GTripp0012
10-01-2008, 01:47 AM
The Redskins defense had their hands full with the league’s elite offense this week. Keep this in mind as we investigate the statistics.
Greg Blache
Blache’s gameplan was far more simplistic than last week, because the Cowboys really don’t change offensive personnel all that much. They rotate their RBs if they get fatigued, and they’ll switch out Miles Austin as a 3rd WR with TE’s Tony Curtis, and Martillius Bennett. That’s about it. Thusly, Blache used a bunch of different packages, but as you’ll see, it was more to change up the look Romo was getting rather than to play the matchups.
Personnel Packages:
4-3: 24 (41%)
Nickel: 10 (17%)
Cobra (3 safeties): 5 (8%)
Dime: 7 (12%)
Quarter: 13 (22%)
The Redskins had never used a Quarter package before this week, and Blache is clearly only comfortable using this coverage where he has time on his side. As he should be because it’s by far the least effective package the Redskins have. The team is at it’s best when it’s in the nickel, a little more vulnerable in the dime, and very desperate in the quarter.
Down and distance was a far more prevalant factor of what the Redskins would run than was the offensive package. I get the feeling that Greg Blache never feels like his team is mismatched. We’ve seen nickel coverage against two backs, and we’ve seen a regular 4-3 against 4 WRs.
Blitz Packages (49 total pass plays):
5+ Blitzes: 8 (16%)
6+ Blitzes: 5 (10%)
When the Redskins came on blitzes, they really came on blitzes. This is a complete list, excluding the 2-3 times Kareem Moore brought the ‘Quarter’ rush to 4 guys.
Fletcher x4
McIntosh x3
Doughty x3
Horton x2
Washington
Landry
Pass Coverage
Success Rate: 24/49 (49%)
Total Adj Air Yds: 300
Passing Yards per Play: 6.12
None of those numbers are good for the Redskins, but are assisted by those two end of half drives. Those were full of successful plays that the Redskins coverage was more than happy to give. However, it was clear that any time the Redskins were in a zone coverage of ANY sort (which includes the first drive of the second half), Romo was going to pick them apart.
Cowboys points off the three drives where the Redskins were in zone defense: 17
Cowboys points off all other drives: 7
So perhaps the Skins have stumbled onto a flaw in the Dallas offense? Get up, hit their receivers, stuff a few runs early in the game, and just give Romo no place to go with the football.
Lets check out the individual coverage stats:
(Catches against/targets, Success Rate Against, Yds per Att)
Carlos Rogers - 4/12, 25%, 4.83
Shawn Springs - 4/8, 50%, 4.38
Reed Doughty - 6/8, 75%, 11.5(!) — 92 yards against
Fred Smoot - 2/4, 50%, 7.75
Chris Horton - 1/3, 0%, 2.0
Marcus Washington - 3/3, 67%, 10.33
Leigh Torrence - 1/2, 50%, 2.5
London Fletcher - 2/2, 50%, 2.5
LaRon Landry - 0/1, 0%, 0.0
Kareem Moore - 1/1, 100%, 6.0
Rocky McIntosh - 1/1, 100%, 13.0
The Cowboys challenged Rogers and Springs all night with limited success. Doughty might have been in on 20-25 plays all game, but they still managed to target him 8 times with great success. He can’t cover any receivers or Jason Witten, but he’s got decent man coverage skills against lesser tight ends and most running backs. I think Reed Doughty can play in this league, but he’s a weak spot in a Quarter package that the opponent can pick on. Marcus Washington also has no ability to cover slot receivers or elite TE’s, but can still handle lesser players. Now that Horton is a starting safety, Washington and Doughty never see the field together, which is definately good for the Redskins. Outside of that, everyone played as good or better than expected, including Fred Smoot. Though better than expected still means that he gave up more than 7 yards an attempt, which makes him a below average CB.
So there are your coverage weaknesses on the Redskins: Smoot, Washington, and Doughty. All three are better than average against the run for their position.
Pass Rush
Pressures: 13
Demetric Evans x3
Chris Wilson x3
Andre Carter x2
London Fletcher x2
Marcus Washington
Kedric Golston
Cornelius Griffin
Hits on Romo: 3
Demetric Evans x2
Andre Carter
Demetric Evans played the game of his life. The Cowboys threw 49 times, and Romo was pressured on about one quarter of the passes. The Cowboys’ LG Proctor, who is playing because of the injury to Kyle Kosier, never really had a chance against Evans. It was a total mismatch. The Redskins knocked Romo to the ground three times, and of course, Carter’s hit was bone-crushing.
For the second week in a row, this was the key to the Redskins success. When Romo starts getting beat up, the ball starts coming out earlier and earlier, which creates errant throws. Romo doesn’t really take sacks, and is simply more likely to be intercepted when teams are breathing down his neck.
We have to give Chris Wilson his props. He had a great game pressuring Romo. He only plays in passing downs, so he’s just doing his job. Lorenzo Alexander would have had multiple hits on Romo coming from the nose, but the officials were OK with Proctor holding him around the waist because it’s the only way he was going to be stopped.
Run Defense
Marion Barber’s vitals:
8 carries, 2 successful carries, 26 yards. One carry for 15 yards. Other 7 carries for 11 yards.
Felix Jones’ vitals:
No carries
Terrell Owens was the most effective Cowboys runner. He had a success rate of 50%! Note: Irrelevant sample size.
2 carries, 9 yards !
The key to the run defense, was the play upfront, if only because only once did a Cowboy ballcarrier ever get to the secondary.
Rocky McIntosh - 3 tackles for -1 yards
London Fletcher - 4 tackles for 3.0 yards per
Chris Horton - 2 tackles for 4.5 per
Cornelius Griffin - 1 tackle for 0 yards
Demetric Evans - 1 tackle for 3 yards
Carlos Rogers - 1 tackle for 15 yards
And that’s it. That’s all she wrote. With Jason Taylor out, there was no player to run at, and all the Redskins had to do was play smart up the middle, allow Fletcher and McIntosh to roam and tackle.
And yes, the Cowboys got away from the run FAR too quickly.
Overall Defense
Success Rate: 27/59 (46%)
Total Adj Yards: 346
Yards Per Play: 5.86
The Redskins allowed too many yards and too many points by playing conservatively on some drives, and that made the game a lot closer than it really was. Tony Romo is an intermediate and deep zone killer, and to beat the Cowboys, you have to do two things: 1) pressure the QB, and 2) be physical with the receivers. The Cowboys showed here that they will get away from the run if their pass isn’t working because they want to crush your spirit with the run after they beat you with the pass. I think other defensive coordinators can use Greg Blache’s gameplan to make Romo’s NFL career far less successful. Man coverage: Springs/Rogers on Owens, Fletcher on Barber, Horton/Washington on Witten. If they win those individual battles, Romo will struggle. The Redskins established this trend on Sunday.
Greg Blache
Blache’s gameplan was far more simplistic than last week, because the Cowboys really don’t change offensive personnel all that much. They rotate their RBs if they get fatigued, and they’ll switch out Miles Austin as a 3rd WR with TE’s Tony Curtis, and Martillius Bennett. That’s about it. Thusly, Blache used a bunch of different packages, but as you’ll see, it was more to change up the look Romo was getting rather than to play the matchups.
Personnel Packages:
4-3: 24 (41%)
Nickel: 10 (17%)
Cobra (3 safeties): 5 (8%)
Dime: 7 (12%)
Quarter: 13 (22%)
The Redskins had never used a Quarter package before this week, and Blache is clearly only comfortable using this coverage where he has time on his side. As he should be because it’s by far the least effective package the Redskins have. The team is at it’s best when it’s in the nickel, a little more vulnerable in the dime, and very desperate in the quarter.
Down and distance was a far more prevalant factor of what the Redskins would run than was the offensive package. I get the feeling that Greg Blache never feels like his team is mismatched. We’ve seen nickel coverage against two backs, and we’ve seen a regular 4-3 against 4 WRs.
Blitz Packages (49 total pass plays):
5+ Blitzes: 8 (16%)
6+ Blitzes: 5 (10%)
When the Redskins came on blitzes, they really came on blitzes. This is a complete list, excluding the 2-3 times Kareem Moore brought the ‘Quarter’ rush to 4 guys.
Fletcher x4
McIntosh x3
Doughty x3
Horton x2
Washington
Landry
Pass Coverage
Success Rate: 24/49 (49%)
Total Adj Air Yds: 300
Passing Yards per Play: 6.12
None of those numbers are good for the Redskins, but are assisted by those two end of half drives. Those were full of successful plays that the Redskins coverage was more than happy to give. However, it was clear that any time the Redskins were in a zone coverage of ANY sort (which includes the first drive of the second half), Romo was going to pick them apart.
Cowboys points off the three drives where the Redskins were in zone defense: 17
Cowboys points off all other drives: 7
So perhaps the Skins have stumbled onto a flaw in the Dallas offense? Get up, hit their receivers, stuff a few runs early in the game, and just give Romo no place to go with the football.
