

5) Why is it that we can never get to Romo? I feel like every time any other team goes against him, they can get a few sacks against him, but when we go against them we make the whole OLine and the QB look like pro bowlers.


Other than what I said, I'm loving what I'm seeing from this defense, and I'm loving that we're finally getting some turnovers. This defense has potential to be top five. It could even be like the saints defense last year getting a bunch of turnovers. Now if only we could get Albert to start at RE....

Re: Haslett's Defense
 

We would have had 30 sacks but Alex Barron held Orakpo on virtually every play. Our D held Dallas to 7 -- my bet is no one else may accomplish that this year. The D is solid, albeit not spectacular. Yet.

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Number 3 isn't a question. But if our D only gives up 7 pts a game, I am fine with whatever 1 lineman we come up with, and if Barron didn't hold every play we would have had at least 4 sacks.

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The D is different it isnt bad at all...Romo even admits that he's never seen the kind of blitzes they were coming with

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[quote=EARTHQUAKE2689;733619]Number 3 isn't a question. But if our D only gives up 7 pts a game, I am fine with whatever 1 lineman we come up with, and if Barron didn't hold every play we would have had at least 4 sacks.[/quote]

Blasphemy! The only question is question 3

Our run defense needs help, for sure. We would have had more sack if not for all the holding, and Romo would get more credit from Skins fans if not for the jersey he wears

Re: Haslett's Defense
 

[quote=calia;733618]We would have had 30 sacks but Alex Barron held Orakpo on virtually every play. Our D held Dallas to 7 -- my bet is no one else may accomplish that this year. The D is solid, albeit not spectacular. Yet.[/quote]

The D isn't solid at all. Cowgirls went to the pass, held a lot, and only scored 7. Haslett aint all that! We need bigger LBs, and a Albert Worthless to push the pile like a NT is supposed to.

Re: Haslett's Defense
 

This week will be a good test of whether it was the D's implementation, or Dallas' indiscretions, which held them to 7. Houston is a much more disciplined team, and we will need to be very good in order to keep it a low scoring affair. Otherwise, our offense will need to be very good to keep up, and I'm not quite buying that yet.

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I thought the D looked out of position many times when they lined up and kept holding my breath thinking we were going to get exposed bad. But they just kept making plays. Thats why im not an NFL DC. Its propbably for the best.

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So far so good. Yeah they have some work to do, gotta shore up that run D, but you have to like how aggressive they were in wk 1.

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i think for the 1st game of the season, with real schemes we did pretty damn well. I didn't see the kind of run stopping D we are use to, but I think with time it will get better. I notice they ran a lot to the left, not to the right, which is where there best oline men are. Also, this is the Cowboys offense we are talking about. They were one of the best last year. Holding them to under 100 yards rushing, holding Witten to virtually nothing along with Dez bryant to virtually nothing i think says a lot about our D. The real test i think will come this week against the Texans. That dude ran the ball like freaking OJ last week. And they stick to the run, not like Dallas that feels they need to throw it 40 times a game. Albert better be playing a lot more this week if we are going to stuff the run. Also, scrap the whole 1 down lineman so much. We need 3 run stopping fools in there this week. Albert, Daniels on ends and Kemo at NT.

Re: Haslett's Defense
 

I feel your pain....

[B]1-[/B]I don't get the 1 down lineman either. I could see if it was 3rd and 15 in which they have to pass but 3rd and short should be a stacked line to stop the run.

[B]2-[/B]AH was not using good technique or applying the scheme right in my oppinion. He couldn't get a decent push up the middle. Even the announcers noticed it and commented on his lack of pressure and how he was not driving straight for the QB but taking side angles and getting pushed out of the play.

[B]3-[/B]Yeah the cowboys were stupid to stop running the ball so much.

[B]4-[/B]Orakpo would have had 4 sacks had it not been for #71 holding all night. Is he still on their team?

[B]5-[/B]We would have if not for the holding. But I think because it's a rivalry I wonder if the coaching staff says "do whatever you have to do to keep them from getting a sack or getting to Romo." Might explain why #71 is still on the team and we have not heard he's been cut.

