Chalk Talk: Film Review: Packers Vs. Redskins: Defense

[KDawg]

The coaches tape isn't available yet, but I rewatched the game on Game Rewind in the condensed form. Well, let's get to it.

 

OVERVIEW

The Packers gameplan looked fairly obvious to me. Quick passes. They probably would have liked the 'Skins to stop bringing pressure to more adequately defend the 3 step drop so they could hit them over the top, but Washington never did that. So they continued to pick us apart with the short, quick passing game, occasionally taking a shot vertically with their quick release plan still in tact.

 

Why did they do this? The strongest part of our defense is our pass rush. They sought to neutralize that while attacking our glaring weakness, our coverage unit. It worked like a charm. Great gameplan/coaching by Green Bay. Hats off to them.

 

MISSED TACKLES

We missed a TON of tackles. Again, I only do the obvious ones, as I'm not studying the tape for every small detail:

 

Josh Wilson - 4

DeAngelo Hall - 1

Brandon Meriweather - 1

David Amerson - 2

Reed Doughty - 5

Bacarri Rambo - 2

Barry Cofield - 1 (excusable, made a nice play and was off balance in the backfield, but forced the back outside to Riley for a tackle for a loss)

 

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

1. We were VERY badly outcoached defensively: We showed all out blitz with the only players not at the line of scrimmage being our deep three players who were aligned 7-10 yards off the ball around three times. On all three of those attempts, we got schooled. On one attempt, the receivers were spread out to the field and we were all packed in. Rodgers took the snap and immediately let it fly on a short route to gain around 15 yards and make the Packers field goal attempt a chip shot.

 

On another, Nelson scored a touchdown vs. that look. At the snap, the 'Skins didn't get back to their zones fast enough and Wilson caught the ball underneath the deep third player on a great throw by Rodgers for six.

 

And on the third, we got burned again on a quick pass to the flat with our corner 7 yards off for another 15 yard gain. Between that and the stupid 0 pressure blitz we showed last year, I don't know what the hell we're thinking.

 

Another point is how we aligned to certain formations...

 

                                    S                 S                        C

 

 

 C                        C                   B

                                                                        B

                              B    E       N     B

WR                               T  G  C  G  T              WR

                                                                              WR

                                              Q  TE

                                   

                                                    RB

 

As you can see, we are COMPLETELY outnumbered to the right. So the Packers ran a toss that way, with the TE as the lead blocker and they pull the right guard and tackle to the right as well. We were completely, 100% outflanked.

 

As far as coverage goes, we stayed with the 7 yard cushion against a quick passing attack. The Packers didn't make any qualms about letting us know they intended to throw the quick, short passes. In a cover 3, which we seem to run a lot of, you generally want the cushion as a LB is responsible for the flat. Problem was, our flat/curl players weren't getting there in time and our CB was too far back to break on the ball.

 

We were also sending more than one guy from a side of the field. Normally not a bad strategy, but against Aaron Rodgers on a quick release pass it's dangerous. That happened on one of the Nelson TD tosses.

 

2. We are not good in coverage: It doesn't matter what coverage you're talking about, we're slow to recognize route combos and get to our drops in zone, and we can't stick with a man in our man coverage scheme. Green Bay's gameplan perfectly exploited that. Part of the problem is on the players for a lack of recognition/awareness. Part is on the coaches for putting them in very poor position.

 

3. Brain Orakpo, once again, played a good game: Sorry to some of you, but I don't know what you're watching. The criticism that he didn't play pressure is a total incorrect stance to take. When the Packers went to anything other than the quick game, Rak was near Rodgers all day long (as was Kerrigan, for the record). He played relatively well in coverage, getting out to his drops and staying underneath the 10 yard routes (he had one poor one where he let the receiver leak a yard or so inside of him) and he played the run quite well. The Packers ran the opposite way of Rak fairly often as well.

 

In the second half, he made a few nice tackles for loss. On one, he knifed through the tackle, planting the tackle on his ass. The tackle dragged him down and Rak got his hand up and made the tackle on the back for a loss of yards. On the other, he owes London Fletcher, Ryan Kerrigan and Barry Cofield a thank you card. They shutdown Starks running lane and Starks went to cut back, but Rak was in excellent pursuit from the backside and brought him down for a loss of yards.