Lets check out the individual coverage stats:
(Catches against/targets, Success Rate Against, Yds per Att)
Carlos Rogers - 4/12, 25%, 4.83
Shawn Springs - 4/8, 50%, 4.38
Reed Doughty - 6/8, 75%, 11.5(!) — 92 yards against
Fred Smoot - 2/4, 50%, 7.75
Chris Horton - 1/3, 0%, 2.0
Marcus Washington - 3/3, 67%, 10.33
Leigh Torrence - 1/2, 50%, 2.5
London Fletcher - 2/2, 50%, 2.5
LaRon Landry - 0/1, 0%, 0.0
Kareem Moore - 1/1, 100%, 6.0
Rocky McIntosh - 1/1, 100%, 13.0
The Cowboys challenged Rogers and Springs all night with limited success. Doughty might have been in on 20-25 plays all game, but they still managed to target him 8 times with great success. He can’t cover any receivers or Jason Witten, but he’s got decent man coverage skills against lesser tight ends and most running backs. I think Reed Doughty can play in this league, but he’s a weak spot in a Quarter package that the opponent can pick on. Marcus Washington also has no ability to cover slot receivers or elite TE’s, but can still handle lesser players. Now that Horton is a starting safety, Washington and Doughty never see the field together, which is definately good for the Redskins. Outside of that, everyone played as good or better than expected, including Fred Smoot. Though better than expected still means that he gave up more than 7 yards an attempt, which makes him a below average CB.
So there are your coverage weaknesses on the Redskins: Smoot, Washington, and Doughty. All three are better than average against the run for their position.
Pass Rush
Pressures: 13
Demetric Evans x3
Chris Wilson x3
Andre Carter x2
London Fletcher x2
Marcus Washington
Kedric Golston
Cornelius Griffin
Hits on Romo: 3
Demetric Evans x2
Andre Carter
Demetric Evans played the game of his life. The Cowboys threw 49 times, and Romo was pressured on about one quarter of the passes. The Cowboys’ LG Proctor, who is playing because of the injury to Kyle Kosier, never really had a chance against Evans. It was a total mismatch. The Redskins knocked Romo to the ground three times, and of course, Carter’s hit was bone-crushing.
For the second week in a row, this was the key to the Redskins success. When Romo starts getting beat up, the ball starts coming out earlier and earlier, which creates errant throws. Romo doesn’t really take sacks, and is simply more likely to be intercepted when teams are breathing down his neck.
We have to give Chris Wilson his props. He had a great game pressuring Romo. He only plays in passing downs, so he’s just doing his job. Lorenzo Alexander would have had multiple hits on Romo coming from the nose, but the officials were OK with Proctor holding him around the waist because it’s the only way he was going to be stopped.
Run Defense
Marion Barber’s vitals:
8 carries, 2 successful carries, 26 yards. One carry for 15 yards. Other 7 carries for 11 yards.
Felix Jones’ vitals:
No carries
Terrell Owens was the most effective Cowboys runner. He had a success rate of 50%! Note: Irrelevant sample size.
2 carries, 9 yards !
The key to the run defense, was the play upfront, if only because only once did a Cowboy ballcarrier ever get to the secondary.
Rocky McIntosh - 3 tackles for -1 yards
London Fletcher - 4 tackles for 3.0 yards per
Chris Horton - 2 tackles for 4.5 per
Cornelius Griffin - 1 tackle for 0 yards
Demetric Evans - 1 tackle for 3 yards
Carlos Rogers - 1 tackle for 15 yards
And that’s it. That’s all she wrote. With Jason Taylor out, there was no player to run at, and all the Redskins had to do was play smart up the middle, allow Fletcher and McIntosh to roam and tackle.
And yes, the Cowboys got away from the run FAR too quickly.
Overall Defense
Success Rate: 27/59 (46%)
Total Adj Yards: 346
Yards Per Play: 5.86
The Redskins allowed too many yards and too many points by playing conservatively on some drives, and that made the game a lot closer than it really was. Tony Romo is an intermediate and deep zone killer, and to beat the Cowboys, you have to do two things: 1) pressure the QB, and 2) be physical with the receivers. The Cowboys showed here that they will get away from the run if their pass isn’t working because they want to crush your spirit with the run after they beat you with the pass. I think other defensive coordinators can use Greg Blache’s gameplan to make Romo’s NFL career far less successful. Man coverage: Springs/Rogers on Owens, Fletcher on Barber, Horton/Washington on Witten. If they win those individual battles, Romo will struggle. The Redskins established this trend on Sunday.