I'm liking the defense also. I was worried about what Haslett would bring to the table but it seems he's pulling his weight. The turnovers were there just not capitalized on in the case of Rogers. Hopefully that changes. I really can't fault Rogers even though others were quick to call him cement hands. I thought as the ball came in and hit his hands a cowboy hit him in the legs up ending him. I think if he's not hit he might have caught it.... I could be wrong.

Re: Haslett's Defense
 

[quote=#56fanatic;733665]i think for the 1st game of the season, with real schemes we did pretty damn well. I didn't see the kind of run stopping D we are use to, but I think with time it will get better. I notice they ran a lot to the left, not to the right, which is where there best oline men are. Also, this is the Cowboys offense we are talking about. They were one of the best last year. Holding them to under 100 yards rushing, holding Witten to virtually nothing along with Dez bryant to virtually nothing i think says a lot about our D. The real test i think will come this week against the Texans. That dude ran the ball like freaking OJ last week. And they stick to the run, not like Dallas that feels they need to throw it 40 times a game. Albert better be playing a lot more this week if we are going to stuff the run. Also, scrap the whole 1 down lineman so much. We need 3 run stopping fools in there this week. Albert, Daniels on ends and Kemo at NT.[/quote]

I'm with you... I don't think AH is NT material. I think he simply doesn't get it or he's purposefully not caring so the team will either move him or trade him. and... at this point I would move him since we paid him already. Put him in at DE with Daniels like you said and have Kemo at NT. That would be one heck of a DL to run through.

I also think our team is somewhere in the middle of being awsome and just good. Dallas was supposed to be #1 offense and #2 defense. I think we moved the ball pretty well but had trouble in the redzone. Houston is not that good in the secondary which is why the Colts were able to score. The Skins significantly slowed or shut down Dallas all game, not to mention their penalties in order to stop our rush. Dallas is the unknown, are they as good as everyone said and we beat them or did they take several steps backwards and are not as good as everyone thought? I like to think it's a combination of the two and hoping it's more the Skins are better then people thought.

I'm hoping we squeek a win out this weekend. This was one of my games I had as a loss but maybe between the defense and K.Shanahan's knowledge of what Houston will do and our offense stepping up we can squeek one out.

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If you watch the replay on Rogers' drop, he flat out dropped it. In fact he started to close his hands before the ball even got to his hands. The ball was gift wrapped for him. He just can't catch.

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I think we aren't used to as much gameplanning as we are going to see. On both sides of the ball. Blache ran one defense and rarely strayed from it. I am going to bet every week our defense will be catered to our opponent like it used to be under Williams. I liked Blache in a lot of ways but I think ultimately he was just an average coordinator who underachieved with the talent he was given. Don't be surprised when against Houston we line up in 4-3 half the game or something like that. I won't be.

Re: Haslett's Defense
 

[quote=FRPLG;733716]I think we aren't used to as much gameplanning as we are going to see. On both sides of the ball. Blache ran one defense and rarely strayed from it. I am going to bet every week our defense will be catered to our opponent like it used to be under Williams. I liked Blache in a lot of ways but I think ultimately he was just an average coordinator who underachieved with the talent he was given. Don't be surprised when against Houston we line up in 4-3 half the game or something like that. I won't be.[/quote]

Agreed. Blache was a one trick pony. I think with Haslett we'll see a lot of different looks week to week.

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We held The number 2 offense to 7 points.. I wouldn't be to concerned about our D at this point except maybe our Run D.

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[quote=Mattyk;733700]If you watch the replay on Rogers' drop, he flat out dropped it. In fact he started to close his hands before the ball even got to his hands. The ball was gift wrapped for him. He just can't catch.[/quote]

That was the first thing that I noticed, even without the replay. How you can mess up timing that badly is crazy. I'm hoping he lost it in the lights or something, but who knows.

Re: Haslett's Defense
 

So some questions entering this year, with this defense, was that London is too small and will get overpowered by guards in this defense, is that still true? I think he's doing alright in this defense...agreed?