 

On the second Kerrigan sack, Rak also had a major hand in the pressure. Rodgers went to step up in the pocket, but found Rak there, when he paused, Kerrigan was there with excellent pursuit to get the sack.

 

On Rak's sack, he got a GREAT burst up the field and beat the tackle. Rodgers wasn't ready for that speed burst and tried to escape but he couldn't and Rak bottled him up for a loss.

 

Rak got his hands on Rodgers several other times as well, forcing Rodgers to throw quickly. On Josh Wilson's sack, Rak took the tackle and drove him STRAIGHT into the backfield. Wilson rushed inside of that and wrapped Rodgers up clean. Beautiful pressure and execution.

 

I'd grade Rak's game at the B+ to A- range. He got stood up a few times in his pass rush, but for the most part he was harassing Rodgers every chance he got.

 

I don't really think our pass rush was responsible for this one, having watched it a couple of times now. Our coverage is flat out bad. They can't stick with receivers for 1-3 seconds. That doesn't bode well for us unless that gets fixed.

 

MISCELLANEOUS STUFF:

a. Ryan Kerrigan is as good as advertised. He has fast hands and gets them in the throwing lanes and doesn't get moved against the runs.

b. Both of our outside linebackers played very well.

c. Bacarri Rambo is pretty good in run support. He comes down hill with bad intentions and lays the wood. His coverage, however, is still lacking. He is too slow to recognize things. That will come with time I think.

d. Amerson looked like a rookie this week. Nelson abused him more than once, in both zone and man coverages. He also didn't look like he recognized some of our coverages. On one play that James Jones beat him down the sideline for a big gain, he stopped at about 10 yards, thinking he had safety help. Problem was, Reed Doughty rotated to the center of the field as if it were cover 3. It's reasonable that perhaps Amerson was correct, but given I don't have the actual call, and Doughty's vet status, I'd assume Amerson was the guilty party. But this is one I freely admit I could be wrong on.

e. I don't necessarily think London Fletcher is out of gas, but he hasn't played like the #59 we know. He'll come around. Given his age, he needs to get his game legs under him. He still has those London Fletcher moments, so he's capable of it... And if he's capable, it'll happen.

f. Our tackling is downright awful.

g. Perry Riley had another solid day. Good pass rusher and tackles very well. Good overall instincts.

h. Our run pursuit angles need work.

i. Our DL has played halfway decent. They're not allowing themselves to get washed too far out of position. Our problem isn't our front seven.

 

OVERALL ANALYSIS

Our players didn't execute very well as a whole, specifically our coverage unit. But Green Bay had an excellent gameplan and we didn't adjust to it. We have to do a better job adjusting to what our opponents are doing. That was absolutely ugly.

[DaGoonie55]

Thanks Coach.

 

I agree, Orakpo, Kerrigan, and Riley are beasts.  A good young corps of LBs.  Our secondary is atrocious.  I haven't decided whether it is lack of talent or lack of coaching.  I'm not ready to jump on the fire Haz wagon - but I'm not convinced he does a great job of getting our guys ready. 

 

Our offense is predicated on Rob's running threat.  Without that, the RO doesn't work, they key on Almo and shut it down.  Once the running threat is gone, our PA passing is nullified.  And we all know how well our line does in drop back passing mode - mediocre. 

 

We need a solid gameplan on defense, Robs legs back, tackling work (missed tackles are a pet peeve), catching work (another pet peeve).  Every receiver should catch 1000 balls a week.  Pay someone to come in and work the machines and throw balls, or I dunno have Rob work on that accuracy.

 

All is not lost yet, lets get it together and for the love of pete - SHOW SOME FIRE boys!

