Official Redskins Preseason Overlooked Secondary Battle Until Death Thread

[TSO]

First off, someone just told me that we're not going to feed the losers of this battle to our organically fed and self-raised ES Mountain Lions so disregard the "until death" part. Boy, does that put a damper on the intensity of this battle or what? Friggin Goodell; can't stand that guy!

I posted this in GHH's Straight Outta Compton thread since I thought it wasn't thread worthy but GHH insisted otherwise. And since I like my 15 minutes of fame he really didn't need to push hard.

Due to all the (warranted) interest in RG3, the Oline and our new WRs the very significant secondary battle seems to have been overlooked by the ES faithful. And since I'm so damn wonderful I decided I'll be keeping a detailed track of it throughout preseason. No need to applaud, calm down.

Update 1 (8/11)

Let's start with the battle of Barnes vs. Cedric Griffn. Now some of you might say "what battle?", to which I would say "good question", and therefore your response would be "thanks". That is, if you're kind. All camp we've heard about Hall playing in the slot more with Cedric Griffin lined up outside. We know Wilson is cemented as the starter on one side and that Griffin hasn't done anything to stand out during camp. In fact, Haslett, who is the epitome of hyperbolic optimism during press conferences, only mustered up something like a "he's doing well, learning everyday" - type of response when mentioning him. We also know Barnes has been playing outside as well and the coaches, particularly Shanahan, seem pleased with his move back outside from the slot.

Translation: Battle between Barnes and Griffin for majority of the snaps in our nickel package on the other side of Wilson.

So how do we come out Thursday night with our first team defense? Well, we pretty much stuck exclusively to our 3-4 look the entire time with only Hall and Wilson our two CBs. It's interesting to note that Hall has a lot more on his plate this year and might be negatively affected in our base package since he moves back outside. The good news is it seems were a ton more comfortable staying in a 3-4 even against offense's that want to spread us out, so Hall shouldn't really get too uncomfortable after playing a lot of snaps in the slot during training camp.

But back to the battle between Barnes and Griffin. To me, we have a clear winner so far and it was Barnes. For all the flak he's taken from us on ES it's only right we give him some credit. He was excellent. I don't think he gave up a pass and, furthermore, he was always around the ball especially when he was playing underneath zones in cover 2. He seemed really aware of where the ball was at all times. Griffin, on the other hand, had a poor outing in my eyes. He was out of position a lot and seemed to get beat every time a receiver went inside on him (chalk it up to being a vet though, Griffin knows that if you're going to allow a WR anything, it's the inside routes). The good news is he looks pretty fast. Faster than I expected considering his leg injuries the past few years.

I've gotta say... this is one battle almost no one is talking about, yet, it's incredibly important when it comes to how dominant are defense can be. If Barnes keeps this up, he may be the guy playing the majority of the snaps outside in our nickel package and it's quite the nice surprise.

Further updates to come.

Update 2 (8/13)

Ok, got a chance to look at the CBs (and our pass coverage in general as you shall see) more deeply. Here's a few tidbits I missed the first time:

- I know these guys are LBers but since I'm watching the secondary in general I can't help but be so impressed with Riley and Fletcher in coverage. It's amazing how quick Fletcher is in getting to his guy (usually a TE) if he goes out on a route and sticking with him all the way downfield. It's also amazing how quick Riley is. First play of the game he lined up on CJ Spiller while he was in the slot and stayed stride for stride with him. Riley did blow his assignment on the TD pass from Fitz to Johnson that got called back. Penalty or not, Riley was to stay underneath of Johnson and got caught jumping inside leaving him wide open. He impressed again on a 2nd and 8 with a little over 5 minutes left in the 1st. He, again, was lined up against a RB in the slot (Jackson this time) and stayed stride for stride with him on an out route that was fairly deep. Pretty good stuff considering just a few plays after he broke up a pass to Stevie Johnson where he actually did stay underneath while playing cover 3. It was like 15-20 yards out, too. It really looks like we might not see our nickel package much this year so long as Riley and Fletcher stay healthy, God willing. If one of them gets hurt and Lorenzo/Kehl comes in it is going to be a slight drop off in terms of coverage ability. If Keenan Robinson can move up the depth chart fast that might not be an issue, though. Either way, it gives us an excellent option if we face a team that likes to run a lot of draws when they spread us out. We'll have the beef and speed to stop it.

