Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Redskins vs. Ravens)

Okay, DeAngelo Hall is consistently in the top 10 in terms of intereceptions every year. He has six career non-offensive TDs, so he's averaging just under one per season. The defense of Hall as a player begins and ends with the fact that he scores a few points for you every season.

DeAngelo Hall NFL & AFL Football Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HallDe99.htm)

Point is, when you expand the definition of playmaking CB to include results outside of INTs, I just don't think he stacks up to some other elite players at his position. It's my opinion that "getting interceptions" is too rare of an event to completely define a playmaker in the secondary. Big hits matter. Stripping the ball matters. Difficult pass breakups matter. Run defense matters. Some will disagree. I think a true playmaker does most of these things.

Wow interesting break down. All the players make mistakes so why are we bashing Hall? Does he take chances? yes and apparently thats why MS and Haslett like him otherwise he would be gone. Did he screw up on the TD pass and not turn around and either intercept or atleast bat the ball away.... yes he screwed up. I'm sure after watching film he will correct the problem. and yes he was giving players a cushion. why? I don't know... maybe it's by design of the scheme in order to take away something the offense was wanting to do and force them to go shorter to an underneith route? I don't know.
Not bashing Hall, he's a Skin, I want him to do well. I've also complimented him on his play (when its deserved). I'm just pointing out the reality of who he is. He's a playmaker when opportunities present themselves, but he gives up an inordinant amount of plays that don't show up in the stat line, but do show up upon a good look at the game.

Ask yourself this, take away the 4 INT performace against Cutler & the Bears, are you willing to have 2 INT & 2 FF over 15 games vs. giving up the number of plays Hall does game-in game-out? To me it's not worth it, but we don't have a better option right now.

I'll take less spectacular plays in favor of solid coverage and sure tackling. In a nutshell, when $$$, cap, contract are no consideration, I take Carlos Rogers over Hall (I wish we could've taken the best of both and combine them into one very good CB). We are thin at CB, unfortunately Hall is the best we have. Hopefully Barnes and Wilson develop and we can get some help next off-season.

DeAngelo Hall’s Contract Might Prove To Be The End Of Carlos Rogers’ Time In Washington (http://swinginggatedc.com/2011/03/22/deangelo-halls-contract-might-help-to-end-carlos-rogers-time-in-washington/)

Furthermore, the presence of another hefty contract is hurting Rogers’ chances at landing a big payday in Washington. DeAngelo Hall is currently entering the third year of a six-year deal worth up to $55 million.

After signing an eight-year, $72 million contract in Oakland, Hall was released by the Raiders just eight games into the 2008 campaign. The Redskins inked him to a one-year deal and he managed to turn that near tryout-like stint into a big contract.

The former Virginia Tech standout has been an enigmatic player whose merits often fail to outweigh his lapses in coverage. Hall has 12 interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles in 36 games, but misses too many tackles and tends to get caught gambling. You can debate as to whether or not he is a good corner, but one thing is unquestionable in my mind: Hall was never worth the money Washington paid him after half a season of work in 2008.

Hall is a high risk, high reward player and his impact can swing the outcome of a game in either direction. He’s certainly worth having on the roster, but not at such a high price. His contract is a classic case of the Redskins overpaying for a player with a reputation for being a headcase.

Secondly, Hall’s deal gives Rogers leverage in the negotiation process. If Hall can make $55 million and struggle in coverage, then why can’t Rogers drop a few picks yet demand similar money?

Okay, DeAngelo Hall is consistently in the top 10 in terms of intereceptions every year. He has six career non-offensive TDs, so he's averaging just under one per season. The defense of Hall as a player begins and ends with the fact that he scores a few points for you every season.

DeAngelo Hall NFL & AFL Football Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HallDe99.htm)

Point is, when you expand the definition of playmaking CB to include results outside of INTs, I just don't think he stacks up to some other elite players at his position. It's my opinion that "getting interceptions" is too rare of an event to completely define a playmaker in the secondary. Big hits matter. Stripping the ball matters. Difficult pass breakups matter. Run defense matters. Some will disagree. I think a true playmaker does most of these things.