 

HTTR

 

*edit* sorry coach - just realized this was defense only...I'm new here LOL

[WarpathHitchhiker]

I have a couple of points about Rambo:

 

1.) The James Starks TD run.  Look at that play.  A crack is coming down on Rambo as he enters the box and he actively seeks out the WR instead of fitting in the hole.  When Rambo vacates the hole to initiate contact with the crack block, Starks has a WIDE OPEN lane.  You may not have counted this as a missed tackle for Rambo...and maybe that's fair.  But he was in perfect position and could have pressed the hole; instead he chose to run away from Starks (and the hole) in order to take on a block that was still a couple yards away.  It was an absolutely atrocious play.

 

2.) On a TD pass early in the game (Think it was to nelson?).  We are in some kind of cover two on Rambos side.  Not sure if we are playing cover 6 and it's quarters to the field, or if it's a true two deep safety cover two as I'm only able to see Rambos side of the field.  The #2 wr goes on a five yard out and the #1 WR runs a go route.  This is the easiest route combination possible for a cover 2 safety to defend.  Without a vertical threat of the #2 wr Rambo can turn his hips and run directly to #1 over top.  He either recognizes the route combo too late or is just plain too slow to get over top of #1 and Rodgers hits the WR for a td.  Either way this does not bode well for Rambo.  Another atrocious play by the kid.

 

I just don't think this kid is ready to play.  He isn't getting better at the things a safety NEEDS to be good at.  I am not happy about his play.  I hope he gets better because right now he is not an upgrade over Madieu Williams. 

 

edit:  thanks for the analysis!  Good job. 

[MartinC]

Nice breakdown as ever KDawg.

 

Here is a stat which tells you all you need to know about our defense so far this year. In two games in which our opponents have made 67 pass attempts we have so far had credit for a DB defending 3 of those for an incomplete. 3 out of 67. God help us against Calvin Johnson.

 

Also the lack of in game adjustment is, well, puzzling.

[KDawg]

I have a couple of points about Rambo:

 

1.) The James Starks TD run.  Look at that play.  A crack is coming down on Rambo as he enters the box and he actively seeks out the WR instead of fitting in the hole.  When Rambo vacates the hole to initiate contact with the crack block, Starks has a WIDE OPEN lane.  You may not have counted this as a missed tackle for Rambo...and maybe that's fair.  But he was in perfect position and could have pressed the hole; instead he chose to run away from Starks (and the hole) in order to take on a block that was still a couple yards away.  It was an absolutely atrocious play.

 

2.) On a TD pass early in the game (Think it was to nelson?).  We are in some kind of cover two on Rambos side.  Not sure if we are playing cover 6 and it's quarters to the field, or if it's a true two deep safety cover two as I'm only able to see Rambos side of the field.  The #2 wr goes on a five yard out and the #1 WR runs a go route.  This is the easiest route combination possible for a cover 2 safety to defend.  Without a vertical threat of the #2 wr Rambo can turn his hips and run directly to #1 over top.  He either recognizes the route combo too late or is just plain too slow to get over top of #1 and Rodgers hits the WR for a td.  Either way this does not bode well for Rambo.  Another atrocious play by the kid.

 

I just don't think this kid is ready to play.  He isn't getting better at the things a safety NEEDS to be good at.  I am not happy about his play.  I hope he gets better because right now he is not an upgrade over Madieu Williams. 

 

edit:  thanks for the analysis!  Good job. 

 

Keep in mind, I'm not watching every player on every play. There are certain guys I watch more than others, but I wouldn't doubt your analysis on Rambo in the least. I'd have to see the play to concur, but it certainly sounds like a typical Rambo play. And I'd agree, he's probably not ready to play... Unfortunately for us, he may be our second best safety right now.

 

I'm scared. Hold me.

[MartinC]

I have a couple of points about Rambo:

 

2.) On a TD pass early in the game (Think it was to nelson?).  We are in some kind of cover two on Rambos side.  Not sure if we are playing cover 6 and it's quarters to the field, or if it's a true two deep safety cover two as I'm only able to see Rambos side of the field.  The #2 wr goes on a five yard out and the #1 WR runs a go route.  This is the easiest route combination possible for a cover 2 safety to defend.  Without a vertical threat of the #2 wr Rambo can turn his hips and run directly to #1 over top.  He either recognizes the route combo too late or is just plain too slow to get over top of #1 and Rodgers hits the WR for a td.  Either way this does not bode well for Rambo.  Another atrocious play by the kid.

 

 

If thats the TD pass to Cobb on the 4th and 3 play that was not on Rambo. We were showing a Cover 2 as a disguise, Rambo had man coverage on the outside receiver and rotated over and up at the snap. Merriweather should have dropped to the deep middle but for some reason was caught looking to his left and took a false step in that direction. He never got to his land mark and Cobb had the whole of the middle of the field to run into.

 

They broke that down on the TV broadcast eventually after blaming Rambo at first as well. 

[justice98]

If I'm guessing who didn't know the coverage between a rookie and Reed Doughty, I'd guess the rookie was mistaken.  Although, Rambo got exonerated on that one touchdown when Merriweather wasn't where he was supposed to be. 

[WarpathHitchhiker]

Keep in mind, I'm not watching every player on every play. There are certain guys I watch more than others, but I wouldn't doubt your analysis on Rambo in the least. I'd have to see the play to concur, but it certainly sounds like a typical Rambo play. And I'd agree, he's probably not ready to play... Unfortunately for us, he may be our second best safety right now.

 

I'm scared. Hold me.

Haha, no worries man I wasn't trying to undermine your analysis you do a great job.  I played safety in college so I tend to look at the secondary far more than any other part of the defense.  I also tend to be harder on a lot of those guys than anyone else because I recognize their coverages and what they are trying to do.  I'm just not really impressed with our guys at the moment.

 

One guy I think who gets ridiculed FAR too much is DHall.  I think he is our best DB.  Would like to hear what you think about him.   

[MartinC]

And I'd agree, he's probably not ready to play... Unfortunately for us, he may be our second best safety right now.

 

I'm scared. Hold me.

 

I will go further Rambo might be our best safety right now - Doughty had  bad day tackling yesterday and I'm not wasting any breath on Merriweather until he gets through at least one full game he manages to start.

[justice98]

If thats the TD pass to Cobb on the 4th and 3 play that was not on Rambo. We were showing a Cover 2 as a disguise, Rambo had man coverage on the outside receiver and rotated over and up at the snap. Merriweather should have dropped to the deep middle but for some reason was caught looking to his left and took a false step in that direction. He never got to his land mark and Cobb had the whole of the middle of the field to run into.

 

They broke that down on the TV broadcast eventually after blaming Rambo at first as well. 

 

Yeah, Aikman really wanted to clear that up and let Rambo off the hook.  I thought that was weird that they came back to it so long after the fact.  It was 2 quarters later before they got back to it. 

[WarpathHitchhiker]

If thats the TD pass to Cobb on the 4th and 3 play that was not on Rambo. We were showing a Cover 2 as a disguise, Rambo had man coverage on the outside receiver and rotated over and up at the snap. Merriweather should have dropped to the deep middle but for some reason was caught looking to his left and took a false step in that direction. He never got to his land mark and Cobb had the whole of the middle of the field to run into.

 

They broke that down on the TV broadcast eventually after blaming Rambo at first as well. 

Nope.  That was man coverage across the board with Meriweather playing over top of everything.  It's referred to as cover 1.  Riley needs to make that tackle though, can't have Cobb running free.  I agree with Meriweather he needs to be more disciplined there.

 

I'm talking about the Nelson TD on a go route on the sideline.  About a 14 yard play. 

[KDawg]

Nope.  That was man coverage across the board with Meriweather playing over top of everything.  It's referred to as cover 1.  Wilson needs to make that tackle though, can't have Cobb running free.  I agree with Meriweather he needs to be more disciplined there.

 

I'm talking about the Nelson TD on a go route.  About a 14 yard play. 

 

Which Nelson TD are we talking about? The one that was called back on a hold? The one where we showed an all out blitz with a three high shell? The quick throw on the overload blitz for six?

[Bat~man]

Thanks for the breakdown, I could debate some points, but for the most part, I agree. The defense is just bad, from the man calling the shots down to the aging vets and rookies.

