Why Are We Not Blitzing?

[Goaldeje]

I'm hoping smarter people than me can provide some insights. Seems to me that we blitzed the hell out of Romo, which drove him out of the pocket, putting him at his best, improvising. Then we seemed to get a good amount of pressure on Schaub, just not timely pressure. Then we drop back against Bradford and he eats us alive with the underneath stuff. Which really didn't make sense, cause we all figured Haslett would try to rattle the rookie.

Now today, we have a second string QB who is a pocket passer, not as good moving around out of the pocket. And we don't blitz? And again, Kolb killed us underneath. I guess I am just confused, because there doesn't seem to be a lot of consistency.

Our personnel hasn't changed, if anything it's gotten better with Moore in the secondary instead of Doughty.

Anyone have any insights?

 

[Henry]

Quick answer: Bradford killed us when we blitzed him.

Kolb couldn't do much even when he had all day to throw. They were running way too many draws and screens because he couldn't push the ball downfield at ALL.

 

[Burgundy Burner]

We don't have the personnel to blitz out of a 3-4. JH made the adjustments and we saw a better defense overall when compared to the first three games. I'm sure the blitz will return on occasion, but today's defensive effort was good.

One other thing that affects our defense is the lack of holding calls that are committed against Brian Orapko. Yes, a couple were called today. It should've been three more from what I saw. Just saying...

 

[Elephant]

We don't have the personnel to blitz out of a 3-4. JH made the adjustments and we saw a better defense overall when compared to the first three games. I'm sure the blitz will return on occasion, but today's defensive effort was good.

One other thing that affects our defense is the lack of holding calls that are committed against Brian Orapko. Yes, a couple were called today. It should've been three more from what I saw. Just saying...

Big Al was tackled in the backfield at least once as well.

 

[SabreAce33]

The front four were constantly pressuring Kolb without a blitz. Kolb isn't any good out of the pocket. He spent the whole night checking down. I don't see anything wrong with that scheme, for the first time in weeks.

 

[servumtuum]

I rather like John Keim's take on our D in yesterday's game:

1. Jim Haslett adjusted. The Redskins are not equipped right now to be a blitz-happy team. It looks great and it’s fun to play. But when you’re giving up big plays and the coverage is bad, then it’s a problem. So the Redskins opted for a less aggressive, and smarter, approach. They used a lot of cover-2 zones, especially in the second half, as they forced a team that wants to make big plays to be patient and work it downfield. They still used a number of looks, sometimes using Andre Carter as an end; Lorenzo Alexander as a tackle and Albert Haynesworth as a one-man front. But they almost always only rushed four guys with an occasional fifth. It helped that Alexander can play in space; it enables him to jam receivers and make plays when in one-on-one situations. And did you see his diving tipped pass on the two-point conversion? That just showed his athleticism; Alexander needs to keep starting. His ability to react laterally sets him apart from Carter. The Redskins used their personnel wisely in this game, getting Chris Wilson in a bit more just for the speed.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/sports/blogs/redskins-confidential/104252948.html#ixzz11OJqm9fE

 

[Goaldeje]

I rather like John Keim's take on our D in yesterday's game:

Good read Serv, thanks. I guess my frustration stemmed from the fact that we did not seem to alter our gameplan when Vick went out. The short routes are what you want to force Vick to complete, playing gap control defense, disciplined zones, etc. Seems like when Kolb came in, if we pressured him, he just doesn't look like a good QB to me, and we could have forced some mistakes.

Course, having said that, all that would have done is allow Rogers to drop a couple more.