Re: Haslett's Defense
 

Our defense played well for against Dallas. They did however give up over 350 yards of total offense but they only allowed 7 points. Our defense is still learning the 3-4 scheme and still have a few players who are adjusting to their new positions. AC still looks awkward when dropping into coverage and playing in space. He did make up with his hustle on the field. Reed Doughty was a step late most of the night on pass plays, I think this is just due to his lack of foot speed. He would be better used closer to the LOS. We need a true FS and maybe K.Moore will be the answer when he returns. Guys that stood out was Orakpo, Laundry, London, Hall, and Rocky. This guys played well and were flying around all over the field. When Dallas had their final drive in the game , it made me think back to last seasons game in Dallas when we lost on the final drive 7-6. We also had a fg that would have given us a 9-0 nothing lead but we missed it. Romo throws TD pass when Orakpo missed him for a sack. This season our defense made the play to win the game. Lets hope Carlos can work on catching int's cause he had a chance to end the game with his dropped int. Those kind of drops can haunt you later. The defense must get better at stopping the run and getting sacks on the QB.

I hope the defense continues to improve and force turnovers and score TD's. I will be watching Sunday on my LG 52in in HD on my couch thanks to DTV. HTTR

Re: Haslett's Defense
 

Romo is pretty elusive.

Re: Haslett's Defense
 

[quote=CRedskinsRule;733638]This week will be a good test of whether it was the D's implementation, or Dallas' indiscretions, which held them to 7. Houston is a much more disciplined team, and we will need to be very good in order to keep it a low scoring affair. Otherwise, our offense will need to be very good to keep up, and I'm not quite buying that yet.[/quote]

Like so many others I'm more concerned at this point about the offense. Concerned about when this offense is going to be up to a speed where it can keep pace with any scoring team.

What we witnessed from the offense Sunday night was so reminiscent of days gone by. It's so early in the process that [imo] it would be just a little premature to form any concrete judgements because we just don't know yet how things will develop on either side of the ball.

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Let's not forget -- the one touchdown Dallas was able to get came off a 27-yard punt out of the endzone by Bidwell.

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^^ It dosen't matter now because it's over and done, but the TD with 3 sec. left on the clock that was called back because of a holding penalty was the most disapointing moment of that game for me. I was just dissapointed that Williams was that wide open in the endzone on what was obviously going to be the last play of the game.

The holding penalty had nothing to do with a receiver being that wide open at such a crucial point in the game. It felt like my heart stopped and didn't restart until I saw the flag.

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[quote=Longtimefan;734512]^^ It dosen't matter now because it's over and done, but the TD with 3 sec. left on the clock that was called back because of a holding penalty was the most disapointing moment of that game for me. I was just dissapointed that Williams was that wide open in the endzone on what was obviously going to be the last play of the game.

The holding penalty had nothing to do with a receiver being that wide open at such a crucial point in the game. It felt like my heart stopped and didn't restart until I saw the flag.[/quote]

You could say that because of the hold, the play was extended allowing Williams to get open on a busted play. Without the hold Romo is likely sacked, game over, Williams never gets open.

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The D clearly won the game last week, they scored as much as they gave up!

The questions w/the D I think are
1) d line, specifically Kemo. Is he just in there because there's no better replacement? looks like it.
2) the ILBs played well but over the course of a game, they are not cut out to be run stoppers in a 3-4. If the d line doesn't improve a lot the ILBs will pay for it. Will L. Alexander get more time at ILB?

Re: Haslett's Defense
 

[quote=Longtimefan;734512]^^ It dosen't matter now because it's over and done, but the TD with 3 sec. left on the clock that was called back because of a holding penalty was the most disapointing moment of that game for me. I was just dissapointed that Williams was that wide open in the endzone on what was obviously going to be the last play of the game.

The holding penalty had nothing to do with a receiver being that wide open at such a crucial point in the game. It felt like my heart stopped and didn't restart until I saw the flag.[/quote]

I felt like you did. For a moment it was pure agony.

While Matty is right that without the hold, the play doesn't happen, the fact is that we can't always count on holds being called. I've consoled myself with the thought that it was the first game in Haslett's new defense and after film study the players will rectify the problem (as well as the problem on the 4th down play which made the last play possible).

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Quit bitching people! they WON THE DAMN GAME!

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I just know that we had better get our shit together, because I have a feeling Houstons offense is better than dallass', and we got kind of lucky last week.

