Slide protection helps provide time to go deep
ASHBURN – The major renovation started early, shortly after Mike Shanahan took over. It’s hard to miss the results: Trent Williams, Jammal Brown and even Artis Hicks. If the Redskins’ offensive line improves, it won’t be hard to know why.
Another reason could be just as important.
Along with new personnel, the Redskins hope a shift in philosophy results in fewer sacks, as well as hits on the quarterback. Unlike the past six seasons, Washington will use more of a zone, or slide, protection scheme — while pass blocking at least. Under Joe Bugel, the Redskins had used mostly man blocking. They won’t ditch the man — and coach Mike Shanahan said they have at least 10 protections — but they will use more zone.
“It is a big difference,” Redskins center Casey Rabach said. “It’s great when everyone does it right.”
Based on training camp, the Redskins want to throw downfield more often. To buy that sort of time, blitzes must be handled. In theory, the slide protection makes that possible.
“Instead of everyone having man with no potential help, when you slide a direction you have the center helping the guard and the guard ready to help the tackle,” offensive line coach Chris Foerster said.
Also, the running back will be more involved in protections than in the past, Rabach said. The flip side is that the back releases on a route less often when a team uses slide protection. Sometimes that’s the case with a tight end, too. Still, the numbers suggest it works; in Shanahan’s last five seasons with Denver, the Broncos allowed an average of 22.6 sacks a season. The Redskins allowed 31.0 a season over that same span using mostly man.
Slide protection can simplify a lineman’s life in an era of exotic blitzes. Buffalo’s vanilla defense offered no test, but expect Baltimore and the New York Jets, Washington’s next two preseason opponents, to be more creative rushing the passer. That will provide a better gauge for the new tactic.
In the system, the linemen slide to an area, picking up whomever is rushing through that hole. In man blocking, if a defender stunts to another gap, the lineman he left then must see whether anyone else is rushing his way.
“It picks up whatever they can throw at us,” Rabach said.
“You [have to] trust the guy next to you,” right guard Artis Hicks said. “It makes for a fun day at the office. You get to knock guys around and bang them up a little bit.”
And defensive linemen admit they don’t like facing slide pass protection. They hit a gap expecting to be blocked by the man across from them, only to get drilled in the side.
“It knocks you off-balance a lot,” Redskins end Phillip Daniels said. “That’s one of the toughest things you have to go against. If you’re one-on-one, he’s backing up and that’s easy. When they’re zone-blocking, you have to change your mentality. You’re trying to fight this one guy, and he moves and the next guy hits you. It’s real effective.”
