Loss of DeAngelo Hall Could Be a Back-Breaker for Washington Redskins

Early this season, the Washington Redskins defense has quite frequently surpassed expectations. It entered Week 3 ranked tops in the league—albeit on a soft schedule—and that stellar front seven is surrendering only 2.8 yards per carry, which is tied for first in the NFL.

However, a pass defense that has given up 7.0 yards per attempt and a passer rating of 95.4 is still a problem which can't be fully masked if the 'Skins don't generate enough takeaways to make up for it.

That's why the loss of veteran cornerback DeAngelo Hall hurts so much. The 30-year-old isn't just that unit's best player in pass coverage, but he's also its top playmaker on that side of the ball.

Dating back to 2010, 26 percent of the interceptions recorded by the Redskins have come from Hall, but 0 percent will this season because Hall has been placed on injured reserve due to a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Player	Picks	Def. TD
1. Richard Sherman	20	2
2. Ed Reed	18	1
3. DeAngelo Hall	17	5
4. Tim Jennings	16	3
4. Devin McCourty	16	0

This was already a paper-thin secondary. It just went from cardboard to tissue.

Despite the fact that their first two opponents—Houston and Jacksonville—averaged a combined 1.8 turnovers per game last season, the Redskins have just three takeaways this year.

When they won this division with a weak defense in 2012, they were saved by Robert Griffin III as well as the fact that the defense ranked tied for fifth in the league with 31 takeaways. Since then, they just haven't been able to make as many big plays on "D."

Year	Takeaways/game	Record
2012	1.9	10-6
2013/2014	1.5	4-15

But it goes beyond simply making interceptions or forcing fumbles, because as you can see in the first chart above, Hall has also found a way to score five touchdowns in the last four years.

No defensive player has scored more often than that in the last half-decade. He's got a nose for the end zone, and those points are quite valuable when your defense is as vulnerable as this one.

At this point, the Redskins are just gasping for air in the secondary. The safety position is probably their weakest spot, but Hall was such a ball hawk that he often helped take some heat off of Brandon Meriweather and the rest of a scrub-filled group of safeties.

Now, Meriweather and Ryan Clark, who is 34 going on 80, risk being further exposed.

They do have 2013 second-round pick David Amerson, who has an aggressive playing style that sort of resembles Hall's.

With that said, Amerson has just two picks on 881 career snaps and is not close to being reliable in coverage. The North Carolina State product has allowed 17 catches on 24 targets this season. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), that is the fourth-highest total in the league.

Corner	Career starts	Career INTs	2013 PFF grade (rank)
1. David Amerson	11	2	-5.0 (84th)
2. E.J. Biggers	29	4	-12.0 (80th)
3. Bashaud Breeland	2	0	N/A
4. Tracy Porter	59	10	-11.6 (103rd)
5. Chase Minnifield	0	0	N/A

Veterans E.J. Biggers and Tracy Porter have starting experience, but neither has the resume to be relied upon as a No. 1 corner at this stage.

Biggers has just four picks in four fairly full seasons and was graded by PFF (subscription required) as the worst defensive back on the roster last season. Porter has yet to play a snap this year.

In fact, Porter is a name and nothing more. Yeah, he intercepted Peyton Manning to clinch a Super Bowl victory for the New Orleans Saints in 2009. However, he was destroyed in coverage time and again in 2011, which is why New Orleans let him walk.

Same thing happened in Denver in 2012, which is why the Broncos made no attempt to re-sign him after a weak, injury-plagued season. 

Then, after being torched for a full season in Oakland in 2013, the Raiders also made little or no effort to re-sign the 27-year-old corner.

The Redskins' pass rush has looked good. If it can generate enough pressure, there'll be opportunities for takeaways. But they need to have guys in the secondary who possess the ability to take advantage of said opportunities. Without Hall, things become dire.

As ESPN.com's John Keim points out, Hall was the captain of this defense.

He can still impart some of that wisdom on younger guys like Amerson, rookie Bashaud Breeland and the recently promoted Chase Minnifield, all of whom have extremely limited NFL experience, but it won't be the same now that he's rehabbing from a major injury.

"I really do idolize the guy," Amerson told Keim. "I study him to see what he sees and ask questions like, 'What were you thinking on this play? What did you see that allows you to be that much quicker?' I'm always picking his brain."

This is a defense that simply couldn't afford to take a hit. Losing Hall doesn't mean the season is automatically a lost cause, but it could be a game-changing injury in D.C.

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon