Players Washington Redskins Must Shut Down in Week 7
With the rest of their season turning into Kirk Cousins watch, the Washington Redskins better not forget there are more ways for them to lose a game than mistakes from the man under center.
It's a lesson the burgundy and gold and their inconsistent defense may learn the hard way in Week 7 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to town. Coordinator Joe Barry is going to have to pick his poison to find the best way to choke off a Bucs offense with enough talent to be prolific on its day.
Tampa's fifth-ranked rushing attack is naturally going to concern a man who has seen his unit gashed on the ground in each of the last two weeks. Chris Ivory's 146 yards helped the New York Jets amass 221 against the Redskins in Week 6; the prior week, Devonta Freeman rushed for 153 yards to help the Atlanta Falcons see off rebuilding Washington.
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 📈
Now Barry's group faces Doug Martin. Correction. The Redskins face a rarely healthy and thoroughly revitalized Martin. That's a "Muscle Hamster" of a different breed.
Real Redskins blogger Rich Tandler knows the threat:
"After two injury-plagued seasons, Martin is rounding back into his rookie form. In five games (the Bucs are coming off of their bye) he has 405 yards rushing, seventh per game in the NFL, and another 94 receiving. The Redskins have had trouble with Devonta Freeman and Chris Ivory in the last few weeks and if they don’t turn things around defensively, Martin could go off and Washington will have a tough time winning if that happens.
"
Barry has been putting a calm face on the woes of his run defense. He insists the reality is not as bad as the numbers suggest, according to Anthony Gulizia of the Washington Times. But Martin, or the "Dougernaut," as he apparently prefers to be called, per ESPN.com's Andrew Astleford, is sure to put that bravado to the test.
Yet, as much as Martin looks like a danger man, the real threat to the Redskins comes from another Bucs running back. In fact, he's part of a three-pronged problem Washington's injury-hit secondary needs to contain.
Matching Up vs. Charles Sims in Space with the Big Nickel
If one player can give Barry's group fits in Week 7, it's second-year running back Charles Sims. The versatile playmaker is a terrific pass-catching back who is lethal whenever he's flexed out into space pre-snap.
He's second on the team in receptions and yards and shares the lead in receiving touchdowns with two. One of those scores came in Week 3's road defeat to the Houston Texans. It's a play that revealed how Sims changes a defense and pressures coverage just by his alignment.
Things began with Sims motioning from the backfield from a shotgun set to split out as a wide receiver:
This forced the Texans to alter their alignment. The outside cornerback was now on Sims, while the natural wide receiver in the slot, Vincent Jackson, drew the coverage of a safety, which is a matchup win for the Bucs:
Tampa intended to attack Houston's defense with a version of a bubble screen. Sims would take the pass while Jackson secured a block along the sideline. Meanwhile, two interior offensive linemen, the left guard and center, would spring to the second level to act as Sims' convoy:
The play was initially executed well, with blocks quickly set up to clear Sims' path:
Yet, this design also still relied on an underrated aspect of Sims' game. Namely, how his moves and quickness after the catch help him elude would-be tacklers.
First, Sims made one smart cut:
This was promptly followed by another deft move to make a defender miss:
The result of this play was a 32-yard catch and run for a touchdown.
Any time Sims is flexed out of the backfield, the Bucs can dictate what a defense can and can't do. In this case, the Texans attempted to go to man coverage underneath and paid the price when their cover men lost Sims in traffic.
But he can also punish defenses that want to get cute and bring pressure in front of heavily populated zone shells. He did exactly that to the Carolina Panthers in Week 4.
The Bucs spread the Carolina D out with a five-receiver, empty backfield set. Sims helped create the look by lining up in the slot:
Carolina planned to blitz Thomas Davis, the linebacker on Sims' side of the formation, out of the nickel set. Sims would become rookie quarterback Jameis Winston's hot read, running a shallow crossing pattern behind the blitz:
By adjusting his route in reaction to pressure, Sims would wreak havoc with the Panthers' Cover 3 shell. Specifically, he would challenge safety Kurt Coleman to follow him into the underneath zones.
