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Our defense has been horrendously poor thus far, and if things don't shape up it could, unbelievably, get worse.
As of right now, halfway through the year we're on pace to allow:
5,028 passing yards (record: 4796 2011 Green Bay Packers)
6,502 total yards (record: 6793 1981 Baltomore Colts)
38 passing touchdowns (record: 40 1963 Denver Broncos)
454 points (record: 533 1981 Baltimore Colts)
We're ridiculously close to breaking three of those records, if not on pace to break them. Now, the excuse can be made that we're missing Rak, Carriker, Jackson and Merriweather. All of which were supposed to make an impact. However, other teams are dealing with injuries as well and not performing to this standard. At some point, you have to blame the guys shopping for groceries and calling the plays. In this case, that's Jim Haslett and Mike Shanahan. Shanahan and his son have the offense looking somewhat respectable, but he isn't helping much with the defensive side of the ball.
So how do we fix it? Simple. Relieve Haslett of his duties at the end of the year. I'm not interested in debating if this is Haslett's fault or not, but at this point a spark needs to be ignited in this team, and the removal of Haslett is the start of that spark.
Next, we must interview coordinators of all different ilks and schemes, even if we're currently not expecting a change in scheme and would prefer to stick with the 3-4, we must look at all of our options. At this juncture, it's probably too early to tell who will be available, but there are some interesting names being bandied about:
Rex Ryan, NYJ HC - Ryan is a loudmouth who would undoubtedly have a personality clash with Shanahan. For that reason alone, I'm apprehensive. That said, the guy is a football genius. He knows defense extremely well. His hybrid 46, which can easily be converted to a 43 or 34 is top notch. He's a guy I wouldn't really consider unless he and Shanahan talk ahead of time and both are honest with themselves and conclude that they can coexist. But he'd also have to be fired by the Jets, and I don't see that happening. At least not yet.
Romeo Crennel, KC HC - Here's another guy that's intriguing. He knows his defenses, although traditionally he's got the opposite issue of Haslett. He puts solid pass defenses out on the field but his run defense is mediocre. Guy has a championship pedigree and runs the Fairbanks-Bullough version of the 3-4, which is a Bill Parcells style defense. Again, he'd need to be fired.
Keith Butler, PIT LBs - Would be a real coup. Don't want to spend too much time talking about him, simply because he hasn't taken any offers to leave Pittsburgh yet, and my guess is he's LeBeau's heir apparent.
John Mitchell, PIT DL - Mitchell has been in Pittsburgh for nearly two decades. He worked under LeBeau I, Haslett, LeBeau II and everything in between. The guy knows defense. He's an aging assistant who has been in the same role for years. Take from that what you will.
Lou Spanos, UCLA DC - The fanged man. Made famous in DC for his ridiculous sideline signals, Spanos left the Skins and went to the Bruins. Whether it was a stroke of luck or not remains to be seen, but when he left here our defense immediately went down the tube. That's led many to believe that he was the true brains behind the defense, and as a LeBeau disciple that's entirely possible.
Bob Diaco, Notre Dame DC - Runs a field/boundary style of 3-4 defense, but he likes to put his boundary outside backer, called the "Cat" on the LOS with his hand in the dirt from time to time to mimic a 4-3. He's another hybrid guy who has done a pretty good job with the Irish this year as they are undefeated and playing solid football. Manti Te'o certainly helps his cause, as does Louis Nix III at the nose.
Eric Mangini, Unemployed - He's another Fairbanks-Bullough 3-4 guy. Not overly enamored with him, and not a top choice. But due diligence is always important.
John Marshall, Virginia Destroyers - He's a 4-3 guy that got shipped out in Oakland due to a lame duck head coach. His defenses, however, we're halfway decent. Marshall is known for coaching an aggressive defense that gets to the quarterback. Sounds good for an interview, at least. It's not like the Virginia Destroyers are going to prevent him from interviewing.
Pepper Johnson, NE LBs - Been a major part of the transition into New England's 4-3 defense. That said, when working with Vince Wilfork everything looks easier. He's an aggressive minded guy who knows the game having played it and coached it. Has a solid reputation.
I'm sure we could keep going with this list, especially once coaching staffs start getting shook up come the post season. The point is, there are many options out there that are intriguing for the Washington Redskins, and they are of many different varieties. The key is going to be getting as many qualified candidates to interview as possible and REALLY listening to what they have to say. Have them all come in with a current plan for our current personnel, have some kind of idea of what they'd like to improve on and perhaps players that fit the mold of the player they need that we could acquire given our current cap issues.
Hear them all out. Then, Coach Shanahan needs to decide which philosophy and ideas best fit our current group and what resources we can ideally commit to the defense next year. After all of that is done, a decision needs to be made. I don't care if it's 4-3, 3-4, 46 or a Polish defense with 13 guys on the field as Buddy Ryan used to run from time to time. I care about the plan and results.
