The safety can play linebacker. The middle linebacker can drop to safety. And the defensive ends can swap sides, or drop into coverage like a linebacker.
Oh, yeah, there’s also the cornerback who can play linebacker and safety.
Meanwhile, the offense gets to guess who’s going to do what. And when. Al Saunders learned that as Kansas City’s offensive coordinator last season.
“The two teams that gave you the most difficulty in preparation were New England and Washington,” said Saunders, now the Redskins’ associate head coach/offense. “They’re both outside the box.”
That might be even truer this season. Redskins assistant head coach/defense Gregg Williams said he’s never coached a unit this versatile.
“Sometimes I have to put a harness on my assistants,” Williams said, laughing. “They want to do so much.”
Here’s why: “This is about as versatile a group as I’ve seen,” said Redskins secondary/safeties coach Jerry Gray, who played nine seasons in the NFL and has coached another nine years.
That versatility also helps compensate for injuries.
» Cornerback Shawn Springs. He’s physical enough to cover in the slot, he’s dropped into coverage as a safety and he’s even played weakside linebacker in some alignments.
» Safety Sean Taylor. He’s the most versatile. His speed enables coaches to roll him to coverage areas that other safeties couldn’t do.
“He plays coverages from different parts of the field and in different disguises,” Redskins safety Adam Archuleta said.
Taylor’s size enables him to play middle linebacker against spread offenses. Last season, the Giants tried to run out of this look in the second meeting, but Taylor helped end that strategy. Also, Taylor can cover receivers in the slot, another plus with Springs sidelined.
» Linebackers Marcus Washington and Lemar Marshall. Washington can play the strong side, weak side and defensive end. Meanwhile, Marshall’s speed enables the cover-2 to work. A middle linebacker must have the speed to drop into coverage for this to work. Marshall fits the bill and he has experience doing it, having played safety at Michigan State.
» Defensive ends Phillip Daniels and Andre Carter. They’re comfortable playing either side. Carter played linebacker last season and can drop into coverage on zone blitzes.
“If you want to play two linemen and three linebackers in a four-man rush, you’ve got the ability to do it,” Gray said. “Now they have to guess who the fourth rusher is.”
And guessing is good.
“It makes it harder for an offense to look at film and say, ‘They’re gonna do this,’ Marshall said, “because we can do a lot more.”