But since Carolina was locked in a coverage shell that positioned three defenders deep and four across the intermediate zones, Sims was left uncovered in the short passing lanes:
He simply ran underneath the Panthers' three-deep zone to make an uncontested catch:
Now Sims had another opportunity to showcase his after-the-catch skills. He made one sharp cut to create space in traffic:
Then a strong block from Jackson freed him for 14 yards to convert on 2nd-and-10:
By working underneath to counter pressure, Sims revealed his nuance as a receiver. He understands passing concepts and knows how to read coverage.
Any time he's in space it's a guessing game for a defense, both in terms of how to match up and determining exactly where Sims will strike out of his break.
It's a riddle that's becoming increasingly difficult to solve, but one Barry has to have an answer for. The Jacksonville Jaguars didn't in Week 5 when Sims caught four passes for 85 yards and a score to help Tampa to a 38-31 win.
Bucs Nation writer Jake Hamar spelled out how the Jags struggled to track the former West Virginia standout: "Jacksonville didn't know what to expect when Sims got the ball. His 85 receiving yards were the most by a running back since Earnest Graham did it in 2007."
Finding the right chess piece to cancel out Sims' threat is a key to this game for Barry. He can't trust linebackers Perry Riley Jr. and Keenan Robinson, both of whom, particularly the former, have had their issues in coverage this season.
Fortunately, Barry already has more suitable weapons at his disposal.
By turning to a 4-3 "Big Nickel" package, Barry can get three safeties on the field. Secondary boss Perry Fewell favored this set with the New York Giants and can help Barry implement the scheme for Week 7.
Loading up on safeties is an obvious bonus for a team with so many injuries at cornerback. DeAngelo Hall and Chris Culliver are still doubts for Week 7, according to ESPN.com's John Keim.
One of the three safeties, either Jeron Johnson or rookie Kyshoen Jarrett, needs to be deployed at the linebacker level. It should be Jarrett based on his experiences covering the slot this season. The versatile first-year defensive back has the speed to match up with Sims in space and track his movement across formations.
Leaving Jarrett over Sims, no matter where he lines up, is Barry's best bet for keeping this lethal, roving catch machine quiet.
But Sims isn't the only aerial threat the Redskins must prepare for.
Edge-Rushers and Vincent Jackson
The Bucs can cause any secondary problems thanks to their physically imposing tandem of wideouts. Towering duo Mike Evans and Jackson, both 6'5" and 230 pounds, are a mismatch against most covering defenders.
Washington knows all about Evans after he burned them for 209 yards on seven catches in a 27-7 Bucs win at FedEx Field back in Week 11 last season. Evans' 56-yard scoring grab against a hopelessly outmatched Riley was a particular low point of Washington's campaign.
But this year Evans has been a little quiet. So much so in fact that Bucs offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter is "eager" to get him more involved, according to an Associated Press report (h/t FoxSports.com).
Until that happens though, the main man in Tampa's passing game continues to be evergreen veteran Jackson. The 32-year-old is pacing all Bucs' receivers with 20 catches for 306 yards. He's the player Winston is looking for in crunch moments.
Barry needs a plan to not only keep Jackson quiet but also to make sure Week 7 isn't the breakout moment of Evans' second year.
Ironically, Washington's edge-rushers can play a vital role in keeping Jackson quiet. No, I haven't channeled my inner Jim Haslett here. Just bear with me.
The biggest mistake the Redskins can make in this game is to play Jackson soft. Give him a free release, as many teams are inclined to do because of his big-play threat, and Jackson will shred Washington's defense all day.
He proved the folly of playing off when he hauled in 10 catches against the Panthers in Week 4.
In the first example, Carolina cornerback Josh Norman gave Jackson way too big a cushion to maneuver out of his break:
A deep, in-breaking slant would punish the Panthers for playing so soft.
At the snap, Carolina's single-high safety rolled away from Jackson and toward Evans:
This let Jackson, who was running with a free release, push Norman upfield, before coming under control to make a big gain.