Regardless, we have to add players through the draft and free agency, which is somewhat saddening considering we still need some offensive pieces, particularly across our line.
However, the biggest step for us may be acquiring a nose tackle if we stick with the 3-4 philosophy. I'm a big fan of Barry Cofield. The guy is a great football player. But at 311 pounds he's built to be a 3-4 end, not a nose. So who's available?
Terrance Knighton, Jacksonville - Free agent next year. Young, but has a reputation to add a few pounds in the offseason. He does show the work ethic to come back and get in shape relatively quickly. Solid run stuffer, but he's been slightly inconsistent.
In the college ranks, some attainable guys are:
Daniel McCullers, Tennessee - 6-8, 360 pounds. He had a solid game against the Gators and generates solid pressure from the interior. Not a big sack getter, but the nose in the 3-4 isn't supposed to be. Dude is BIG and takes up a ton of space.
Kwame Geathers, Georgia - He's part of a rotation down there, but this guy is a large animal as well. At 6-6 350 pounds, he's also a small mountain on the field.
TJ Barnes, Georgia Tech - He's not a guy I've seen a lot from, but people have been talking about him quite a bit. I'll have to do more research.
Point is, if we're going to stick with the 3-4, a nose tackle MUST be priority. I think the rest of our roster could be salvaged if we find a competent nose. With Cofield playing some defensive end, we'd have quite the group up front to contend with.
The shift to the 4-3 is a little more difficult (well, I'm not sure it's any more difficult. Finding a good nose is a major dilemma). Adam Carriker hasn't been a great presence in the 4-3 in the past. Cofield could play on the interior, as could Jenkins and Bowen. Our linebacker trio would likely be London Fletcher, Perry Riley and Keenan Robinson, which isn't horrendous, but depth becomes an immediate concern. Our starting defensive ends, assuming Rak comes back healthy would likely be Rak and Kerrigan, but we would have no depth to speak of.
But again, I'm not so much concerned with what defense we run. I'm concerned with the plan. I'm concerned with finding guys who can help us run either/or. I'm concerned with producing a quality unit.
So there is just a few ideas thrown out to help move us in that direction. Know any other coordinators that could help? Feel free to leave their name with a brief description of what they do and how they do it and why you feel they'd fit. How about personnel? Again, feel free to drop a line
As of right now, halfway through the year we're on pace to allow:
5,028 passing yards (record: 4796 2011 Green Bay Packers)
6,502 total yards (record: 6793 1981 Baltomore Colts)
38 passing touchdowns (record: 40 1963 Denver Broncos)
454 points (record: 533 1981 Baltimore Colts)
We're ridiculously close to breaking three of those records, if not on pace to break them. Now, the excuse can be made that we're missing Rak, Carriker, Jackson and Merriweather. All of which were supposed to make an impact. However, other teams are dealing with injuries as well and not performing to this standard. At some point, you have to blame the guys shopping for groceries and calling the plays. In this case, that's Jim Haslett and Mike Shanahan. Shanahan and his son have the offense looking somewhat respectable, but he isn't helping much with the defensive side of the ball.
So how do we fix it? Simple. Relieve Haslett of his duties at the end of the year. I'm not interested in debating if this is Haslett's fault or not, but at this point a spark needs to be ignited in this team, and the removal of Haslett is the start of that spark.
Next, we must interview coordinators of all different ilks and schemes, even if we're currently not expecting a change in scheme and would prefer to stick with the 3-4, we must look at all of our options. At this juncture, it's probably too early to tell who will be available, but there are some interesting names being bandied about:
Rex Ryan, NYJ HC - Ryan is a loudmouth who would undoubtedly have a personality clash with Shanahan. For that reason alone, I'm apprehensive. That said, the guy is a football genius. He knows defense extremely well. His hybrid 46, which can easily be converted to a 43 or 34 is top notch. He's a guy I wouldn't really consider unless he and Shanahan talk ahead of time and both are honest with themselves and conclude that they can coexist. But he'd also have to be fired by the Jets, and I don't see that happening. At least not yet.
Romeo Crennel, KC HC - Here's another guy that's intriguing. He knows his defenses, although traditionally he's got the opposite issue of Haslett. He puts solid pass defenses out on the field but his run defense is mediocre. Guy has a championship pedigree and runs the Fairbanks-Bullough version of the 3-4, which is a Bill Parcells style defense. Again, he'd need to be fired.
Keith Butler, PIT LBs - Would be a real coup. Don't want to spend too much time talking about him, simply because he hasn't taken any offers to leave Pittsburgh yet, and my guess is he's LeBeau's heir apparent.