- Meriweather's reputation does NOT precede him. He IS super aggressive. The Bills came out with 4 WRs almost the entire time. We stayed in our base 3-4, with Riley covering the guy in one slot and Merriweather covering the other side's slot. Like C. Griffin, he's savvy enough to give the WRs he lines up against in the slot the inside routes for minimal gains but he doesn't have great recovery speed. He tripped on himself on the second play of the game trying to keep up with his guy. An offense can probably get a couple of quick inside routes on him every game but if they do it too much he's smart enough to jump it I'm sure.

Merriweather is a big gambler as we all know and it's one of the reasons he was let go by the disciplined Pats. We, on the other hand, seem to like big gamblers in the secondary and a good example as to why occurred on the first play of the Bills offensive series after the Royster fumble. We're clearly playing cover 3 in the secondary with a couple wrinkles as Hall's job is to cover his deep end while Merriweather is to cut off the underneath zone if the guy lined up across from Hall cuts his route off early. Instead, Meriweather gambles while watching Fitzpatrick and tries to jump the TE running a seam route in the same area instead of getting out wide underneath. It was a good gamble and, combined with our pass rush, it led to Fitzpatrick throwing inaccurately right to Meriweather who didn't make the play. Fitzpatrick was smart enough to see his jump and realize Johnson was left wide open, but he couldn't reset fast enough to make the throw correctly. However, if that was Tom Brady he probably would've hit the man out wide after the quick reset. But not all QBs are Tom Brady and Meriweather probably wouldn't haven taken that risk against a QB like him. Hopefully, lol.

I think we're going to see a lot more plays made by our secondary than we've assumed. These guys are super aggressive and, while it'll probably allow offense's to pick up chunks of yards in the air, it's going to lead to a lot of INTs if they keep guessing right like they did against the Bills. They just have to friggin catch the ball.

- Madieu Williams looks really, really good. He anticipates when the ball is going to come out of the QBs hands better than anyone on our team so far. Second play of the first drive for the Bills he jumps a quick slant exactly when Fitzpatrick threw the ball... only problem was he threw it to the WR lined up on Wilson running the same route instead. Wilson did a fine job on the play and broke it up anyway, but Madieu would've probably picked it off had Fitzpatrick chose his guy.

- Watching the game more and more, C. Griffin does scare me a bit. I really hope either Barnes outplays him or he gets better as time goes on. Considering he's a vet, the latter happening is hard to assume. He got away with a couple of penalties, too. The first time our second team defense came on the field he clearly had illegal contact on Stevie Johnson who had a step on him on a crossing route. Keep in mind that it was still the first team offense for the Bills out there but, nonetheless, if he's the guy playing outside in our nickel package those are the type of players he will face. The other time was on a 3rd and 3 with over 8 minutes left in the 2nd where he wrapped his hand around the waist of his guy ever so slightly to slow him down a bit and get the jump on a quick slant. You might say that was a veteran move though since it was very subtle, but I think it was more the replacement refs not seeing a lot.

2nd and 18, about 12:00 minutes left in the 2nd, Bills 2nd team offense, Griffin gets turned by his man who threatened to run deep and couldn't make up the distance he gave him when his man cut off his route. It wouldn't have been so bad if it was perfect route running, but the WR took way to many steps when he cut off his route and did it in this circular fashion. Griffin should've been able to get there in time but it ended being an 11 yard gain.

On a 1st and 10 with over 6 minutes left in the 2nd, he allows his man to get way too many steps on him while running a deep crossing route with ease. One of Buffalo's biggest gains of the night for about 21 yards. Sure, as a CB your taught to prioritize all routes on the outside, but that doesn't mean you can allow your guy to just run freely inside. There needs to be some semblance of sticking with him, even if it's just for the sake of making an instant tackle after the catch. Not good.

