Washington Redskins: Creating the Blueprint for Optimal Defense in 2015
Defense winning championships is an old adage in the NFL. While a championship is a far reach for the Washington Redskins after the season they just had, the playoffs are a distinct possibility if they can right the ship on this side of the ball.
With Washington coming off a 2014 campaign in which it finished 20th in yards allowed and 29th in scoring defense, this will be no easy task.
Fortunately, though, in general manager Scot McCloughan, the team has an architect with experience building elite defenses. During his tenure with the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, McCloughan played a pivotal role in forming the foundation of two of the NFL's top defenses.
McCloughan won't have the Redskins rivaling these units with one offseason of turnover. But rest assured, the blueprint to success has been laid out.
With that in mind, let's highlight the optimal defense for Washington in 2015.
New Defensive Coordinator
The quality of players handed to a coaching staff will undoubtedly impact the bottom line as far as performance is concerned. Still, the reality is, regardless of the talent—or lack thereof—on hand, it's the coach's responsibility to put his players in the best position to succeed.
And without a doubt, that wasn't defensive coordinator Jim Haslett last season, or his entire tenure for that matter.
Washington finished 18th or worst in total defense in four of his five seasons in charge. As poorly as these numbers reflect on Haslett, they pale in comparison to what retired linebacker London Fletcher had to say about his former defensive coordinator on CBS Sports Network’s That Other Pregame Show late last year, h/t CBS DC's Chris Lingebach:
"Why does Jim Haslett still have his job as defensive coordinator after five years of ineptitude at the defensive coordinator position?
He is clueless as a defensive coordinator. He lacks attention to detail. He lacks feel on how to call a game. Some of the calls he used to call when I was playing were head-scratching. They were so bad I used to change them – ‘We’re not running that.’
And we’d get off the field and he would ask, ‘Why did you change the call.’ [I would say], ‘Because that’s just a dumb call. That’s why I changed it.’
For years he has always made excuses. One minute it was ‘We’re changing from the 3-4 and we don’t have the right personnel.’ Next minute it is salary cap. Next minute it is Mike Shanahan. Next minute it is injuries.
This is a guy that would take the ’85 Bears and turn them into a mediocre defense. He is clueless. He has no idea what he is doing. Believe me, I had a front row seat for four years.
"
Relieved of his duties this offseason, Haslett was replaced by Joe Barry. Formerly the linebackers coach of the San Diego Chargers, Barry's lone stint as a defensive coordinator was with the Detroit Lions in 2007 and 2008.
The director of a 4-3 scheme at the time, Barry's defense was last in yards and points allowed both years. But let Gruden tell it, via Mike Jones of the Washington Post, Barry has learned from his failures:
"Different defense, different time.
He was running a 4-3 over there and actually it was a great learning experience for him, and since that time, what he’s done as a football coach to improve himself: learn a different style, different scheme, going back to college; I think it’s molded him. One thing we know is he can handle adversity. That’s important. He’s walking into a situation here where we’re going to have some adversity and I know he can handle it. He’s a tough guy, committed guy, a loyal guy, and I think he’s good fit for us.
It was the whole package of what he brought to the table — just a total understanding of not just the front end, but the back end. You know, some guys are better at the back end and not so versed at the front end, and some are better in the front end and not so versed in the back end. I think his total understanding of the conceptual sight of the entire defense sold me on him, as far as Xs and Os. Every candidate is very versed on the Xs and Os, but it’s more than that with me. It’s how you’re gonna get the most out of David Amerson and Chris Baker and Keenan Robinson and those guys, and I think he’s a great fit for those guys.
"
Knowing that miscommunication and blown assignments repeatedly hurt the Redskins last season, particularly in the secondary, Barry's emphasis on teaching should mesh well with a roster, that under McCloughan, will be built through the draft:
"Barry: "We're teachers. That's the No. 1 thing that you've got to do as a coach is teach. It's a process." pic.twitter.com/ZDSCXI0qer
— Washington Redskins (@Redskins) June 3, 2015"
For a Washington team that finished 21st in tackling efficiency in 2014 with 116 missed tackles, per Pro Football Focus, one has to hope tackling is one of Barry's major teaching points.
Defensive Depth
Sixteen-game schedules are taxing enough. But now that no-huddle offenses are en vogue, for teams to combat injuries and fatigue, defensive rotations are a must.
Of course, though, it's depth that determines whether these rotations are effective. A team that ranked 24th in Football Outsiders' Adjusted Games Loss (AGL) statistic—which quantifies how much teams were affected by injuries—Washington had its issues in the depth department in 2014.
To name a few, Brian Orakpo, Barry Cofield and Jason Hatcher were some notable Redskins defenders set back by injury last season. Knowing that Washington's AGL grew from 41.4 in 2013 to 89.5 in 2014, the best course of action is to prepare for the worst.
With the moves McCloughan has made this offseason, you could say he's done just that. Along the defensive line, Stephen Paea, Terrance Knighton and Ricky Jean Francois were brought aboard. Factor in holdovers Chris Baker, Jason Hatcher and Frank Kearse, and Washington can rotate bodies up front without missing a beat.
