Tennessee Titans vs. Washington Redskins: Breaking Down Washington's Game Plan
If last week was must-win for the Washington Redskins, Week 7's home game against the Tennessee Titans may be more about damage control. At 1-5, the capital city franchise is dangerously close to a disastrous season on a par with 2013's three-win campaign.
Repairing the damage has to begin with beating the 2-4 Titans. The AFC South outfit has also been far from impressive this season.
A new coaching staff fronted by Ken Whisenhunt and defensive coordinator Ray Horton has found it tough implementing new schemes on both sides of the ball. Whisenhunt's offense is hamstrung by uncertainty at quarterback, while Horton's unit has been soft against the run.
TOP NEWS
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Colts Release Kenny Moore
Projecting Every NFL Team's Starting Lineup 🔮
Rookie WRs Who Will Outplay Their Draft Value 📈
It's paramount that Washington head coach Jay Gruden targets these weaknesses. Here's how he can.
Preparing for Different Quarterbacks
Redskins defensive boss Jim Haslett had his unit practice for multiple quarterbacks ahead of facing the Arizona Cardinals last week. He needs his players to be just as diligent this week.
The Titans could go with either Jake Locker or Charlie Whitehurst. Obviously, they each present different challenges. With the former, mobility is a concern.
In fact, Locker's ability to make plays with his feet should rate as a major worry for a Washington defense that's had trouble containing running quarterbacks. The Redskins couldn't get near Seattle Seahawks dual-threat ace Russell Wilson in Week 5.
He rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown. That production was thanks largely to how Washington's defenders failed to maintain discipline in the outside lanes.
Sadly, Ryan Kerrigan, who has been the team's most dominant defensive player this season, was most culpable. He didn't take soft rushes on the outside to hold the lanes on the edge.
Instead, Kerrigan was too aggressive, often slanting down and crashing inside against run action. One obvious mistake came on Seattle's opening drive.
From their basic 3-4 alignment, outside linebackers Brian Orakpo and Kerrigan should have been taking outside rushes, turned in at just over halfway, in order to keep Wilson in the pocket:
But instead, Kerrigan bit hard on the run fake the other way and crashed down inside, giving Wilson a natural lane of escape around the corner. That's a cardinal sin against a running quarterback:
Wilson read Kerrigan's overplay and kept the ball to roll away and sprint off the now unmanned edge for a 29-yard gain:
These are the kind of fundamental errors Kerrigan and the Washington front seven cannot make if Locker starts the game under center. He has a career rushing average of 6.7 yards per carry and has already scampered for a touchdown this season.
Locker's quick, so the Redskins pass-rushers must maintain their lanes and box him in if he's deemed fit enough to start. There's a good chance he might be.
He's returned to practice following his latest injury, although he was limited while nursing a sore right thumb, per a report from The Associated Press (h/t USA Today).
However, just like last week when Haslett had to prepare for Carson Palmer, Drew Stanton and rookie Logan Thomas, he'll also need a contingency plan for Whitehurst.
He's more comfortable from the pocket than Locker. In fact, the 32-year-old is most effective when throwing to a particular area of the field, as ESPN.com reporter Paul Kuharsky has noted:
"
- Between the hash marks from the line of scrimmage to 10 yards deep (99.7).
- Between the hash marks from 10 to 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage (100).
- From the right hash marks to the numbers from 10 to 20 yards deep (99.9).
- From the numbers to the right side line from the line of scrimmage to 10 yards deep (53.8).
In those four quadrants, Whitehurst had completed 71.4 percent of his 28 passes.
Everywhere else on the field he’s right at 50 percent....
Whitehurst is throwing to those four areas nearly 40 percent of the time. Locker throws to them closer to 26 percent.
"
Haslett can counter Whitehurst's preference for the middle by flooding the underneath zones. A good way to do it would be to rely on some Cover 3 looks.
That way the Redskins could use a three-deep shell on the outside to take away the vertical threat posed by wide receivers Kendall Wright, Nate Washington and Justin Hunter. The latter two average 13.3 and 20.9 yards per catch, respectively, this season.
The presence of three-deep defenders will allow Haslett to flood the middle with four zone defenders. He can take a page out of the Seahawks' book from their Super Bowl demolition of the Denver Broncos.
With the Broncos facing a third down early in the first quarter, the Seahawks showed them a standard two-deep look. But they would soon rotate into a Cover 3 shell.
They did this by having free safety Earl Thomas drop down into the underneath passing lanes while strong safety Kam Chancellor bailed to the deep third:
Once the safeties made their rotations, the Seahawks had their three-deep defenders set, Chancellor and both outside cornerbacks:
That meant there were five defenders clogging the middle. It's hard for any quarterback to find open receivers to create a big gain when the middle zones are so crowded.