Would you care to list these 20 or so corners you have in front of Hall in terms of playmaking abilities.?

I bet he won't be with the Redskins next year, he will be asked to rework his contract. He sure isn't worth what he is being paid.

Would you care to list these 20 or so corners you have in front of Hall in terms of playmaking abilities.?Bailey, Flowers, Revis, Asomguha, Samuel, Terrell Thomas, Tillman, Tracy Porter, Leon Hall, Joe Haden, Aqib Talib, Brent Grimes, Tramon Williams, Charles Woodson, Vontae Davis, and I'm really a fan of most facets of Quentin Jammer's game, ball skills included. That was 16 guys off the top of my head. I left off some guys who simply don't have Hall's relatively strong bill of health, but make plays when they get on the field. Hall looks better if you age regress: Woodson and Bailey are getting long in the tooth, and might not enjoy a Darren Sharper-like end of career.

It's not a complete list of corners I would rather have than Hall, guys like Ike Taylor, Carlos Rogers, Sean Smith, Sheldon Brown, Jonathon Joseph, Chris Carr, Jerraud Powers, Antoine Cason, Ron Bartell, Ronde Barber, Antonio Cromartie, and the like. Those are good cover guys who I don't really consider playmakers.

Forgot: Antoine Winfield. Great cover corner, excellent ball skills.

UPDATED: Finally had a chance to review the game. Hopefully this is a preview of a weekly SS33 Game Review.

OL - Huge improvement from last year. Familiarity with the ZB scheme is helping the guys from last year. I finally saw an important component of the ZB scheme that was missing last year.....the cut blocks. On the Hightower TD, the cut from KL took down two Ravens and opened the cutback lane. I specifically saw good two good cuts by TW and another by KL. Didn't notice any from Brown/Chester, but hope they're coming.

Monty at C, without bashing ol' turnstile Rabach for a paragraph, let's just say Monty is a huge upgrade at C. The only bad play from him was a mis-communication between him and Chester that allowed the DT to shoot the A gap and blow up a run. Monty went 2nd level too early and Chester couldn't reach the DT.

Pass-pro is much improved. Not seeing the OL getting beaten with a 4 or 5 man rush. The OL is getting at worst a stalemate in pass-pro, which is a win and big improvement from last year where our OL were not only doing a poor job of blitz pick-up, but were losing individual battles.

Blitz Pick-up - An area that needs work, but with new players at C, RG, RB and TE this should improve and is an area that can be "coached up". TW has to get better at reading overload C-gap pressure and stay home rather than get sucked down to the B gap. Brown and Chester need to improve communication in passing the rushers between them. The blitz pick-up appears to be more of an issue on Brown's side. Hopefully by game 4-5 Brown, Chester and the backs/Davis will have settled in.

Davis is much improved in blocking and appears to be taking pride in this effort here. He still has work to do in blitz pick-up, but the run blocking appears to be coming along well and he's showing "want-to".

Hightower looks to be a great fit, excellent cut in the open field on the TD, also excellent explosion and "second gear" which we haven't had in our backfield in quite some time. He did well in pass-pro, another good "want to" showing.

Austin has earned a roster spot. Sure hands, making plays, appears to have a good grasp on his responsibilities.

Our O faced the Ravens 1st team D and played well, I wouldn't say "dominated" but they did win the battle up front and displayed a very good effort all around.

DL - Very pleased here. Cofield is showing why he was the most improtant off-season acquisition. He holds his ground in the run game and creates pressure in the pass game. The base 3-4 rush and 4-man front are getting pressure without needing blitz support....huge improvement from last year. I really like the even front with Rak and Kerrigan off the edges and Cofield and possibly Carriker/Bowen/Scott (JJ loss is awful, overall we'll be fine but he was a pleasant surprise).

Not real happy with Bowen's pre-snap stance (I get in a similar stance in the early AM), but he's doing his job so far.

