Empty stat sheet for Skins' defense
By: John Keim
Examiner Staff Writer
September 1, 2009
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| DeAngelo Hall had a subpar performance against the Patriots last week. (ap images) |
Lack of turnovers, sacks mirrors 2008
ASHBURN - This isn't the start he wanted, even if it is just preseason. And DeAngelo Hall is not just talking about himself. It's the entire defense.
Yes, it's just summer. Yes, they were the NFL's fourth-ranked unit. Yes, they added more than they lost.
But after three preseason games, the starting defense hasn't intercepted the starting quarterback and they've produced just one sack, though New England, for example, threw the majority of its passes off three-step drops. Still, the Redskins' problems in 2008, a lack of sacks and turnovers, loom in 2009.
And Hall, coming off a subpar showing vs. Randy Moss, has been silent as well. He's the defensive back who is being counted on the most to produce turnovers.
"Am I disappointed? Yeah," said the Redskins' cornerback. "I'd like to come out of preseason with four picks, but at the end of the day none of this counts. I'd rather give up touchdowns and not catch balls now than in the regular season.
"[But] I haven't touched the ball yet. Is that frustrating? Yeah, but I take it for what it is."
Which is much the way the defense is taking the summer. They'd like to have shown more; they know what they can do. In Hall's mind, it has to get easier than it was vs. New England, when he was beaten often by receiver Randy Moss, including on a go route down the right side for a 26-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady.
"I'm very pleased with what he's done," Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Blache said of Hall. "He's shown me he can make plays on the ball. That's a dimension he adds to our secondary. He's tackled well. He's competed. He's shown leadership."
Hall said that wasn't some sort of foreshadowing for the season, which begins Sept. 13 at the New York Giants. It helps that the big, physical receivers no longer reside in the NFC East.
"We were going up against some of the best guys at what they do," Hall said. "Going against the Giants, not to take anything away from those guys, but you ain't gonna find another one-two punch like Brady and Moss. So you take it for what it was, obviously you want to do better but none of it matters ... We left that game feeling like we can hold our own against anybody."
But that doesn't mean the defense was satisfied, or has been with their summer performance.
"Whenever we step on the field we want to dominate," Hall said. "We want to be more impressive, make more stops, break up more passes. But it didn't work that way. We have not had a great preseason as a defense."
