Studs and Duds (defense): Redskins-Rams

The second half was just as good, maybe better. On the second series, out of the Redskins’ base defense, Orakpo took advantage of more curious pass-blocking assignments. This time, as Orakpo rushed, the center, after taking about three steps to his right, spun back and headed to the left to pick  up Orakpo. But the linebacker raced right into center, knocked him to the ground and got Bradford. Orakpo beat Saffold inside and drew a hold on the next series.  Just one more play because I think you got the picture of his game. But this one shows maybe a glimpse of what they might do more of as the defense grows. Of course, he did this a couple times last year, but I don’t remember seeing it this season yet: He stood up, off the right guard and then rushed to the outside shoulder of the left guard. Here’s what that did: It caused the guard to bump into the tackle, who then could not stay with Bowen as he stunted inside for a sack.

LB Ryan Kerrigan. As with Orakpo it started early. On the first play of the game Kerrigan engaged the tight end, got his hands on him very fast; kept his shoulders square and shed the block to make a stop of Jackson. Just a very nice play with excellent technique. Here’s another one: On the third series, a tight end comes from down the line to block Kerrigan. But Kerrigan read the play immediately and quickly changed his path (going from upfield to parallel to the line). He did a good job of rolling his hips as he stuck a forearm into the tight end’s pads. Kerrigan then made a tackle for a three-yard gain. Not Hall of Fame stuff, but another good play. This kid does not play the position like it’s new to him. Later in the second quarter, Kerrigan beat right tackle Jason Smith to the outside. Smith grabbed his facesmask for a penalty. Smith set as if he had outside help, which he did until Jackson was forced to go inside to block a delayed rush by Kevin Barnes. Kerrigan did a nice job ducking his right shoulder to get around Smith, but the scheme helped too.

And you want to know why he’s called relentless? The next play is an example. On third and 22, Kerrigan is hit by the tight end, who releases on a route. Then, for some reason, the Rams thought it would be good to use a receiver (Austin Pettis) to pick up Kerrigan. Uh, wrong. Kerrigan shed him quickly and sped to Bradford for a sack. Just a couple more. Loved his form on the open field tackle of the tight end in the flat. Not exactly facing a great athlete on the play, but good form nonetheless. Wait, I found another play in which Josh McDaniels deemed it wise to use a receiver in protection. Poor Sam Bradford. Anyway, the tight end was assigned to block Kerrigan on a third and 16 in the second quarter. Kerrigan gets inside the tight end where receiver Brandon Gibson oddly is a mismatch for Kerrigan, who bowls through him and hits Bradford just after he throws. And on the last play of the first half Kerrigan shed the tight end and tackled Jackson out of the Redskins’ nickel package.

LB Rocky McIntosh. He does not seem nearly as lost as he did a year ago, but an inside linebacker should lead this category. Still, it’s indicative that he’s playing better vs. the run. Against the pass? Well…. And if he’s having a good game it often means the front group is doing its job. Certainly, there were several plays in which McIntosh makes the tackle because Bowen or someone else is occupying two linemen or delaying their release to the linebackers. Still, McIntosh is reacting a little more decisively. Was it the opponent or is he playing that well? We’ll find out. But against the Rams he played a strong game. McIntosh tackled Jackson for a five-yard loss on a screen because of how fast he read the play. No blocker had a shot at him. McIntosh also is showing patience, or at least he did Sunday. Late in the second quarter he kept his eyes on his work as the coaches like to say; in this case, his work is Jackson. It helped that Kerrigan and Adam Carriker occupied three blockers. Still, McIntosh slid to his hole under control and tackled Jackson for one yard. On St. Louis’ first play of the second half McIntosh did a nice job stepping up and taking on the guard; because he stayed low he could explode into the blocker and get off the block to help make a three-yard stop. Thanks to Bowen he was free to stop Jackson in the fourth quarter for a one-yard gain. And he helped force Bradford up in the pocket for a sack by going through Jackson on a rush up the middle.

NT Barry Cofield. Nobody took advantage of the second-half 17-point lead than Cofield, who seemed to be constantly in Bradford’s face in the final two quarters and especially the fourth. Will say, Cofield was OK in the first half, tipping one pass and recovering  a fumble. Heck, one of his better plays came on the screen in which McIntosh made a stop for three yards. Of course, Cofield could have been called for holding as he occupied two blockers, then held one with his right arm. On the third play of the second half, from the nickel defense, Cofield got inside right guard Harvey Dahl. Cofield stepped to his left, the guard reacted and when Cofield shot inside with a big swat Dahl could not react. He hit Bradford as he threw the ball.  This was repeated on the second series as Cofield, again out of the nickel, forced a hurried incompletion. And on the next series Cofield got to Dahl’s outside for more pressure. In the fourth quarter Cofield batted another pass, this time while being doubled. It was definitely his best game since the season opener.