- Barnes, on the other hand and as stated previously, looked good. His awareness in zone coverage was simply excellent. Two plays are good examples of this. First, on 3rd and 12 with about 11 minutes left in the 2nd, he covers his deep zone well all the while watching the QB throw the ball. Even though he wasn't responsible for the TE on the play, he came near his area and the QB overthrew him slightly and Barnes was all over it making a diving attempt at the ball. The second example was during that excellent goal line stand we had on a 3rd and 4 with just over 2 minutes left in the 2nd. He was playing cover 2 zone but was still aware enough to attack the ball that went deeper than his zone responsibility in the end zone. It just seems like he's got a great CB "sixth sense" going right now and I'm liking it. It's hard to explain, but he's seeing the field better and just naturally flowing to where the ball is going.

- Tanard Jackson had, for the most part, an uneventful night. Which is a very good thing for a Free Safety. That being said, we all know one of his main issues the last year was poor tackling and it reared its ugly head on a run play. With just a little over 6 minutes left in the 2nd, the Bills ran a play action draw to Choice and Tanard had a clear shot on him about 4 yards from the LOS and barely gets his legs. Fortunately, he at least caused Choice to stumble but not after Choice picked up another 4 yards. It wasn't an awful play by all means, but it just wasn't the kind of angle you want to see a Free Safety taking when absolutely no one is involved in the play other than he and the RB.

- No one is talking about poor old Gomes. He looked good, especially in the box. Remember the goal line stand from our 2nd team everyone loved? He was a part of that when it came to stuffing the run. He also generated a holding call late in the 3rd Quarter when he blitzed. He had another nice blitz in the 4th Quarter but couldn't bring Vince Young down. Vince is a big guy so you can't blame him much and he still effectively disrupted the play, allowing Markus White to cause a fumble on the play afterward. He's a tough kid.

- So is Jordan Bernstine. Nothing spectacular from him, but he seemed to always be around the ball and made a really nice tackle on Vince Young during the 4th Quarter. Plus, we Redskins fans can't help but fall in love with a guy wearing no. 48 and has long hair during the preseason. :paranoid:

- Richard Crawesomeford.

He showed great awareness from the get go. Saw the ball that was underthrown by Thigpen near the end of the half and intercepted it, something rookies almost never do (they usually just keep following their guy and never turn back). No need to get too in depth with the positives here since he played well pretty much every snap and looked like a legit player. He had a couple of negative plays that really weren't so negative. One was during the goal line stand where he allowed a quick slant for a minimal gain. He was playing up close and should've been tighter but he made just one slightly false step and it allowed the receiver to make the catch. Still, it was an immediate tackle after the catch for only about 2 yards. The other was on a quick screen pass to a WR. He was too hesitant and didn't trust his first instinct when he saw the play develop (he first started up field quickly when he saw the play unfold then decided against it) and just got blocked badly. It happens.

He was very good returning punts as well and almost always made the first guy miss; as good a sign of a good punt returner as there is.

- David Jones and Travon Bellamy both had solid performances, but nothing stood out except when David Jones walloped a RB on a screen play early in the 3rd Quarter. To not stand out as a DB isn't necessarily bad, of course, but when you're going against inferior competition it can be.

- What the heck happened to Brandyn Thompson? It's kind of embarrassing for me cuz I was totally man-crushing on him since last preseason. I thought for sure he was going to surprise everyone this season and take a high spot on our depth chart. Yeesh. I think I know what his problem is... he's as good a cover corner as we've had here but he has, quite possibly, the worst ball location skills I've ever seen. That'd be ok if all we wanted was coverage but in our scheme we live and die by our secondary attacking the ball. That's why we choose guys like Hall and Meriweather over others. He flashed his potential on one play in the 3rd Quarter where he mirrored his man throughout the whole route. When his man tried a double move on him, he stuck with him and made up the step he lost mirroring him quickly. He's buried on our depth chart right now and guys like David Jones and Travon Bellamy are ahead of him. Yikes. I hope he gets his act together because he seems like he has all the tools to be great.

