Breaking Down Ryan Kerrigan's Career-Best Season for Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins' silver lining is a small one, even though it stands 6'4" and weighs 260 pounds. Ryan Kerrigan's career-best season may only be a tiny fraction of positivity in a dismal season, but his numbers are almost as big as he is.
Kerrigan, Washington's first-round pick in 2011, has logged 54 tackles, broken up a pass and forced four fumbles this season. But it's the 11.5 sacks that have really made his campaign stand out.
While the rest of a misguided defense flounders, Kerrigan has waged a one-man war against quarterbacks. The ex-Purdue star has now firmly cemented himself as the premier pass-rusher in this team's 3-4 scheme.
In doing so, he's surpassed former three-time Pro Bowler and current franchise player Brian Orakpo as the stud player of this defense, as 106.7 The Fan host Grant Paulsen noted during Week 14:
Kerrigan added two sacks in Week 14's 24-0 defeat to the St. Louis rams, to take his tally into double digits. The first of those sacks showed just how important he's become to this linebacker-led defense.
Winning 3-4's Classic Matchup
The classic matchup all 3-4 schemes are designed to create is a pass-rushing outside linebacker against a running back. It's a mismatch that should always favor a defense, one any credible linebacker must exploit.
Kerrigan has become ruthless whenever he gets this dream matchup. He showed that ruthless streak in the second quarter against the Rams, with the St. Louis offense inside the Washington 10-yard line.
Washington aligned in the traditional 2-gap 3-4 front. Both defensive ends, Barry Cofield Jr. (96) and Stephen Bowen (72), were lined up directly over an offensive tackle. They would each be responsible for the C (outside shoulder) and B (inside shoulder) gaps on either side of the tackles:
This five-technique alignment by the ends is one of the great advantages of the 3-4. One of the front's keenest advocates, Bill Parcells, knew the advantages it created, according to Jene Bramel, writing forย The New York Times:
"Parcells liked the 2-gap 3-4 for many reasons. In addition to the flexibility and versatility arguments above, a three-man front makes it easier to drop eight men into coverage and prevent big plays. It makes it easier for an OLB in a two-point stance to get an angle in pass rushing and generate pressure with just four rushers and avoid the coverage risk of an all-out blitz.
"
Not only does Kerrigan's stance give him a natural angle to collapse the edge, Cofield can guarantee a favorable blocking matchup. Anytime the end draws a double-team, or even just isolates the tackle, it forces a running back into pass protection.
That's just what happened here. Cofield locked up the right tackle, while nose tackle Chris Baker commanded a double-team inside. This meant at least one outside 'backer would have a free rush lane to the quarterback. In this case it was Kerrigan:
Because Kerrigan rushed unblocked off the edge, running back Tre Mason had to try to intercept him. Physically outmatched, the 5'8", 207-pound rookie runner attempted to go low and cut Kerrigan:
But Mason didn't make strong enough contact, partly because Kerrigan was agile enough to avoid the brunt of the low block. He ran through Mason's shoestring attempt and engulfed quarterback Shaun Hill:
Kerrigan not only showed his physical dominance against a mismatched blocker on this play. He also showcased his growing technical acumen, in terms of stance, leverage and moves, as a pass-rusher.
ESPN Redskins reporter John Keim noted this progress:
Of course, beating a running back on the rush is something an outside linebacker should be expected to do. But once a player regularly proves he can, he forces offenses into dedicating members of the line to try to slow him down.
When a 3-4 defense possesses an outside linebacker who can whip running backs and tight ends, but also overwhelm offensive tackles, the unit has a true playmaker.
Fortunately, that's just what Kerrigan has become this season. It took him just one play to prove it in Week 13 against the Indianapolis Colts.
Dominating Offensive Tackles as an Edge-Rusher
Kerrigan aligned in a four-point, sprinter-style stance against Indy right tackle Gosder Cherilus. He intended to collapse the edge:
Through every phase of this pass rush, Kerrigan showed just how far he's progressed in terms of technique.
Notice first how Kerrigan quickly got his hands up and set, almost in a martial arts-style manner:
From here, he had the right hand placement to employ a variety of swat, swim or chop moves against Cherilus:
First, Kerrigan clamped onto Cherilus, almost at wrist level. He was able to redirect the tackle's long arms and begin turning him away from the outside rush lane:
Then Kerrigan used a chop move to take down one arm as he prepared to rush around the corner:
Kerrigan then brought his other arm over the top to get behind Cherilus and into the backfield:
Once there, he used impressive closing speed to chase down Andrew Luck, one of the more mobile quarterbacks in the NFL:
For the final act, Kerrigan gave further evidence of his now-trademark flair for the big play. His opportunistic streak was alive and well, as he not only hit Luck but forced a fumble the Redskins recovered:
This was the perfect example of what every 3-4 defense wants from its outside linebackers in a pass-rushing situation. Kerrigan easily beat an offensive tackle off the edge and not only sacked the quarterback, but also knocked the ball loose.
That's the type of impact and flexibility that can cause havoc, either from the base front or, as in this case, when Kerrigan aligns with his hands down in four-man, nickel front.
