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ESPN--Riddick: Redskins' Passing Game Is Simple

Sacks are indeed dramatic, but sometimes the more subtle not-so-dramatic stuff makes a difference as well.

People rag on Rak like he's useless because he doesn't have a swim move, doesn't spin, his sack numbers are down, his coverage skills aren't great...etc. Oh, and he and collects boatloads of uncalled holds.

All of the above does not mean he's ineffective. Why do you think they hold him so much? He's a damn handful to contain, that's why.

Don't think the opposing QBs don't notice him either.

There is a stat called "QB hurries" that indicates the close presence and distracting effect of a defender effectively getting the QB to hurry his throws, letting the ball loose before he originally intended to contributing to the liklihood of decreased accuracy and poor throws.

One site compiles these and I sorted the list by team to see how well Rak contributes in this area.


Apparently he's not as useless as some might think.

Here's a link to the site-they have an interesting bunch of stats not published by other sources.

NFL Statistics - SportingCharts.com


More interesting are the names not on that list including, Bowen, Jenkins, Golston and Baker. This fearless foursome have combined for 1.5 sacks & next to no hurries.

To be fair, Bowen has played hurt some this year and continues to tough it out but Baker is out of place at DE, Golston is a perrenial back-up and Jenkins got a late start but is disapointing at this point in his career. This group is in serious need of a talent infusion and has to be marked for a FA upgrade is offseason. Carriker is toast, unfortunately.

But it all starts up front and our DE's are too easily neutralized in the passing game. 1.5 sacks between 4 guys after 9 games? Sheesh...
 
Sacks are indeed dramatic, but sometimes the more subtle not-so-dramatic stuff makes a difference as well.

I don't know why the sack is the most valued statistic for a pass rusher. One stat that I've never seen tracked, that I'd love to somehow see come into fruition that would go perfect with the sack stat: Sack assist. Take on a double team and draw an extra blocker to free up someone on a sack? Get an assist. Force the QB off his spot and into the arms of a fellow defender? Sack assist.

That, in conjunction with the sack stat, would be an excellent overall measure of pass rush (while also taking into account hurries, hits and pressures). Rak and Kerrigan have done an excellent job in every department except the sack department.

And let me also add this:

I'm not sure what we do with Rak at seasons' end. A lot of it is going to depend on the direction of the franchise, other guys we're looking to sign, style of defense we run, and his total cost. There's a ton of factors at play. I'd like to see him back, but I understand the business side of the whole thing.

What I can't wrap my head around is everyone naysaying the guy. Rak has played overall pretty good football. Has he missed some tackles? Yes. Has he been perfect? No. But who has? For some reason, he's become this fan base's scapegoat. I don't get it.
 
I've been saying Orakpo is valuable for hurrying the QB for three years now. He's much better than folks give him credit for.

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Being I'm the one who brought up Rak in this thread, I'll address my stance. I know there's a lot more to being a rushing end / OLB then just sacks. What I'm looking at are the little things. His coverage skills leave a lot to be desired, and Jackson did far better in this area last season. Top rushers in this league get held, but they also have a counter, which Rak just hasn't developed. I'd have no problem if he was constantly being doubled, but he's not, and often contained by one linemen. He's gassed too often, and off the field too often IMO. Kerrigan doesn't come off the field nowhere near as often. Rak just isn't a disruptive force like many of the top tier DE's and OLB's out there, but is hyped as one.
 
Being I'm the one who brought up Rak in this thread, I'll address my stance. I know there's a lot more to being a rushing end / OLB then just sacks. What I'm looking at are the little things. His coverage skills leave a lot to be desired, and Jackson did far better in this area last season.

Jackson is better in coverage. Agreed.

Top rushers in this league get held, but they also have a counter, which Rak just hasn't developed.

I'm not sure this is the case. It's probably more of what he's allowed to do. How often do you see Kerrigan counter and take a different path to the QB? Rarely. I'd guess, that due to the zone read and quarterback rush ability, that those two are told not to make an inside move. When rushing from the outside and staying outside, there's not a whole lot you can do to counter anything. Head fake, dip/rip... maybe. But where's he faking? He RARELY goes inside. So why would a good OT bite?

He's gassed too often, and off the field too often IMO.

You are aware that Haslett has subbed both Kerrigan and Rak out and put Jackson and Tapp/Jenkins in, right? It has nothing to do with being gassed. They are off the field almost the exact amount of time.

Rak just isn't a disruptive force like many of the top tier DE's and OLB's out there, but is hyped as one.

If you value the little things, which you say you do, you wouldn't say this statement.
 
Being I'm the one who brought up Rak in this thread, I'll address my stance. I know there's a lot more to being a rushing end / OLB then just sacks. What I'm looking at are the little things. His coverage skills leave a lot to be desired, and Jackson did far better in this area last season. Top rushers in this league get held, but they also have a counter, which Rak just hasn't developed. I'd have no problem if he was constantly being doubled, but he's not, and often contained by one linemen. He's gassed too often, and off the field too often IMO. Kerrigan doesn't come off the field nowhere near as often. Rak just isn't a disruptive force like many of the top tier DE's and OLB's out there, but is hyped as one.

I'll wait to pass judgment on Rak until we see what his contract demands are. I can remember in the not too distant past bitching continuously that we never drafted anyone on the DLine (switch one letter and that sounds familiar, doesn't it?), we could never get any pressure, etc. We need a nose tackle. Period. Cofield is a GREAT effort guy who works his ass off, and I am proud to call him a Redskins player, but he is probably better suited as a rotational player. I suspect if we had a space eater in the middle, our entire D would look substantially different.

Having said all that, if Rak's performance is THAT closely tied to having a dominant NT, I'm not sure he's worth an enormous extension.
 
The irony is that Cofield would be better as a DT in the 4-3. Kerrigan would be better as a DE in the 4-3 and Jackson would make a very nice SAM linebacker in the same scheme. You might even find that Jenkins is more effective inside.

In a 4-3 my sense is we would have to go out and get FEWER players to bring this unit up to snuff.

We need a MIKE and a secondary. Questionable if Riley would be a fit as the WIL.
 
The irony is that Cofield would be better as a DT in the 4-3. Kerrigan would be better as a DE in the 4-3 and Jackson would make a very nice SAM linebacker in the same scheme. You might even find that Jenkins is more effective inside.

In a 4-3 my sense is we would have to go out and get FEWER players to bring this unit up to snuff.

We need a MIKE and a secondary. Questionable if Riley would be a fit as the WIL.

Interesting topic of discussion, for sure. But I think sticking with our current version of the 3-4 would be the least amount of players. We need a nose and an ILB. Cofield could join the DE rotation and that whole thing would be sorted out and be a pure pass rushing nose if we got creative with some exotic blitzes.

I think for the 4-3 we need a MLB, a 1-technique, a Strong End and an OLB. Having said that, it might be easier to acquire those pieces. I think Rak could fit as the Will backer again, so we may not need that OLB. But we'd need depth at each of those spots, where we have it now. I actually don't think depth is our issue, but rather some of our starters aren't starters at the positions their playing.

Getting a true nose would be rough, which is why I'm on board for running whatever defense a new DC would want to run and acquiring the pieces to fit it. I think the overall transition, depth included, will be rougher with a 4-3. But if we can't find a true nose, building up the hybrid 3-4 we run would likely be a mistake.
 

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