d/line thoughts

[skinsdad62]

• John Keim, ESPN Staff Writer

• The change was supposed to occur last season, with the unleashing of a more fierce pass rush. It didn’t happen -- for a variety of reasons. Regardless, opposing quarterbacks weren’t threatened enough.

Here we are again. The Washington Redskins are back saying the same things. Will it happen this time? They could be in a better position for it to actually take place.

They switched coordinators, going from Jim Haslett to Joe Barry. Along with that change comes a tweak in the scheme: Washington will run a one-gap, attacking 3-4 defensive system. That enables the linemen to focus on getting upfield rather than holding ground to set up the linebackers.

Jason Hatcher said. "You can make more plays in the backfield, make a lot of tackles, as long as you’re in your gap and do what you’re supposed to do it’ll be fun. Just attack. You ain’t holding up blocks no more. You can make a play here and there."

The unleashing last season was supposed to come in nickel situations -- their base 3-4 always was more of a two-gap system. But injuries, game situations (often trailing) and overall ineffectiveness ruined any plans.

"We made the right strides to get an aggressive defensive line with the players," Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. "So we’re excited about it, man. We want to let our defensive line go and let them get up the field -- [Jason] Hatcher, you know -- get the handcuffs off of them a little bit, let them get up the field. Not that they had them [handcuffs] on last year, but the frame of mind is to be a more aggressive-style defense and let them play."

They added Stephen Paea to give Hatcher another potential interior pass-rusher. Last season, it was Hatcher or no one -- and Hatcher’s bad knee prevented him from being the player Washington needed. They can use Ricky Jean Francois over the nose in some nickel situations and have versatility with young pass-rushers Trent Murphy and Preston Smith. Both, however, have to prove they can be effective in these roles. Otherwise, the Redskins will be back in the same spot next offseason, seeking more pressure.

The extra help was welcomed.

"I was campaigning," Hatcher said. "I had a big sign up, 'Go get 'em.' I know how important it is to have good D-linemen."

It still has to work, and the Redskins have been burned by offseason optimism in the past. Injuries or underachieving players have blunted those dreams. They finished 21st in sacks (36) and were 18th in sacks per pass attempt, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Half of their sacks came via the blitz, but opposing quarterbacks had a 106.1 passer rating when Washington used this tactic, which is why they needed to bolster the front -- and limit the number of times they had to blitz (they did so 36.1 percent of dropbacks).

For now, in another spring, there’s hope. If the secondary improves as they hope -- with three of the four starters newcomers -- then that can buy the rush an extra split second to harass the quarterback. Sometimes that’s all it takes. But they needed more help up front.

"You can’t just focus on one guy and try to stop him and nothing else happens," Hatcher said. "We have guys who can come in and rush besides me. That’s great. You always have to have good pass-rushers in this league -- not one. You’ve got to have four guys who will go get after the quarterback."

Hatcher’s knee is another reason for the veteran end’s optimism. He had arthroscopic knee surgery before the 2014 training camp and had lingering issues throughout the season. He started off strong, then faded.

"It was bad," he said. "A lot of games I went out and played with heart. When you don’t have a wheel it’s hard to be the player [you want], and the scheme didn’t help out at all either. We’re lucky this year where we have a scheme where we can attack. It will be great. I’m excited about it."

one injury can throw a huge monkey wrench into all of this . that injury is hatcher . when healthy last season he was tough to handle unfortunately more often then not he was hurt

we still need young d/line depth

 

[Sharkinva]

Our D -line at the moment is built for this season, with a little possible promise going forward in the likes of RJF, Kearse and the likes. We all knew Hatcher was a 2-3 year rental when the team signed him. The sole purpose of the D-line right now is to help this team improve and give them some success to build off of going forward. Now alot depends on how the QB picture shakes out, but I see next years draft and off season concentrating on getting the D-line younger, solidifying the secondary, possibly getting younger and bigger at WR. The only monkey I can see with a wrench in all this is if we end up in the hunt for a QB which would trump the order of priority to QB, Dline youth, Secondary, WR.

 

[skinsdad62]

Our D -line at the moment is built for this season, with a little possible promise going forward in the likes of RJF, Kearse and the likes. We all knew Hatcher was a 2-3 year rental when the team signed him. The sole purpose of the D-line right now is to help this team improve and give them some success to build off of going forward. Now alot depends on how the QB picture shakes out, but I see next years draft and off season concentrating on getting the D-line younger, solidifying the secondary, possibly getting younger and bigger at WR. The only monkey I can see with a wrench in all this is if we end up in the hunt for a QB which would trump the order of priority to QB, Dline youth, Secondary, WR.

add a reliable , healthy TE to the list and possible 3rd down back if AM leaves

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

Not to beat a dead horse but I've been saying all off season that DL is nearly as big of a need as OL. This team has zero young DL to be excited about. The article points to Stephen Pae as a guy to provide an inside pass rush. This is the same Stephen Pea who has sack totals of 2; 1.5; 2.5 and 6 (contract year). 12 sacks in 55 career games is not a pass rusher.

 

[SoCalWizFan]

Not to beat a dead horse but I've been saying all off season that DL is nearly as big of a need as OL. This team has zero young DL to be excited about. The article points to Stephen Pae as a guy to provide an inside pass rush. This is the same Stephen Pea who has sack totals of 2; 1.5; 2.5 and 6 (contract year). 12 sacks in 55 career games is not a pass rusher.

