Defensive coordinator loves play call that proved costly vs. Cowboys ASHBURN — Jim Haslett likes what the play has produced this season: an interception return for a touchdown in the opener, a fumble and subsequent recovery Monday. So he’s going to call it again. Nine times the Redskins’ defensive coordinator called for an all-out blitz, and nine times he said it worked.
The 10th time did not. The 10th time resulted in a 30-yard gain on third-and-21 in Monday’s 18-16 loss to Dallas.
“Would you take it back? Yeah, of course you would,” said Haslett, speaking publicly about this play for the first time. “Coaches always second guess themselves, but it’s a great defense.”
– John Keim
| Notes |
| » The Redskins abandoned the run in the fourth quarter vs. Dallas on Monday, but both the offensive coordinator and the coach say that wasn’t the plan — and won’t be in the future. Last season, the Redskins passed the ball 63 percent of the time and only one team had fewer runs than Washington. Through the first three games this season, the Redskins rank eighth in attempts. On Monday, though, 14 of their 16 fourth-quarter plays were passes. “We had very quick drives,” offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said. “We’re happy with how we’ve run the ball this year. It’s something I believe in, and when the game dictates, it’s what we’ll do.” Coach Mike Shanahan said his goal is for his teams to be around the top 10 in the league in carries. “If not, that means we’re not as effective as we need to be [offensively],” he said. |
| » Receiver Anthony Armstrong (hamstring), fullback Darrel Young (hamstring) and safety DeJon Gomes (hamstring) all were limited in practice Thursday. They’re expected to be game-time decisions at St. Louis on Sunday. |
And that’s why if the Redskins are presented a similar situation, there’s a good chance they will run the same blitz. Or at least present a look that causes the offense to think this way. Their thinking: Ryan Kerrigan’s interception return for a touchdown in Week 1 came off this blitz, in which there’s no safety help for the corners. Josh Wilson recovered a fumble vs. Dallas out of this package.
“The call has been very good to us all year long,” Redskins linebacker London Fletcher said.
The Redskins will show a seven- or eight-man rush a handful of times each game. But they don’t always blitz out of this formation. Sometimes they will rush four and drop four. Sometimes they will play man-to-man behind the blitz, and other times they will play zone. That way, Haslett said, if the blitz is picked up, it’s potentially not as dangerous because they’re playing coverage, too.
And other times they will line up eight and rush four, overloading a side while doing so.
“We’re giving the illusion that it’s a blitz, but it’s really not,” he said.
Not everyone is enthralled with this tactic, with one talent evaluator labeling it too “boom or bust.” But Haslett points to the stats: One reason he said they’re first on third-down defense is because of their cover zero. Others said defensive balance is needed.
“You’ve got to pick and choose,” Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “A good mixture is what it takes.”
The Redskins showed blitz on the previous two plays before the third-down mishap. On first down, a bad snap cost Dallas, but Haslett said they weren’t going to send all eight defenders on the play anyway. They did on second down, but Dallas threw a short pass incomplete.
The difference on the failed blitz was the way Dallas quarterback Tony Romo improvised. All game when the Redskins showed that look, Romo threw short passes. This play was designed to be a comeback route to receiver Dez Bryant. But cornerback DeAngelo Hall played it well, taking away the short route. And when the blitzes were picked up — and when Kerrigan and Oshiomogho Atogwe stopped rushing and started to worry about coverage — Romo waved for Bryant to go deep. He did.
“It was on the fly,” Haslett said. “He got the ball and started running for his life and just threw it up. They made a play, and we didn’t.”