If Manning couldn't find gains downfield against this coverage structure, it's a fair bet Whitehurst won't either.
The Seahawks added a nice wrinkle to this play that could be applicable for the Redskins against Whisenhunt's schemes. Seattle head coach Pete Carroll and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn deployed a late-dropping spy in short-range coverage.
In this example, it was defensive tackle Clinton McDonald. He dropped off the line at the snap and positioned himself to cover any shallow crossing patterns underneath:
These are the type of routes today's offenses love to split packed zones and manipulate single coverage on the edges. Manning threw to tight end Julius Thomas on an underneath cross, but he was soon bracketed by linebacker Bobby Wagner and McDonald before being promptly dropped for a measly three-yard gain:
The Titans like to use crossing patterns, often from bunch formations, to counter man coverage. Adding a spy—or robber if you prefer—such as Kerrigan or rookie Trent Murphy, who often plays inside on passing downs, is a great way to nullify this ploy.
It's reasonable to believe Washington can control Tennessee's 14th-ranked running game. But Haslett must have smart plans in place for whichever quarterback will be firing the passes.
Run the Ball and Keep Running It
It's time for Jay Gruden's weekly reminder that he possesses a pair of talented running backs and he should use them more. The run-shy play-caller will rarely get a better incentive to lean on his ground game than the visit of the Titans' 24th-ranked rushing defense that's surrendering 127.7 yards per game.
That means it simply has to be time for a heavy dose of Alfred Morris. But it should also mean a few more carries for Roy Helu Jr.
Gruden can use the pairing to create the kind of complement in styles he had when running the Cincinnati Bengals offense last season. Then Gruden relied on the inside power of BenJarvus Green-Ellis to set up opportunities for the quick, slashing dynamism of Giovani Bernard.
Obviously, Morris is more dynamic than Green-Ellis, while Helu isn't as electric as Bernard. But the basic principle of two contrasting styles overwhelming a defense can stay the same.
Of course, the significant caveat to all this is Gruden's willingness to let his running game carry the offense. The recent omens are not good.
Gruden hasn't called even 20 running plays in any of his last three games. That has to change in Week 7.
It's the best way to protect turnover-happy passer Kirk Cousins. His recent foibles have made him an obvious target for the Titans defense.
But if Cousins doesn't have to do it all by himself, he can produce big plays to complement the ground game. It's no coincidence that the last time the Redskins ran the ball more than 20 times they scored 34 points.
That was in Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles when Washington had 28 rushes. Supported by that kind of balance, Cousins threw for 427 yards and three touchdowns.
It would be crime for Gruden not to revive that formula against Tennessee's struggling run front.
Double-Team Jurrell Casey
That mantra should be painted in bright, big letters on the wall of the offense's meeting room. Jurrell Casey is one of the league's true hidden gems.
For those who don't know, he is one of the most destructive defensive tackles in football. Casey was particularly dominant during last week's 16-14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, as John Glennon of The Tennessean detailed:
"Titans defensive lineman Jurrell Casey has been named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week after posting eight tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss and a quarterback pressure during Tennessee's win over Jacksonville last Sunday.
Casey leads the Titans with four sacks. His 10 quarterback pressures are second on the Titans behind Derrick Morgan, and his 28 tackles are fifth on the team.
"
Casey's impact has not escaped Cousins' attention. The quarterback has identified the ex-USC star as a major threat, per TitansOnline.com:
"They do have some talented players that maybe don’t get the notoriety of other players in the league. Jurrell Casey up front is as good of an interior defensive lineman as there is. He’s very, very disruptive. That’ll be a challenge for us.
"
Casey will take over the game if Washington's blockers let him. He must face regular double-teams.
That tandem blocking could be between center Kory Lichtensteiger and either one of guards Shawn Lauvao and Chris Chester. Or an interior lineman could be helped out by a wham block from a tight end or a chip from a running back, preferably natural blocker Darrel Young.
Controlling Casey will be the key to winning the trench warfare along the line of scrimmage. Keeping him quiet will give Cousins time to make smarter decisions. It will also give Morris and Helu more room to work.
This is a game Washington absolutely has to win. It's also one that Gruden's talented but misused roster ought to win.
A healthy balance between aggression and caution on defense, plus an offense that plays to its strength (you know what that is by now), will see off the Titans.
All statistics via NFL.com
All screen shots courtesy of CBS Sports, ESPN and NFL.com Game Pass.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
