Schaub burned defense but still faced pressure
The blitz didn’t work. After all, Houston quarterback Matt Schaub had enough time to throw 34 yards downfield on a fourth down play for a game-tying touchdown this past Sunday.
Then again, it did work. Schaub’s numbers were good when the Redskins blitzed him but they were much better when Washington didn’t. And just about every big play by the Redskins defense came via this strategy.
Though Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett has been aggressive — and creative — with the blitzes, some players wonder if there’s still a balance that needs to be struck.
“There were a couple times where we might have wanted to play coverage,” Redskins linebacker Lorenzo Alexander said. “[Haslett] loves to blitz, but sometimes you might want to play a little coverage and get off the field, let the QB hold it and let [Brian Orakpo] and [Andre Carter] do their job and put some pressure on.”
But veteran end Phillip Daniels said if you’re going to be a blitzing team, you can’t do it halfway.
“You’ve got to commit,” he said. “Guys just have to see things faster, that’s all.”
And, though the Redskins have surrendered big plays, it’s not necessarily the fault of blitzing too much.
“You give up big plays in any defense when you’re just getting started,” Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said.
Take the 30-27 overtime loss to Houston, for example. It points out what is likely clear: The Redskins were feast or famine when blitzing. A bigger problem appeared to be the zone coverage, which allowed receivers to run free most of the day.
The Redskins unofficially blitzed 34 of the 57 times Houston dropped back to pass. Against the blitz, Schaub completed 20 of 34 passes for 235 yards and one touchdown. When Washington didn’t blitz, Schaub completed 19 of 24 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns. That included Schaub going five of six for 66 yards on bootlegs.
Four of the Redskins’ five sacks occurred when sending at least one extra defender. However, Schaub also hit a 50-yard screen pass on a blitz.
“That’s the only one that I saw that hurt us,” Daniels said. “Sometimes being aggressive can help you and sometimes it can hurt you.”
Safety LaRon Landry was the clear primary blitzer. He was the extra man 14 times and on his blitzes, the Redskins recorded an interception and two sacks. He also drilled Schaub on two other occasions. Landry blitzed off the edge and between the tackles. Once, he went in motion with a receiver and, when the ball was snapped, Landry turned up and blitzed through the left side of the Texans’ line. Nobody noticed him coming. He camouflaged himself behind the linemen.
Landry illustrates how the Redskins are creative with their looks. They sent inside linebackers together; they sent inside linebackers and corners at the same time and they also had outside linebackers rush through the middle of the line. They’ll have Vonnie Holliday lined up over a guard and slant inside, occupying two guys, with an outside linebacker rushing wide to take the tackle. Then an inside backer, or Landry, shoots through the opening.
As linebacker London Fletcher, who unofficially blitzed eight times, said, “We weren’t predictable.”
