Game Review, Defense -- Barber, Jones only factor's when 'Boys are Winning

GTripp0012 · 10-01-2008, 12:47 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.

Hog1 · 10-01-2008, 12:50 AM

Do you work? This is outrageous!

htownskinfan · 10-01-2008, 02:27 AM

once again,great analysis,smootsmack needs to hire you at espn

LMsexyAO · 10-01-2008, 01:02 PM

Great job! I find myself watching the game and thinking to myself "hmm I wonder what is GTripp going to say about that last play?"

DIRTEE · 10-01-2008, 08:52 PM

I enjoy the breakdown and I wonder where do you get the 5+ hours to analyze and write your report.

TheSmurfs22 · 10-01-2008, 09:00 PM

Great job GT! Thanks for taking the time to do that for us.

The Boys D-Coordinator vastly underestimated Campbell. He thought that Campbell would focus on one WR and go with that. IMHO that threw their D off all day.

SmootSmack · 10-01-2008, 10:32 PM

Seriously how are you finding the time to pass school...or get laid?

Great work, as always

GMScud · 10-01-2008, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Seriously how are you finding the time to pass school...or get laid?

Great work, as always

hahaha, I thought the same thing.

GTripp0012 · 10-01-2008, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Seriously how are you finding the time to pass school...or get laid?

Great work, as always

I balance my priorities well

InsanePianist · 10-01-2008, 11:03 PM

Hey I was just wondering if anyone had heard this quote from Romo. Right after TO's TD to open the 2nd half, Romo said "They're done. We can do whatever now." I saw this on NFL.com game of the week highlight

vallin21 · 10-01-2008, 11:05 PM

Great work GT as always. Its great for you to take the time to do that for us. NEVER in my life could I do all of that.

Lol

johnerotten · 10-02-2008, 08:38 AM

Quote:

. t "They're done. We can do whatever now."

i thought he was talking about the rest of the cowboys with jessica simpson from the previous night.

CooleyAsCanBe · 10-02-2008, 12:48 PM

Wow, great work. I almost feel like you're giving the Eagles an unfair advantage for this week's game. Why don't you throw in some false stats in case any of the Eagles Coordinators see this.

"Jason Campbell threw left-handed to his punter on every second down."

53Fan · 10-03-2008, 03:10 PM

Great job as usual GTripp. I just want to stick up for my man Marcus here a little bit. On the TD pass to Witten, Horton was suppose to be over the top and missed his assignment. Marcus was beaten, but there was suppose to be safety help over the top and there was'nt. If there were help, there might not have been a TD. OK. Just wanted to put that out there. Thanks GTripp I always enjoy your breakdowns of the games. Good job.

rickmmrr · 10-03-2008, 04:52 PM

Great work thanks.

10-01-2008, 12:47 AM	#1
GTripp0012 Living Legend Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Evanston, IL Age: 37 Posts: 15,994	Game Review, Defense -- Barber, Jones only factor's when 'Boys are Winning 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. __________________ according to a source with knowledge of the situation. Last edited by GTripp0012; 10-01-2008 at 12:54 AM.

10-01-2008, 12:50 AM	#2
Hog1 Quietly Dominating the East Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Naples, Florida Posts: 10,675	Re: Game Review, Defense -- Barber, Jones only factor's when 'Boys are Winning Do you work? This is outrageous! __________________ Goodbye Sean..........Vaya Con Dios thankyou Joe....... *“God made certain people to play football. He was one of them.” – Joe Gibbs*

10-01-2008, 02:27 AM	#3
htownskinfan JUST LIVIN Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: houston,tx Age: 63 Posts: 4,916	Re: Game Review, Defense -- Barber, Jones only factor's when 'Boys are Winning once again,great analysis,smootsmack needs to hire you at espn __________________ Make The Redskins Great Again

10-01-2008, 01:02 PM	#4
LMsexyAO Impact Rookie Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 684	Re: Game Review, Defense -- Barber, Jones only factor's when 'Boys are Winning Great job! I find myself watching the game and thinking to myself "hmm I wonder what is GTripp going to say about that last play?"

10-01-2008, 08:52 PM	#5
DIRTEE Special Teams Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 256	Re: Game Review, Defense -- Barber, Jones only factor's when 'Boys are Winning I enjoy the breakdown and I wonder where do you get the 5+ hours to analyze and write your report.

10-01-2008, 09:00 PM	#6
TheSmurfs22 The Starter Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Staunton, VA Posts: 1,261	Re: Game Review, Defense -- Barber, Jones only factor's when 'Boys are Winning Great job GT! Thanks for taking the time to do that for us. The Boys D-Coordinator vastly underestimated Campbell. He thought that Campbell would focus on one WR and go with that. IMHO that threw their D off all day.

10-01-2008, 10:32 PM	#7
SmootSmack Uncle Phil Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 45,256	Re: Game Review, Defense -- Barber, Jones only factor's when 'Boys are Winning Seriously how are you finding the time to pass school...or get laid? Great work, as always __________________ You're So Vain...You Probably Think This Sig Is About You

10-01-2008, 11:03 PM	#10
InsanePianist Special Teams Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Richmond, Virginia Posts: 400	Re: Game Review, Defense -- Barber, Jones only factor's when 'Boys are Winning Hey I was just wondering if anyone had heard this quote from Romo. Right after TO's TD to open the 2nd half, Romo said "They're done. We can do whatever now." I saw this on NFL.com game of the week highlight

10-01-2008, 11:05 PM	#11
vallin21 The Starter Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1,177	Re: Game Review, Defense -- Barber, Jones only factor's when 'Boys are Winning Great work GT as always. Its great for you to take the time to do that for us. NEVER in my life could I do all of that. Lol

10-02-2008, 12:48 PM	#13
CooleyAsCanBe Special Teams Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Fairfax, VA Age: 48 Posts: 421	Re: Game Review, Defense -- Barber, Jones only factor's when 'Boys are Winning Wow, great work. I almost feel like you're giving the Eagles an unfair advantage for this week's game. Why don't you throw in some false stats in case any of the Eagles Coordinators see this. "Jason Campbell threw left-handed to his punter on every second down." __________________ The TRUE QB Challenge Champion

10-03-2008, 03:10 PM	#14
53Fan Franchise Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Kill Devil Hills, N.C. Posts: 7,570	Re: Game Review, Defense -- Barber, Jones only factor's when 'Boys are Winning Great job as usual GTripp. I just want to stick up for my man Marcus here a little bit. On the TD pass to Witten, Horton was suppose to be over the top and missed his assignment. Marcus was beaten, but there was suppose to be safety help over the top and there was'nt. If there were help, there might not have been a TD. OK. Just wanted to put that out there. Thanks GTripp I always enjoy your breakdowns of the games. Good job.

10-03-2008, 04:52 PM	#15
rickmmrr Special Teams Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 395	Re: Game Review, Defense -- Barber, Jones only factor's when 'Boys are Winning Great work thanks.

Game Review, Defense -- Barber, Jones only factor's when 'Boys are Winning

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