- Alright, a little dose of finality to this update... you'll notice a couple of gaffes we had with our first team defense were when we were playing some form of cover 3 in the secondary. The outside CBs (Hall and Wilson) are to cover the deep zone while either a Safety or LBer cuts off anything underneath. The one issue with that so far was that both Hall and Wilson were too quick to get deep leaving too much room for the WR to find that middle soft spot. The issue was magnified when both Riley and Meriweather were too aggressive on jumping other routes inside. I'm interested in seeing how we come out next game in that kind of defense and seeing how we play it instead.

I'm done. Tune in for more after the game against the Bears and whatnot. That is, if you're not all whatnot-ed out from Califan's tweet threads.

Update 3 (8/20) - After Bears game

- Ok, first thing I want everyone to do is go read the last note I made about our cover 3 coverage last update. It looks like this preseason we're just working on that exclusively with either a Safety or Inside Linebacker blitzing. The Bears were ready for it, obviously, and Jay took advantage. The exact same problem still reared it's ugly head on the fourth play of the Bear's first drive, where Josh Wilson gets caught looking inside and leaves his underneath zone to the outside. He left Marshall wide open and forced Meriweather (who was playing the deep zone outside) to come up and make the tackle - which he whiffed on. The interesting thing here is last time against the Bills the Safety or DB who was tasked to play the deep outside zone was moving back way too quickly and allowing too much cushion. If you recall, Steve Johnson scored on a play where the EXACT SAME THING happened (though it got called back and it was Perry Riley who was responsible for the underneath zone outside with Wilson responsible for the deep zone outside).

Anyway, this time Meriweather played it much better and saw the play develop faster. He didn't just run back at the snap like what was happening before and so was, at least, in position to make the tackle on Marshall. Still, we have a persistent issue with how our guys are covering the outside underneath zones.

- It looks like whenever we come out in our nickel package with Griffin, Hall and Wilson as our CBs, Hall is going to be the guy who moves to Safety whenever the opposing offense lines up with no one in the slot. First play of the Bears first drive we all saw how Hall got looked off by Jay easily, who then turned and immediately threw it deep to Marshall. Hall, suffice to say, has work to do lining up at Safety... which is expected. In the slot, it was a different story. Hall looked good but he wasn't necessarily tested. He used his hands well and stayed with his guy, though, so can't complain. On a 1st and 10 with 3:51 left in the first, Hall showed how quickly he can get to the QB when he blitzes by running around the FB. Jay just got the ball of with Hall right on him. Still, it was an impressive blitz and he showed he could get home on those pretty easily.

I believe the first time Hall lined up outside was on the first play on the Bear's drive immediately following Robert's fumble. Jay threw a fade to Marshall towards the corner of the end zone, but Hall was stuck on him the entire route, playing it perfectly, and caused Jay to overthrow it slightly. Hall also showed how willing he is to tackle, lunging at the large Michael Bush's feet when covering him in the flat. The ball was off target though so it didn't matter, but it was good to see him continue to be unafraid to stick his head into guys. It seems like the only time Hall misses tackles is on those quick hitch routes to the WR he gives some cushion to. He hesitates slightly as soon as the receiver gets the ball in his hands instead of continuing through him, and that's when the WR is able to make a move and get by him. When he doesn't hesitate and just trusts himself he makes the tackle. That was the case on the play with about 50 seconds left on the clock before half time.

- Wilson was seemingly targeted this game by Jay Cutler. It was interesting to see, and Wilson came out of it with a decent showing. He had a solid tackle on a quick outside hitch pass to Hester on the second play of the first Bears drive. He blanketed his man on a 1st and 17 with about 3 minutes left on the clock of the 1st quarter, forcing Cutler who looked his way to run for a few yards instead. Wilson also showed some make up speed on the other deep ball attempt Cutler made to Marshall with about 12:40 on the clock in the 2nd quarter. Wilson got beat by Bennett the play immediately after that. Bennett ran another inside post route (seems like that's the route the Bears wanted him to work on) and Wilson just whiffed when he tried to get his hands on him, which forced Wilson to turn around completely. He did locate Bennett pretty quickly after getting turned, got back in position underneath and made a diving lunge at the ball to knock it away but he was just slightly off and Jay was able to sneak it in there. It was a negative play, but his instincts were on display in an impressive fashion there. He dropped an easy INT that would've taken a field goal off the board while covering Bennett again. He showed great vision and stayed inside with good depth but just keep the ball - a rocket from Cutler - in his hands.

