Redskins vs Patriots

[FrenchSkin]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

OK. This time with more respect. Your post just put me on tilt because I was like what the heck was he watching.

If you rewatch:

- The Matt Ioannidis sack play on Hoyer. Settle draws the double team and is enough of a handful that the guard and center stay on him the entire time. He plays the double team to a complete stalemate. Ioannidis remains one on one against the tackle and wins by bull rushing back into Hoyer's lap. That play doesn't happen if Settle is pushed back by the double team, because then Hoyer can step up.

- The Patriots had some success running the ball when Settle was in there during the 3rd quarter. When that success happened, note they ran around him, not at him. Settle would get moved at times but never by one man, if he was moved it was always because of a double team. Now, account for who's in there next to him. It was Lanier and Hood most often. Lanier was pushed back more than anybody during that quarter, and the Patriots took advantage. If one defensive lineman holds up, but the others don't, the RB can usually find the hole. You can't blame Settle for Lanier's failings against the run.

- On the fumble recovery notice Settle's quick and agile feet to stay on his feet despite guys diving at his lower body. I was impressed by his balance and quickness on that play.

- On the play I linked to, Settle beats the Pats center off the ball, so he's showing you a flash of quickness in addition to sheer size.

All in all I'm watching Settle and thinking that if he's playing next to Allen and Ioannidis (say in the event of a Payne injury or something) then the line will hold up well overall because Settle's doing his job of occupying the double teams which keeps Allen and Ioannidis one on one. They'll disrupt often enough for Zach Brown and Mason Foster to clean it up.

So when you watch an individual player in preseason, try not to focus on the surrounding factors they can't control. Focus instead on how they're playing as an individual and how they're performing against double teams, and instead imagine how that performance would translate if they were playing alongside other starting caliber players.

Lanier is a notorious liability against the run. Make sure you're not coloring your opinion of Settle by the thought that he's not playing two positions at once (his own and Lanier's). Settle consistently occupied two blockers last night, and still got in on five tackles. It was a performance that translates well to a run-down package player and gives me confidence that he can rotate in for Payne and maintain a competent run defense. I would not put him in the nickel rush packages, but we already knew that. That's Kerrigan, Preston, Allen, and Ioannidis/Payne all the way.

The Ioannidis sack is really a good example, made me understand that a lot of plays I interpreted as Settle being a non factor are in fact good plays on his part.
Doesn't look like much but yeah had he been driven back by the double team, Matty wouldn't have got to the QB.
Thanks!

[FrenchSkin]

Just re-re-watched the game with what you said in mind, I see how I completely underestimated/misread a lot of what he did.
Late in the 3rd (6:33), he helped stopped Gillislee for a loss. Didn't seem like much because he was stuck with his opponent and LBs Hamilton and Fernandez got there first, but he was the only DL still in the backfield, others were pushed back... Had he not, maybe the RB finds a hole this way and runs away from the LBs.