John Mitchell, PIT DL - Mitchell has been in Pittsburgh for nearly two decades. He worked under LeBeau I, Haslett, LeBeau II and everything in between. The guy knows defense. He's an aging assistant who has been in the same role for years. Take from that what you will.
Lou Spanos, UCLA DC - The fanged man. Made famous in DC for his ridiculous sideline signals, Spanos left the Skins and went to the Bruins. Whether it was a stroke of luck or not remains to be seen, but when he left here our defense immediately went down the tube. That's led many to believe that he was the true brains behind the defense, and as a LeBeau disciple that's entirely possible.
Bob Diaco, Notre Dame DC - Runs a field/boundary style of 3-4 defense, but he likes to put his boundary outside backer, called the "Cat" on the LOS with his hand in the dirt from time to time to mimic a 4-3. He's another hybrid guy who has done a pretty good job with the Irish this year as they are undefeated and playing solid football. Manti Te'o certainly helps his cause, as does Louis Nix III at the nose.
Eric Mangini, Unemployed - He's another Fairbanks-Bullough 3-4 guy. Not overly enamored with him, and not a top choice. But due diligence is always important.
John Marshall, Virginia Destroyers - He's a 4-3 guy that got shipped out in Oakland due to a lame duck head coach. His defenses, however, we're halfway decent. Marshall is known for coaching an aggressive defense that gets to the quarterback. Sounds good for an interview, at least. It's not like the Virginia Destroyers are going to prevent him from interviewing.
Pepper Johnson, NE LBs - Been a major part of the transition into New England's 4-3 defense. That said, when working with Vince Wilfork everything looks easier. He's an aggressive minded guy who knows the game having played it and coached it. Has a solid reputation.
I'm sure we could keep going with this list, especially once coaching staffs start getting shook up come the post season. The point is, there are many options out there that are intriguing for the Washington Redskins, and they are of many different varieties. The key is going to be getting as many qualified candidates to interview as possible and REALLY listening to what they have to say. Have them all come in with a current plan for our current personnel, have some kind of idea of what they'd like to improve on and perhaps players that fit the mold of the player they need that we could acquire given our current cap issues.
Hear them all out. Then, Coach Shanahan needs to decide which philosophy and ideas best fit our current group and what resources we can ideally commit to the defense next year. After all of that is done, a decision needs to be made. I don't care if it's 4-3, 3-4, 46 or a Polish defense with 13 guys on the field as Buddy Ryan used to run from time to time. I care about the plan and results.
Regardless, we have to add players through the draft and free agency, which is somewhat saddening considering we still need some offensive pieces, particularly across our line.
However, the biggest step for us may be acquiring a nose tackle if we stick with the 3-4 philosophy. I'm a big fan of Barry Cofield. The guy is a great football player. But at 311 pounds he's built to be a 3-4 end, not a nose. So who's available?
Terrance Knighton, Jacksonville - Free agent next year. Young, but has a reputation to add a few pounds in the offseason. He does show the work ethic to come back and get in shape relatively quickly. Solid run stuffer, but he's been slightly inconsistent.
In the college ranks, some attainable guys are:
Daniel McCullers, Tennessee - 6-8, 360 pounds. He had a solid game against the Gators and generates solid pressure from the interior. Not a big sack getter, but the nose in the 3-4 isn't supposed to be. Dude is BIG and takes up a ton of space.
Kwame Geathers, Georgia - He's part of a rotation down there, but this guy is a large animal as well. At 6-6 350 pounds, he's also a small mountain on the field.
TJ Barnes, Georgia Tech - He's not a guy I've seen a lot from, but people have been talking about him quite a bit. I'll have to do more research.
Point is, if we're going to stick with the 3-4, a nose tackle MUST be priority. I think the rest of our roster could be salvaged if we find a competent nose. With Cofield playing some defensive end, we'd have quite the group up front to contend with.
The shift to the 4-3 is a little more difficult (well, I'm not sure it's any more difficult. Finding a good nose is a major dilemma). Adam Carriker hasn't been a great presence in the 4-3 in the past. Cofield could play on the interior, as could Jenkins and Bowen. Our linebacker trio would likely be London Fletcher, Perry Riley and Keenan Robinson, which isn't horrendous, but depth becomes an immediate concern. Our starting defensive ends, assuming Rak comes back healthy would likely be Rak and Kerrigan, but we would have no depth to speak of.
But again, I'm not so much concerned with what defense we run. I'm concerned with the plan. I'm concerned with finding guys who can help us run either/or. I'm concerned with producing a quality unit.
So there is just a few ideas thrown out to help move us in that direction. Know any other coordinators that could help? Feel free to leave their name with a brief description of what they do and how they do it and why you feel they'd fit. How about personnel? Again, feel free to drop a line
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