I thought that the whole idea was for D lineman in a 3-4 to stop the run & occupy the O lineman so that others could put pressure on the QB - not simply accrue sacks. Am I missing something? Also - quite a few of their D lineman are in the 27-28 year old range. That is hardly old for a D lineman & I would expect that you should be able to get at least 3-4 more productive years out of these guys.

 

[skinsdad62]

if we could get 6 sacks out of both our de's in the 3/4 that would be a good thing . having young d/lineman to rotate in is a good thing but the pass rush is still questionable . DGF is 100% right in his caution

 

[SoCalWizFan]

if we could get 6 sacks out of both our de's in the 3/4 that would be a good thing . having young d/lineman to rotate in is a good thing but the pass rush is still questionable . DGF is 100% right in his caution

Caution is always a good thing but let's not go overboard. The team is never going to consist of strictly 22-24 yr olds & some experience is also a good thing. You also have only so many draft picks to go around (& this should be a good thing in the future since SM is known to accrue picks). My main pt is lets actually wait & see how this pans out & stop comparing this to the recent past that involved a completely different FO. Things are not so bad rt now. However - this forum often makes it appear that things are at an all time low. Too funny.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

I thought that the whole idea was for D lineman in a 3-4 to stop the run & occupy the O lineman so that others could put pressure on the QB - not simply accrue sacks. Am I missing something? Also - quite a few of their D lineman are in the 27-28 year old range. That is hardly old for a D lineman & I would expect that you should be able to get at least 3-4 more productive years out of these guys.

Dude did you even read the supplied article?

The article says they signed Paea to provide an inside pass rush, something that has been non-existent here for a very long time. I still have visions of our OLB coming hard off the edge, only to watch Romo simply step up to a wide open pocket before hitting Jason Whitten for 17 and a first down. Sorry a guy with 12 career sacks can't be counted on to change that. And he was their big time DL signing, the others are either role players or play NT and none have a history of being good pass rushers.

I don't want to hear this "unleash the beast" bullshit. We heard it last offseason when Hazmat was now unchained to be more aggressive. You have to have the players to play that style and I'm not convinced they have them. And they sure don't have any good young proven pass rushing DL talent.

 

[Caliskinsfan]

The unleash comment was cringe worthy no doubt. Felt like Ground Hogs Day

 

[skinsdad62]

well lets give barry a chance to see what we have . we are younger and that is a plus . but we will have to see how it pans out . on paper the d/line should be better and more durable , on paper

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

Hatcher is the key. He played very well until he got hurt. But of course he's north of 30 so we should expect him to continue to get hurt. Which is the whole problem.

But you can't fix this many problem in one off season. Had they picked Williams, my preference, they would still have a huge hole at RT.

 

[skinsdad62]

Hatcher is the key. He played very well until he got hurt. But of course he's north of 30 so we should expect him to continue to get hurt. Which is the whole problem.

But you can't fix this many problem in one off season. Had they picked Williams, my preference, they would still have a huge hole at RT.

i agree with you , you cant fix it all in one off season . i think they made a good stab at it though but it will take some time

 

[Caliskinsfan]

While I hate the 'unleashed' comments, there are some valid reasons to be hopeful for increased production from Hatcher this year...



Excerpt

Point 1

The veteran lineman arrived as possibly the best interior pass-rusher in the NFL after logging 11 sacks for the Cowboys in 2013. He'd done it as a 4-3 D-tackle, but a switch back to playing end in Washington's 3-4 front stifled his production. Hatcher tallied a mere 5.5 sacks and left head coach Jay Grudenexpecting more.

The distinction a healthy-again Hatcher makes between attacking and "holding up blocks" is significant. In 2015, Washington's D-linemen will no longer be required to set the table the way most ends in linebacker-led schemes do.

Instead, Hatcher can do what he does best. That's rushing the passer from the guard-tackle gap. But what will those changes actually look like?

To use the correct terms, Hatcher is a classic 3-technique. It's a numerical distinction meaning he aligns between an offensive tackle and guard.

Hatcher positions himself between the inside shoulder of the tackle and outside shoulder of the guard. This area is known as the B-gap.

The advantages of this single-gap alignment are obvious. Hatcher can go straight ahead and split the gap, or he can slant and stunt in either direction, perhaps across the face of the guard or around the tackle.

Barry's recent experience with the San Diego Chargers and their hybrid 3-4 means you should expect to see Hatcher in this alignment often this season. The Chargers frequently deployed their best lineman, athletic tackle Corey Liuget, as a 3-technique.

Point 2

The addition of Paea will take some attention away from Hatcher.

Both are natural, one-gap players. They fit the new scheme like a glove and will draw blockers away from Hatcher.

Speaking of drawing blockers away, nobody's going to do that better than another free-agent addition, man mountain nose guard Terrance Knighton. A 331-pound (conservatively speaking) immovable object, Knighton will routinely tie up double-teams.

In the old system, Hatcher and his fellow end would be required to try to do the same in order to keep all four linebackers clean. But on Barry's watch, both ends can play 3-tech and get into the backfield.

Point 3

In another ESPN report, Keim indicates the Redskins, "likely will be in their nickel defense at least 70 percent of the time." It's a hefty number that will translate to increased production for Hatcher.

So will more flexibility in the way Washington attacks quarterbacks from the nickel front. Again, Barry can consult the pages of his playbook from San Diego for help.

 

[skinz2winz]

The biggest addition was Knighton who's size alone allows the defense to implement the 1 gap technique the Skins will employ this year. I'm not satisfied he is here on a 1 year deal but let's see how this works out and maybe Knighton will sign an extension if proven worthy.