DE Stephen Bowen. A second consecutive strong outing for Bowen. It didn’t start well as Bowen’s first three plays saw him doubled and driven off a little bit. But he held his ground and fought through a block on the fourth play for a short gain and from there did the job. He showed good change of pace on the 3-yard screen to Jackson, diving at his feet to make the stop. He did a good job holding his ground on some double teams, allowing the linebackers to run clean. That happened a few times in the first half. On the last series of the first half, Bowen got a sack when Bradford was forced up to him by Orakpo. On the next play, he and Cofield held their ground allowing Kerrigan to make the play. Then, on the first play of the fourth quarter, once again a line working in concert made a play. Cofield beat the center down the line and forced Jackson to cut inside where Bowen was waiting after beating a double team. Finally, on his fourth-quarter sack it was another well-executed play. Orakpo rushed from the middle down to the right, taking the left guard to the outside. Bowen started upfield, then cut back inside and the guard and tackle bumped allowing him a free path to Bradford for a sack.

DE Adam Carriker. This was his most active game. Carriker is a reliable player at end but had not finished off many plays until Sunday. He only finished with two tackles and a sack, but he was active. He also had a tackle for a loss and a quarterback hurry. On the third play of the game, he used his left forearm well vs. right tackle Jason Smith as they slid down the line. It enabled Carriker to maintain leverage, get off the block and stop Jackson for no gain. Later in the second quarter he rushed as a tackle in the nickel defense, running through the left shoulder of the center, ducking and using his forearm to break through and deflect the pass. On the next series he and Kerrigan occupied three blockers to allow McIntosh to make a tackle. Carriker’s sack was set up by McIntosh’s pressure.  On the next play Carriker, out of the nickel, overpowered the left guard and launched himself at Bradford as he threw the ball.

Duds

None. It’s been difficult a couple times to find a Dud on this defense. When you limit a team to 172 yards, 10 points, record 7 sacks and 2.6 yards per offensive play there are no Duds. There were bad plays from several players, but nobody consistently did a poor job. Josh Wilson fell on a deep ball to Danario Alexander, but it was overthrown. He also missed a tackle. And there were a couple times the receivers used their bodies well against him, but the passes weren’t completed all the time. Kevin Barnes misplayed a deep ball to Mike Sims-Walker, who dropped the ball. It helps that the Rams have a dreadful offense. But they’ve had those offenses in the past and it hasn’t always mattered.

Notes

…Can’t remember a time I had all three starting linemen on the Studs side a year ago. They all were active, taking advantage of the score and a line (maybe a scheme?) that does not protect well. They won’t post these kind of sack numbers all the time; it’s not their game. But if they can play with any consistency this defense will stay very good. They also played well vs. the run.

…Unofficially, St. Louis ran the ball eight times against the Redskins’ nickel defense and gained 36 yards, including a 13-yarder on their first attempt. When Arizona tried to run vs. the Redskins nickel it had success, but the Cards spread the Redskins out better and the defense was more concerned about big plays in the passing game than yards allowed against their nickel run defense. The Redskins used LaRon Landry in the box a few times in this set and rarely had a five-man box as happened vs. the Cardinals.

..Here’s an example of the confusion caused by those eight-man fronts at the line of scrimmage. On second and goal from the Redskins’ 14-yard line, they showed their cover zero look. The Rams were ready for a blitz and right tackle Jason Smith set to block linebacker Rocky McIntosh, aligned over him. One problem: McIntosh didn’t rush; four defenders dropped into coverage. The tight end to Smith’s right released on a pass and that left a free lane for Ryan Kerrigan as Smith could not recover to get him. Meanwhile, nose tackle Barry Cofield applied pressure through the right guard and was in Sam Bradford’s face as he threw incomplete.

…There’s more on the eight-man front. The first time Washington showed it was on the first play of the second quarter. The Rams countered with max protection, keeping eight blockers in – but the Redskins only rushed four. It gave Bradford plenty of time and he threw a perfect pass that Mike Sims-Walker dropped. Kevin Barnes didn’t do a good job locating the ball in the air or positioning himself properly, looking back once to his left, then turning back to the right. The play shouldn’t have been as close as it was. Not sure

… Yes, another eight-man front item. Sorry, but I love watching this stuff. This time (midway through the second quarter), the Rams blocked it with six while the Redskins once again rushed four. Bradford lacked pocket awareness on this play. He stood up way too straight in the pocket and could not react at all when it started to collapse. Meanwhile, Brian Orakpo pressured him with a bullrush through the tackle, forcing Bradford to roll to his left. Kerrigan came from the other side beating a receiver – seriously – and chased him down for a sack/fumble.

…In one stretch of the fourth quarter the Redskins showed this formation five times in eight plays. The eighth? A touchdown pass to Steven Jackson in which Orakpo was beaten. The Rams had a good play called on this, putting Jackson one on one with Orakpo. Jackson beat him off the line so even though Orakpo stumbled, the play probably would have worked anyway. The Redskins clearly aren’t afraid to run this formation from any spot on the field or in any situation.

…Kerrigan rushed 43 times; Orakpo rushed 40 times. Kerrigan dropped into coverage once in the second half.

…The Redskins rushed four defenders 31 times and the Rams fared worse against this than anything else. Bradford completed seven of 25 passes for 51 yards against this front and was sacked five times. Against a five-man rush, he was 9 of 14 for 68 yards and two sacks. And against the six-man rush he was 2 for 2 for 40 yards and a touchdown. Did not factor in the bootleg pass early in the game or a short-yardage toss.

 For the Studs and Duds offense, click here.