- Griffin had another poor showing as we all know. The only truly positive play he had was on the third play of the Bears first drive in which he stayed with Earl Bennet on an inside post route. Cutler had to throw the pass high and was off target because of the coverage. But even on that play, it looks like he's trying so hard to keep up. Nothing smooth about his coverage at all. Otherwise, the Bears WRs took turns having their way with him, including Eric Weams, Alshon Jeffrey and Brandon Marshall. Yes, Eric Weams ladies and gentlemen. He had one more positive play right before the half on a fade route thrown towards the corner of the end zone. He was with his guy and played it right. He even got his hands on the ball and, still, somehow the receiver almost made the catch, lol. I don't like players who seem to just always have things go wrong, even when they play it right. I don't like I don't like I don't like it. Waaaahh!

- Meriweather played very well overall and was always in good position on both running and pass plays. I think we've found a gem here. His only negative play of the night was the missed tackle on Marshall, however, he was in position to make the play. Plus, everyone in the league struggles when trying to tackle Marshall.

- Tanard Jackson came in for Meriweather and did okay, though he had a few negative plays. He showed his range on the second deep ball attempt Cutler had to Marshall, but he didn't locate the ball at all and just went after Marshall himself. If Cutler put the ball in a better spot for Marshall, he may have still managed to come down with it or draw a pass interference considering how wildly Jackson was coming at him. He then proceeded to actually draw a pass interference on a 2nd and 8 with under 3 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. He actually had good coverage on Alshon Jeffrey, but Campbell placed the ball perfectly where Jeffrey's big body could shield Tanard and Tanard then ran through him to get to the ball, drawing the flag. He's aggressive and needs to learn to control it better. Again, his tackling issues presented itself one more time. Last game he missed a tackle in almost the exact same way. It's when he's in the middle of the field and takes on bigger guys like a RB or TE. See for yourself on the play immediately following Banks punt return for a TD. It's inexcusable and it's like he doesn't want to wrap up.

- Richard Crawford with another excellent performance. Guy just keeps proving he belongs. Interestingly enough, he was the 4th CB when we came out in a sub package. Does this mean he's actually ahead of Barnes or was it just because he's the next guy they put in the slot after Hall? Either way, he looked really, really good there. It was right after the 2 minute warning and he stuck with his guy who ran a quick inside route while at the same time paying attention to the QB's eyes. He lunged at the ball as Campbell threw it to the outside receiver he wasn't responsible for, but because he got in the way of it the receiver couldn't make the catch. It was really impressive, honestly.

- Ahhh, my man Brandon Thompson had a really nice showing as well and got his hands on a couple of pass deflections. He just seemed a lot more comfortable in locating the ball than he has previously and was still sticking to his guys like glue as usual. I just can't believe we'll somehow manage to keep both Thompson and Crawford on the team, but I wouldn't be angry if we let Griffin go to keep both of them as well as Barnes.

[Hitman21ST]

I thought that Madieu Williams looked good, and Meriweather was in position a couple times to make plays. I think Tanard Jackson has a legit shot at starting the year off as the number one though.

[Commander Chaaarmnder]

Entertaining read. I too am surprised griffin hasn't really gotten much praise from haslett whatsoever.

[KCClybun]

Only guy I thought looked bad was Cedric Griffin. He gets his cushion eaten too fast, and he's not a good enough or physical enough man coverage corner to make up for his lack of speed. Really should try and make the transition to free safety...

I thought Barnes looked a lot more comfortable playing on the outside. I know guys hate him but his long arms and his length make him a much better asset on the outside than he was inside. I think he should get a chance to start outside.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Need to see a lot more of Barnes before I'm sold on him after his first 3 all but non-existent years. I'll profess I never noticed Griffin once. Not sure if this a good or bad thing, but it would of been nice for him to of made me stand up and notice him. The rook Crawford made a couple of stout stops, which was good to see. Can't say I noticed much of anything of any other CB, save for Hall getting caught out. Nothing changes there.

