How Jordan Reed's Return Has Opened Up the Washington Redskins Offense
Jordan Reed's return from injury is perhaps the only silver lining from the Washington Redskins' Week 6 defeat to the Arizona Cardinals. The loss left Washington at 1-5, but "move" tight end Reed showed how he opens up the offense for head coach Jay Gruden.
Reed, who has been missing since Week 1, made eight catches for 92 yards. But the numbers don't reveal the whole story.
Reed's impact was more obvious in how his presence and alignments helped create coverage mismatches for others. He also helped the Redskins beat the blitz, as well as opening up the underneath passing game.
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Let's take a closer look at everything Reed brought to the offense in Week 6.
Creating Space for Others
The best example of Reed creating space for others came on the 64-yard touchdown pass to DeSean Jackson early in the second quarter. The Cardinals presented Washington with their familiar dime package that puts safetyย Deone Bucannon as a linebacker.
The Redskins challenged this by sending Reed in motion. This took Bucannon out of the blitz lane:
Reed left wide receivers Jackson and Andre Roberts singled up on the outside. By splitting out wide, Reed took Bucannon away from the middle where he might have zone-dropped underneath Roberts' or Jackson's routes.
But Reed's new alignment also presented a problem for deep safety Tyrann Mathieu. He now had three possible routes coming his way, presenting a difficult choice about which one to cover:
With all three routes working vertically, Mathieu didn't get across to Jackson until it was too late:
The receiver beat single coverage from cornerback Patrick Peterson. With no safety help over the top, he was free to sprint the rest of the way to the end zone:
This play was made possible by moving Reed around to take advantage of his downfield skills. The Cards had to respect his speed and threat on the outside and alter their coverage accordingly.
That meant there was no underneath help or over-the-top coverage on Jackson's route.
Because Reed can line up anywhere, often away from where he starts a play, he should help Washington create plenty of similar mismatches for Jackson, Roberts and Pierre Garcon.
Underneath Passing Game and Helping the 3rd-Down Offense
As much as he'll help create space for others, Reed's greatest asset may be how he can improve Washington's dire third-down offense. The Redskins have currently successfully converted just 23 of 71 third downs this season.
Reed can be a major help in this area, specifically by beating coverage underneath. A good example came on a 3rd-and-10 when Reed was again sent on the move.
He went in motion to help create a three-receiver trips set on one side of the formation:
Reed again aligned wide to draw the attention of safety Bucannon. Any time Reed's on a safety, that's an obvious matchup win for Washington:
With Reed split out, the Redskins planned to free him underneath by having inside receivers Ryan Grant and Santana Moss execute picks and act as de facto blockers:
Reed ran behind the the inside receivers and worked to the middle. He was wide-open to give quarterback Kirk Cousins an easy target to hit:
Reed took the pass in stride and scampered for 10 yards to convert:
Because of his expert route running, quick breaks, excellent hands and ability to get yards after the catch, Reed has a key role to play in fixing this team's woes on football's money down.
ESPN.com Redskins reporter John Keim has offered a detailed breakdown of how much Reed helps:
"Reed was targeted on five third downs Sunday. Though only one was converted into a first down, another went for nine yards and resulted in fourth-and-inches (and a conversion). Last season, in nine games, Reed caught 14 passes on third down, with 13 going for a first down. In weeks 6-11 last year, Reedโs longest stretch of the season and when he became a bigger focal point in the passing game, Washington converted 53.8 percent of third downs, according to ESPN Stats & Information. For the 2013 season, the Redskins converted 40.4 percent of third downs.
And in weeks 12-17 -- after Reed was sidelined -- they converted just 31.5 percent of third downs. Yes, he makes a difference.
...
The more Reed plays, the better this offense becomes. Again, look back to last season, when he averaged 11.43 yards on third down.
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Even aside from third downs, Reed expands the underneath passing game. His dynamic athleticism means he's a good bet to turn a short gain into a big play.
Reed did exactly that in the fourth quarter. Once again, he began a play split out and aligned as a wide receiver:
Room over the middle would be created by three vertical routes from Garcon, Jackson and Roberts on the other side of the formation.
Reed shows off his nifty moves running routes to leave his single covering defender trailing. He took an outside step before breaking sharply and suddenly to the inside:
Again, Reed was open for an easy catch:
Once he made it, Reed had plenty of space to run into thanks to Arizona's coverage being run deep at the snap:
Reed promptly turned on the jets to turn the play into a 20-yard catch-and-run:
This is the kind of play that should become a common sight now that Reed is back in the offense. He's an invaluable outlet over the middle who can get into positions that don't demand a difficult throw to exploit.
With 2013's third-round pick working the middle, the job of the man under center, either Cousins or Robert Griffin III, will get a lot easier.
Beating the Blitz
When it comes to helping out a quarterback, there's nothing a signal-caller appreciates more than a hot read he can trust when the blitz is on. Reed is the perfect weapon to help beat pressure.
In the opening quarter, Cardinals defensive boss Todd Bowles presented Cousins with his favorite blitz front. It's a dime package featuring inside linebacker Larry Foote and safeties Mathieu and Bucannon crowding the line of scrimmage.
All three would blitz the middle against a Washington set that featured Reed lined up in the backfield:
Again, the Redskins would run vertical routes on the outside to create space for Reed underneath. He would swing out of the backfield into the flat:
The former Florida star was now free behind the blitz. Even with the pressure closing in, Cousins was able to quickly release the ball to find Reed and beat the blitz:
With the ball in his hands, Reed again used his agility and after-the-catch flair to evade the first would-be tackler. He transformed a short pass into a nine-yard gain:
Given how often this offense struggles to cope with blitz pressure, both at the recognition and blocking levels, Reed's return will be a major boon. With a natural checkdown receiver available, Cousins, who's been skittish under pressure, should make smarter decisions.
Providing struggling quarterbacks with a mismatch-creating outlet (or safety valve if you prefer) is what Reed's return represents. Cousins should be more efficient with a roving playmaker and coverage-beater to aim for, while Griffin ought to relish being able to look Reed's way again once he's back from injury.
This joker in the pack can open up the entire playbook for Gruden, exploiting the spaces not stretched by Garcon and Jackson.ย Hopefully, Reed won't join running backs Alfred Morris, Roy Helu Jr. and Darrel Young as a talented yet underused weapon by Gruden.
It would be just as nice if the football gods smile on a player so far snakebitten by injuries, at least long enough for him to really make a difference to this offense.
All statistics via NFL.com.
All screen shots courtesy of Fox Sports and NFL.com Game Pass.
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