He abandoned his NBA dreams long ago, turning his attention to football. He never surrendered his basketball moves. So when London Fletcher spots an opposing lineman blocking his path, he reverts to his point guard days, seeking what he used to give others: an assist.
More often than not, that’s what he gets. And it’s why Fletcher has already survived nine years in the NFL and remains productive. When a lineman is in his way, Fletcher gives a head fake, then darts the other way, clearing the way for another tackle.
“You see London running full-tilt and he’s head-faking,” Redskins assistant head coach/defense Gregg Williams said. “Now that lineman thinks he has to accelerate and now the lineman goes behind him. You can’t coach that. You can either do it or you can’t. Ray Lewis is one of the all-time best at doing that and London is pretty doggone good, too.”
Fletcher led his high school basketball team to two Ohio state championships and earned a scholarship to St. Francis (Pennsylvania). But, after his freshman season, he transferred to Division III John Carroll to play football.
However, considering his size (5-foot-10, 258 pounds), Fletcher can’t rely on taking on blockers. Instead, he must rely on quickness and savvy. Both of which was on display in the preseason opener last Saturday.
Coaches don’t like when linebackers “go behind the block” to make a play. In Fletcher’s case, they make an exception.
“It’s a combination of instinct and experience,” Williams said.
And basketball.
“I do use basketball moves when it allows me to avoid a blocker,” said Fletcher, in his first year with Washington. “Sometimes it happens naturally where a lineman comes and I instinctively give a wiggle and avoid him.”
To capitalize on his speed, and make it tougher for linemen to reach him, the Redskins will occasionally line Fletcher up deeper than most linebackers, approximately seven yards off the ball. They did this Saturday, with Fletcher sprinting from the snap to stop Tennessee’s Chris Brown for a two-yard run around right end.
“He comes downhill,” Redskins defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin said of Fletcher, “and he runs fast.”
Brains help, too. Williams allowed Fletcher to make the defensive calls Saturday. That trust comes from knowing how much time Fletcher puts into film study, doing extra work throughout the week and after team meetings on Saturday nights, sometimes bringing teammates with him.
“Part of his job is, can he help the rest of the guys play to their potential?” Williams said. “He can do that.”
And that would result in another assist.