Safety play looked very encouraging, though not running away with it. Meriweather and Williams looked solid. Man, Jackson can HIT. And hit HARD. The rook Bernstein was everywhere, lol. When he was on the field, wherever the ball was, he appeared. Great motor, enthusiasm and nose for the ball. He stood out a ton. The rest didn't catch my eye.

Roll on Chicago, and more insight from your happy go lucky OP as he's now under my influence. :evilg: Next week, he'll do us all a receiver write-up to discuss.

Hail.

[darrelgreenie]

I've always liked Barnes as an off coverage CB.

I just thought the combination of his skillset and smarts that he could become an Asante Samuel type of CB reads/jumps routes.

I felt he was utterly miscast as an inside CB

I think Cedric Griffin is just a guy.

Because I want to move towards youth at every position I don't think there is enough room to keep Madieu Williams and Tanard Jackson assuming they keep Meriweather and Doughty.

Personally, I wouldn't keep either guy but if its between M.Williams and Tanard Jackson give me M.Williams. Tanard Jackson had been a historically poor tackler and for me missing tackles is a deal breaker.

I really like the rookie Bernstine's skillset and he backed it up with a high motor in the game.

Haslett gave him some recognition during his interview.

In my mind the Crawford kid has already made the team.

[TSO]

Only guy I thought looked bad was Cedric Griffin. He gets his cushion eaten too fast, and he's not a good enough or physical enough man coverage corner to make up for his lack of speed. Really should try and make the transition to free safety...

I thought Barnes looked a lot more comfortable playing on the outside. I know guys hate him but his long arms and his length make him a much better asset on the outside than he was inside. I think he should get a chance to start outside.

Totally in agreement. Should be interesting to see how they look in the next few games but I would love to see Barnes be the first guy outside in our nickel package over Griffin just to get a look.

[TSO]

Ok, bump for the 2nd (massive) update. If GHH is the only one reading this my keyboard is going to pay!

[Califan007 The Constipated]

That was an impressive breakdown :applause:...I wish I had the ability to re-watch the games with some of the breakdowns being given here on ES by fans.

[TSO]

That was an impressive breakdown :applause:...I wish I had the ability to re-watch the games with some of the breakdowns being given here on ES by fans.

Thanks for the compliment, man... my self-esteem is in dire straits considering my wife just woke up and saw me typing and rewinding/fast-forwarding. I got one of those "looks" for it, lol. I'm such a bum.

[Koolblue13]

Great write up. I really enjoyed reading that wall of text and I usually end up bored and just glaze over that much, but it was very entertaining and informative.

[TSO]

Great write up. I really enjoyed reading that wall of text and I usually end up bored and just glaze over that much, but it was very entertaining and informative.

Why thank you, kind sir.

[SWFLSkins]

I thought that Madieu Williams looked good, and Meriweather was in position a couple times to make plays. I think Tanard Jackson has a legit shot at starting the year off as the number one though.

I thought the safety play was better than I hoped for considering these guys are just getting used to each other and Morris.

Also of note. Great JOB submittedone for the breakdown, great read and great analysis.

http://www.realredskins.com/rich-tandlers-real-redsk/2012/08/stock-up-stock-down-vs-bills.html

Kevin Barnes—No negative plays but not much on the plus side either except for one pass defense. The Redskins are looking for him to step up and earn a fourth season with the team and he hasn’t done that yet.

[CrypticVillain]

I keep saying Barnes is a decent corner. He was just being misused playing the slot. Hopefully those days are over.

[GaryGreenMonk]

I'm pretty sure we drafted Barnes as an outside corner. I think that's what he played in college.

At the time though, we had Rogers still, he was a rookie, etc. So since, we've tried to make him everything but an outside corner.

Maybe playing all those other positions has taught him a better understanding of the entire defense and that's why he may perform really well moving him back to his original position.

[pjfootballer]

IDK, I thought Cedric Griffin looked really slow. He looked like he was laboring to keep up with the WRs.