While Ryan Kerrigan is all but irreplaceable at linebacker, the presence of Trent Murphy and rookie Preston Smith will enable the team to ease his workload coming off of knee surgery.
Rush the Passer
With the names you've heard rattled off, how can you not view Washington's front seven as the strength of the defense?
Barry's 3-4 scheme isn't likely to turn any of the aforementioned defensive linemen into household names. At the very least, though, the team's defensive line will free up Kerrigan to harass the quarterback even more in 2015.
Coming off a career year in 2014 in which he tallied 13.5 sacks and ranked 10th in Pro Football Focus' pass-rushing productivity, Kerrigan doing as such has to be a scary thought for opposing offenses.
Still, for the team to improve on the 36 sacks it posted last season, someone else will have to step up. And that someone is Murphy.
One of the standouts at OTAs, Murphy has put in the work this offseason to do just that. Per Mike Jones of the Washington Post, through his offseason regimen, Murphy has gained 11 pounds and became more explosive.
“It feels great. I feel faster and more explosive," he said.
According to Gruden, per Liz Clarke of the Washington Post, it's shown on the practice field:
"He’s bigger, he’s stronger, he’s rushing the passer extremely well. He’s getting off the ball very well right now. I think I’m expecting him to make the biggest jump from first year to second year on our football team because not only is he bigger, but he knows the position. He’s athletic. And when you put on some extra bulk and strength, it’s just going to give him more. He’s already a smart football player with great instincts. Now you add the extra bulk and we expect big things from him this year.
"
Now that the personnel in the front seven has been upgraded, one can only hope the team isn't so reliant on blitzing the quarterback.
Because not only were they not good at it, but with the frequency they did it, the Redskins blitzed to the detriment of their defense last season.
According to Pro Football Focus, only seven teams blitzed more than the Skins at 33 percent of the time. And the results weren't promising. Ranking 24th in blitz productivity, the team tallied only 17 sacks, 27 hits and 35 hurries on the quarterback.
In comparison, Washington proved to be much more effective without the blitz. Its pass-rushing productivity was 10th in the NFL when it didn't send extra rushers.
Who knows? Had the Skins utilized this method more frequently, maybe they have someone to cover Coby Fleener here:
"The Redskins forgot to cover Coby Fleener. So Andrew Luck made them pay. WATCH: http://t.co/VfvRKO1aLu pic.twitter.com/ANtUbj53Q0
— NFL Now (@NFLNow___) November 30, 2014"
Discipline in the Secondary
The kryptonite of this defense was without a doubt the secondary. Football Outsiders crowned it as the NFL's worst a season ago.
Marred by injury and long in the tooth at critical positions, the secondary's performance wasn't unexpected. Bashaud Breeland and David Amerson, while talented, showed their inexperience through penalties and missed assignments.
Then there was the instability at safety. Brandon Meriweather was prone to throw fundamentals to the side in favor of going for the big hit. As for Ryan Clark, he led all safeties in missed tackles, per Pro Football Focus.
So it goes without saying, roster turnover was needed here. And it was delivered. Chris Culliver, Dashon Goldson and Jeron Johnson are in, while Tracy Porter, Clark and Meriweather are out.
Absent for the majority of last season, the return of DeAngelo Hall is also an addition worth noting.
Next up on the agenda, a return to disciplined football. Simply put, Washington surrendered too many plays on the back end in 2014. Fifty-two receptions of 20-plus yards and 12 receptions of 40-plus yards were posted against this secondary a season ago.
Barry has made it a point to emphasize that his defense will be aggressive and physical. With Perry Fewell now coaching the secondary, though, a lack of discipline won't be a side effect of playing this way.
Speaking to Tom Schad of the Washington Times, Fewell discussed his plans for the secondary.
"We knew we had to do some work. We had to re-tool with some personnel. We thought we had some good young players that just needed to be developed, and then if we can mix it with some veterans that help them get some stability, some knowledge and know-how, we thought we could improve our secondary.
I can’t speak for what happened last year. I can only speak for what we have this year. But I think we have a really good group. We’re communicating well with each other, and there’s still a lot of growing to do.
"
The safety battle between Goldson, Johnson and Duke Ihenacho still needs to be sorted out, but with Amerson, Culliver and Breeland all drawing positive reviews for their work in OTAs, there's reason to believe the secondary will be improved in 2015.
For the defense as a whole, the same can be said. There's a good mixture of experienced veterans and upcoming players in each position group. Still, with the amount of youth they have in key spots, consistency will be an issue for this team throughout the 2015 campaign.
The schedule does Washington no favors. In seven of its 16 games, it will be opposed by a top-10 offense. All things considered, though, the Skins will settle in as a middle-of-the-pack defense.
Behind it and an offense that nixes its turnovers, Washington may very well have meaningful football to play in December next season. A far cry from what its fans have become accustomed to under the ownership of Dan Snyder.
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