I think Scott earned himself a roster spot with his versatility and effort. He created good pressure in pass rush and held up well in the run game overall.

Defensive Secondary: We've discussed Hall in other posts so I won't repeat.

Rushkins made a great post on this earlier. We are going to be hurt by not having OJA and LL on the field together in camp and pre-season. There were two specific plays where OJA was completely lost/out of position. The one that hurt most was the Boldin cross. OJA gets sucked out of his zone by the post and Boldin comes underneath into his vacated zone for a big play. I initially thought Hall got sucked up on a flat route, but a closer look showed a Cover 3 Zone deep and OJA was the culprit. Also, our youngsters didn't play particularly well, Gomes and Jones didn't help their cause.

Rak looked very good, Kerrigan too. Not worried about the penalties on 91, they're effort penalties and will be corrected. I'd like to see Neild make the team, he's doing a good job holding his ground and taking up space in the run game. He got a good push in pass rush, but I don't think he'll ever be considered a sack threat.

I liked the playcalls by Haslett. Good mix on D, different looks, coverages, blitzes.

I think Locklear, Golston, and Clemens can be cut.

And finally.....Beck vs. Rex. Beck has a better grasp of the O. He's making the correct reads and quick/accurate throws. The deep INT appeared to be a miscommunication between him and Stallworth that will be corrected once the final 53 is determined and they get familiar with each other. Beck led him in, Stallworth was looking out. If in doubt, throw it out(side) should be the rule of thumb....less chance for INT. Or Beck just made a $hitty throw....but I think it was the former.

Rex is still the same guy, great throws in stretches, but too many poor throws/reads that will kill drives and lose games. Before the TD, Smith should've picked him on a VERY poor throw. That being said Moss dropped a TD right before that. Rex also doesn't identify the blitz and coverage quite as quickly as Beck does.

SS, 12th, 53, thanks for the kind words. Any reviews I do are Warpath Exclusives :) I'll do my best to keep them up every week.

Bailey, Flowers, Revis, Asomguha, Samuel, Terrell Thomas, Tillman, Tracy Porter, Leon Hall, Joe Haden, Aqib Talib, Brent Grimes, Tramon Williams, Charles Woodson, Vontae Davis, and I'm really a fan of most facets of Quentin Jammer's game, ball skills included. That was 16 guys off the top of my head. I left off some guys who simply don't have Hall's relatively strong bill of health, but make plays when they get on the field. Hall looks better if you age regress: Woodson and Bailey are getting long in the tooth, and might not enjoy a Darren Sharper-like end of career.

It's not a complete list of corners I would rather have than Hall, guys like Ike Taylor, Carlos Rogers, Sean Smith, Sheldon Brown, Jonathon Joseph, Chris Carr, Jerraud Powers, Antoine Cason, Ron Bartell, Ronde Barber, Antonio Cromartie, and the like. Those are good cover guys who I don't really consider playmakers.

Forgot: Antoine Winfield. Great cover corner, excellent ball skills.

I see that list as more like 10 guys at the level of DHall plus 6 that are admittedly better.

I see that list as more like 10 guys at the level of DHall plus 6 that are admittedly better.So then we basically disagree on whether Hall is a true playmaker or not, but agree that his playmaking skill set is certainly not a commodity among other starting corners. You can get his ability to find the football with many other starters in the NFL, plus countless future draft pick college players.

My point was just when you frame the Hall value debate as "a high risk player who gives high reward," everyone always overstates Hall's (in my opinion) playmaking value towards that of other corners (in your opinion). Proponents of the guy often act like he's the only guy who is capable of intercepting a pass in the NFL, and god forbid he not be here some day because then who will get turnovers?

If you make this a defensive backs argument, it's easy to find 30 safeties who make positive impact plays much more than Hall. But of course you can, safeties don't always have a coverage responsibility. Corners always do, which is why Hall's downside is often understated, in my opinion.

I am not questioning the value of Hall's big plays to the Redskins. Just the frequency of them.