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[quote=schndr_tdd;734549]Quit bitching people! they WON THE DAMN GAME![/quote]

Just wait til they actually lose one. Yikes

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Dont you all remember the games last year? The defense gets scored on because of every predictable defense they lined up with.Did anyone notice that there wasnt the typical 10 penalties in a game.Did anyone notice that they were not lined up 30 damn yards downfield,and that they commited to put Romo on his ASS! The Haslett scheme is going to be fine,a Gregg Williams type cordinator.Do you all remember him? or did you bash his ass when he was here too?If you dont want to support the Skins ,root for someone else!

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I read that Kareem Moore practiced yesterday and that is great news for our defense. I think he is an upgrade over Doughty. I think Doughty is a good player, but Kareem Moore is a better pass defender and we will need that this week. I know the Arian Foster thing was working for the Texans last week, but I think a lot of that was a game planning method to keep Manning off the field. They won't run that much against the Skins, nor have that kind of success, so covering in the passing game will be very important this week. Heck, I say double A.Johnson with Hall and Moore on every play; that would be my strategy. Just take your chances with the rest of their receivers.

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Hopefully we'll be better with Moore in there, but I honestly haven't seen enough of him to say either way if he's an upgrade or not. Reed seems to catch a lot of flak from some folks but I honestly didn't see where he was as bad as some say the other night. He was guilty of being way too aggressive on the playaction at the goal line - yes. But overall I though he played well enough.

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has anyone found any qoutes from haslett or shanny re. whether haynesworth was supposed to be shooting the gap from NT?

Ive read every article posted in the warpaths news section and other articles to no avail.

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[quote=over the mountain;734587]has anyone found any qoutes from haslett or shanny re. whether haynesworth was supposed to be shooting the gap from NT?

Ive read every article posted in the warpaths news section and other articles to no avail.[/quote]

Haven't seen anything official but one would have to think Haslett was ok with it, he was primarily playing on passing downs so he was probably allowed some leeway to get up field. Otherwise I can't see why he would have been left in there.

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I really liked what little we saw of Perry Riley. I am hoping he will be back soon as well.

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[quote=scowan;734578]I read that Kareem Moore practiced yesterday and that is great news for our defense. I think he is an upgrade over Doughty. I think Doughty is a good player, but Kareem Moore is a better pass defender and we will need that this week. I know the Arian Foster thing was working for the Texans last week, but I think a lot of that was a game planning method to keep Manning off the field. They won't run that much against the Skins, nor have that kind of success, so covering in the passing game will be very important this week. Heck, I say double A.Johnson with Hall and Moore on every play; that would be my strategy. Just take your chances with the rest of their receivers.[/quote]

As long as he doesn't hand the ball off to the other team after an interception again, I agree..upgrade over Doughty.

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[quote=schndr_tdd;734549]Quit bitching people! they WON THE DAMN GAME![/quote]

That's fair enough. I for one didn't mean to bitch. I'm excited about our new defense. But there is always room for improvement. Even the '85 Bears defense had problems to fix.

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[quote=Lotus;734541]I felt like you did. For a moment it was pure agony.

While Matty is right that without the hold, the play doesn't happen, the fact is that we can't always count on holds being called. I've consoled myself with the thought that it was the first game in Haslett's new defense and after film study the players will rectify the problem (as well as the problem on the 4th down play which made the last play possible).[/quote]

And how different the game would have been played in the end had Dallas not missed that initial F/G atempt. That three points would have had them playing for a F/G to tie and force overtime as opposed to having to score a TD to tie.

On the flip side, that argument could be countered because we also took three points off the board and eventually got nothing.

It has been widely asumed that Orakpo would have sacked Romo had it not been for the holding penalty, I'm not so sure. I'm reminded of last years game when Orakpo had a clean shot, missed, and Romo threw a TD pass instead. That last play of Sundays game looked much different on TV than it did in the stadium.

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You can play the what if game all day long. What if Armstrong hauls in that TD and we go up 17-0? Or what if we at least get the FG there and later on have a 16-7 lead?

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I really would have liked the score to be 16-7 at the end. I wonder how the coaching staff dealt with the LS and Holder this week.