Because of how far off Norman had started the play, Jackson was uncontested as he made a way-too-easy catch for 22 yards:
This play showed the problems the Bucs pose to a defense whenever Jackson and Evans are on the field together. Opponents often don't double-team both, so they have to take a chance on whom to bracket. This can force the other corner to play passive, the way it did with Norman.
Later in the game, the Panthers again showed Jackson a soft look, one he promptly exploited.
Again, Norman lined up way off. He also had no safety help over the top:
This is a look Barry and the Redskins must avoid at all costs. Here's what the coverage should look like in front of Jackson:
Here the corner is rolled up over the receiver, while the deep safety (off screen) moves to play over the top. This is a look that will prompt most quarterbacks, particularly a rookie, to go elsewhere with the ball.
Alternatively, if Barry doesn't want to move his safeties and tip his hand pre-snap, he could have a linebacker undercut Jackson's release while the corner stays over the top.
Here's what it might have looked like on this play:
Unfortunately for the Panthers, they did neither of these things. Instead, Jackson took full advantage of the big cushion afforded him by Norman's initial alignment and made another simple grab in acres of space for 20 yards:
This will happen over and over again against the Redskins unless Barry tweaks his defense. He's so far relied on a plethora of Cover 3 and Cover 1 looks this season. These are coverage shells that task a single-high safety with choosing which receiver to double. Picking between Evans and Jackson will be a nightmare for Washington.
But Barry can make the choice easier. He should double Jackson to completely take him away from Winston. The plan will rely on current lone star corner Bashaud Breeland handling Evans one-on-one.
At 5'11" and 197 pounds, Breeland has enough size to match up with Evans and play him in physical, press coverage. Using bump-and-run techniques will deny Evans a clean release off the line and mitigate the chances of big plays.
Going one-on-one with Evans is a risk, but it's worth it if it means doubling Jackson on every play.
The best method for doing that will be to involve Washington's edge-rushers as underneath covering defenders. Barry can take a page out of the New England Patriots' book to see how this approach keeps star receivers quiet.
The Pats provided an excellent example on a 3rd-and-3 play in the fourth quarter of their Week 1 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. New England wanted to take away the brilliant Antonio Brown, Ben Roethlisberger's favorite target in clutch moments:
Brown had flexed into the slot prior to the snap:
The Patriots were going to play Cover 2 Man with two deep safeties behind underneath man coverage. But head coach Bill Belichick added a twist. He had rush end Rob Ninkovich (black X) drop off into underneath coverage in front of Brown:
The tweak left Brown completely bracketed:
Brown was a no-go for Roethlisberger. While there was single coverage all around him, the presence of the two-deep shell took away any chance of a big play coming from one of those matchups.
Just by moving an edge-rusher out into space underneath, the Pats created an impregnable coverage fortress, one that denied Pittsburgh's best receiver any freedom.
They repeated the trick during Week 6's road win over the Indianapolis Colts. This time the target for elimination was Indy speedster T.Y. Hilton.
He lined up in the slot, with the Pats countering by moving free safety Devin McCourty over him. But the other half of New England's bracket would be formed by edge-rusher Chandler Jones (red X):
At the snap, defensive end Jones crunched into Hilton out of his break, while McCourty lurked with intent behind him:
The Patriots soon had Hilton trapped. There was no way quarterback Andrew Luck could go to his main man in this much traffic:
Washington's advantage from using edge-rushers to undercut Jackson's routes is obvious. Ends such as 6'5" Trent Murphy, 6'5" Preston Smith and 6'4" Ryan Kerrigan have the height and size to match Evans and Jackson's physicality. By hovering underneath, they'll force Winston to throw over them and force his passes.
Using an underneath defender to double Jackson or Evans will let Barry leave a safety deep, something Breeland and Will Blackmon will likely thank him for. It's going to be vital to double-team Jackson and show Winston as many different looks as possible.
Barry has to take concepts like these on board as he prepares for a deceptively dangerous offense. He'll want to control Martin, but Washington's defensive coordinator must have the right plans in place for Tampa's terrific trio of pass-catchers.
All statistics and player information via NFL.com.
All screen shots via CBS Sports, Fox Sports, NFL Network and NFL.com Game Pass.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