Speaking of flexibility, Kerrigan's growing proficiency as one of football's premier pass-rushers has added plenty of that quality to Washington's pressure schemes.
Adding Versatility and Creativity in Sub-Package Schemes
One of the great advantages of playing 3-4 is that it allows a defense to stockpile more flexible personnel. The presence of extra players standing up means more players used to moving around, possessing the agility and athleticism to attack an offense from multiple angles.
That kind of weaponry adds versatility and creativity to a coordinator's playbook. It's most obvious in sub-package schemes.
Kerrigan has become a vital part of Washington's ability to mix things up, show different fronts and bring overload pressures in obvious passing situations.
A second-quarter sack from Week 8's 20-17 overtime victory over the Dallas Cowboys serves as the perfect illustration.
The Redskins showed the Cowboys an overloaded pressure look. Coordinator Jim Haslett stacked Jason Hatcher, Frank Kearse and Kerrigan on the right side of the Dallas O-line. He also crept safety Brandon Meriweather onto the front as an additional blitzer:
From this look, Kerrigan's athletic dynamism was used to execute a twist move inside and confuse the Dallas blocking scheme:
Rookie guard Zack Martin helped double-team Kearse's outside slant, while running back Lance Dunbar was forced to corral Meriweather coming off the edge:
These blocks created a free rush lane through the middle for Kerrigan. Martin, distracted by Kearse, wasn't quick enough to get off his block and intercept Kerrigan:
Now Washington's top pass-rusher had a free run to deck quarterback Tony Romo for a big loss:
This was a very well-designed pressure by Haslett. But the concept hinged on Kerrigan's ability to use his athletic gifts to attack different gaps. That's the advantage a versatile rush end offers a play-caller.
But Haslett isn't the only one who has benefited from Kerrigan's talents this season.
Helping Teammates Flourish
As Kerrigan has been dominating, he's also been earning more attention from offensive blocking schemes. This extra attention has helped certain teammates make big plays.
In particular, Hatcher owes two of his 5.5 sacks to Kerrigan's talent for disruption. The first came in Week 9's defeat to the Minnesota Vikings.
Hatcher (yellow circle), was aligned in the B-gap on the other side of the formation from where Kerrigan was standing and lurking with intent:
Kerrigan showed another string to his bow on this rush. Instead of quick and clever hands technique, he used brute force strength to overpower Minnesota right tackle Phil Loadholt.
The first step involved getting underneath Loadholt. Kerrigan got underneath Loadholt's arms and slammed into the base point of his chest. This immediately sent the tackle rocking back on his heels:
With perfect leverage now established, Kerrigan drove Loadholt off the line of scrimmage and into the backfield. He then unceremoniously shoved him to the floor:
This was a textbook example of how to execute a bull rush.
With Loadholt having been made to take a seat, Kerrigan had a free lane to first-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. The Vikings rookie signal-caller had to step up to avoid the pressure. But he was stepping right into Hatcher's path.
The veteran D-lineman gratefully wrapped up Bridgewater for the sack, a sack made possible by Kerrigan's efforts:
Hatcher had cause to again tip his cap Kerrigan's way in Week 12 against the San Francisco 49ers. Another twist move from Kerrigan, this time out of the base 3-4, would create one more sack for Hatcher:
Once Kerrigan broke to the inside, right guard Alex Boone was scrambling to corral him. Not even a helping chip from running back Frank Gore slowed Kerrigan down:
With Boone pushed back into quarterback Colin Kaepernick's face, Kerrigan clawed the air trying to snatch hold of the passer:
This sent Kaepernick fleeing from the pocket. Once again, though, he was running right into the waiting arms of Hatcher (97):
The 32-year-old accepted the gift and dropped Kaepernick:
What Kerrigan has done against the backdrop of this otherwise depressing season is emerge as a complete 3-4 outside linebacker. He's living up to his remit as the primary pass-rushing threat in this scheme.
Kerrigan is forcing offenses to alter protection schemes to account for him. He's also creating big plays for a defense otherwise woefully short of them, as well as helping teammates make an impact.
If you could draw up a wish list for a 3-4 outside linebacker, all of those things would be on it.
For the icing and the cherry on this particular cake, Kerrigan has stayed strong in other areas apart from the pass rush. Neil Greenberg of The Washington Post,ย using statistics from Pro Football Focus, detailed the numbers: "According to the game charters at Pro Football Focus, he is rated as the seventh-best outside linebacker playing in a 3-4 defensive scheme and is the only 3-4 OLB in the top 10 with above-average grades for his performance rushing the quarterback, stopping the run and in pass coverage."
But it's his big plays pressuring quarterbacks that have made Kerrigan the jewel of this defense. He is now the focal point of a talented front seven that desperately needs a competent secondary behind it.
All statistics via NFL.com.
All screen shots courtesy of CBS Sports, ESPN, Fox Sports and NFL.com Game Pass.
.jpg?w=480 "Rams Seahawks Football")
.jpg?w=600 "Thibodeaux, Diggs Top Landing Spots ๐ฌ")
.jpg?w=600 "Steve Smith Sr.'s Cryptic Post ๐คจ")