[Chachie]

Honestly, I don't think we had a great secondary the last 2 seasons. Landry was never healthy and Atogwe didn't live up to the hype. Everyone talks about what a downgrade these guys will be but I see it as at least a wash.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Ok, bump for the 2nd (massive) update. If GHH is the only one reading this my keyboard is going to pay!

You rock.

I was right.

That is all.

Hail.

[RedskinsInFebruary]

Love it when somebody breaks down film for us like this! Especially someone who knows what they're looking at, which I couldn't do. How many DBs total will we keep? Seems like there're quite a few positions on this team where we're going to have to let go of some quality personnel.

[kjames35]

I'll hold judgement or boni-fide analysis for pre-season game 3. More playing time...more game planning. This secondary will have a few guys "thinking" out there this year. So we'll probably have the occasional busted coverage. Hope these replacement refs are heavy on the holding penalties. We've got the king in Orakpo.

[CrypticVillain]

I'm pretty sure we drafted Barnes as an outside corner. I think that's what he played in college.

Yeah, I pretty much saw every game he played in Maryland, (One game I missed was when he hit Jahvid Best :doh: ) He was good at his spot. When I saw him lining up in the inside last year, I knew it wasn't going to be nice. He wasn't terrible, but he stayed getting owned. I am just glad that he is back at is natural position.

[TSO]

IDK, I thought Cedric Griffin looked really slow. He looked like he was laboring to keep up with the WRs.

You might be right... I just thought he'd be even slower, lol.

---------- Post added August-13th-2012 at 03:53 PM ----------

I thought the safety play was better than I hoped for considering these guys are just getting used to each other and Morris.

Also of note. Great JOB submittedone for the breakdown, great read and great analysis.

http://www.realredskins.com/rich-tandlers-real-redsk/2012/08/stock-up-stock-down-vs-bills.html

Kevin Barnes—No negative plays but not much on the plus side either except for one pass defense. The Redskins are looking for him to step up and earn a fourth season with the team and he hasn’t done that yet.

Yeah, I saw that from Tandler. At first, I couldn't believe he had Barnes in the stock down category but then I read his reasoning and laughed. Barnes did nothing negative AND had a pass defense and his stock is somehow down? Tandler actually verified what I saw by having, literally, nothing negative to say about Barnes. He also missed just how aware he was of the ball at all times, even when the ball was being thrown to guys outside of his responsibility.

I stand by my Barnes assessment.

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

When you mention Thompson's poor ball location, what exactly do you mean? He stays stride for stride with the receiver, even through double moves, that sounds really good. He may not get many or any Ints, but nothing wrong with passes defended. Unless ball location means he's got tunnel vision on his man and has no idea what's happening around him?

---------- Post added August-13th-2012 at 06:41 PM ----------

Honestly, I don't think we had a great secondary the last 2 seasons. Landry was never healthy and Atogwe didn't live up to the hype. Everyone talks about what a downgrade these guys will be but I see it as at least a wash.

Agreed. I don't know how this can be a downgrade from the injury riddled mess last season. On paper, we should have been better last season, but that wasn't the case.

[2cents]

Yeah, I saw that from Tandler. At first, I couldn't believe he had Barnes in the stock down category but then I read his reasoning and laughed. Barnes did nothing negative AND had a pass defense and his stock is somehow down? Tandler actually verified what I saw by having, literally, nothing negative to say about Barnes. He also missed just how aware he was of the ball at all times, even when the ball was being thrown to guys outside of his responsibility.

I stand by my Barnes assessment.

People just don't get that sometimes, not hearing a CBs name is the best thing. That often means he didn't get burned and balls didn't get thrown his way because his coverage was decent. I'll take that any Sunday.

[TSO]

When you mention Thompson's poor ball location, what exactly do you mean? He stays stride for stride with the receiver, even through double moves, that sounds really good. He may not get many or any Ints, but nothing wrong with passes defended. Unless ball location means he's got tunnel vision on his man and has no idea what's happening around him?

Yes, that's exactly what I mean. He focuses too much on his guy and doesn't locate the ball in the air. It's like he's not learning how to read the WRs he's covering and go for the ball when they put they seem to start looking for it. It's a shame, too, cuz he's almost always in position to make a play on the ball.