 

I disagree somewhat on Rambo being good against the run. I've seen his twisted ankles and bad angles too many times in 2 weeks. Hopefully he'll improve because we have no other options right now. Our secondary is the definition of mash unit, and unfortunately, our best player there is probably out again since he tried to be a human missile.  It's gonna be much of the same this week, Stafford, Bush and Johnson....we are staring 0-3 smack in the face. =\

[WarpathHitchhiker]

Which Nelson TD are we talking about? The one that was called back on a hold? The one where we showed an all out blitz with a three high shell? The quick throw on the overload blitz for six?

 

Unfortunately I don't have the tape and wont be able to watch until tonight.  It was my initial reaction to the play and haven't watched it since it was live so I'm going off the replay.  All I know is we had a hard corner and Rambo over the top.  The route combo was #2 wr 5 yard quick out #1 wr (Nelson) fly route. 

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Excellent run down as always Coach.

 

I'm not gona' argue with ya', as, well, you're the Coach, the one poster I've always respected above all others as you well know (with absolutely NO offence meant to anyone else)- except when your doing the Girls Lacrosse thang but that's another story  ; but I thought he dropped off in the second half (as did all the D front); and would of graded him a notch below you at a c through b. 

 

But that's me.  .

 

Hail. 

[Botched]

Yep, our coverage is flat out terrible, the only thing our DBs might be worse at, is tackling. It's a shame because, like you said, the pass rush is pretty good. If our secondary were even mediocre, we could keep these games competitive.

[KDawg]

Thanks for the breakdown, I could debate some points, but for the most part, I agree. The defense is just bad, from the man calling the shots down to the aging vets and rookies.

 

I disagree somewhat on Rambo being good against the run. I've seen his twisted ankles and bad angles too many times in 2 weeks. Hopefully he'll improve because we have no other options right now. Our secondary is the definition of mash unit, and unfortunately, our best player there is probably out again since he tried to be a human missile.  It's gonna be much of the same this week, Stafford, Bush and Johnson....we are staring 0-3 smack in the face. =\

 

I should have said, "he's not terrible against the run," because, truthfully, he isn't. I think I used "pretty good" in reference to how much better he looks against the run than he does the pass. And I like when safeties come down hill hard to play the run and pull the trigger. I get kind of biased when they do that. It makes me all warm and tingly inside.

 

Unfortunately I don't have the tape and wont be able to watch until tonight.  It was my initial reaction to the play and haven't watched it since it was live so I'm going off the replay.  All I know is we had a hard corner and Rambo over the top.  The route combo was #2 wr 5 yard quick out #1 wr (Nelson) fly route. 

 

I've seen enough of it for a lifetime for now. Not going to go back right now. Maybe I'll look later. But it was tough to get through that twice.

 

Excellent run down as always Coach.

 

I'm not gona' argue with ya', as, well, you're the Coach, the one poster I've always respected above all others as you well know (with absolutely NO offence meant to anyone else)- except when your doing the Girls Lacrosse thang but that's another story  ; but I thought he dropped off in the second half (as did all the D front); and would of graded him a notch below you at a c through b. 

 

But that's me.  .

 

Hail. 

 

And you should know the amount of respect I have for you. However, I think you and DC9 have gotten a bit of a hard on for Rak simply because 98ORAKPO is a bit on the "over the top" side. I can see why you guys went that way on him, but Rak is most definitely better than you guys give him credit for. But he's definitely not a DPOTY candidate guy at this point.

[WarpathHitchhiker]

Just watched it on NFL.com.  It's Jordy Nelson's second TD.  The one that makes it 31-0.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

.....

 

..... However, I think you and DC9 have gotten a bit of a hard on for Rak simply because 98ORAKPO is a bit on the "over the top" side. I can see why you guys went that way on him, but Rak is most definitely better than you guys give him credit for. But he's definitely not a DPOTY candidate guy at this point.

 

The truth, as always, probably lies somewhere in the middle. 

 

That's as much as I'm conceding. And quit with the astute observations! You're ruining my mojo!

 

Hail. 

[Warpath11]

Just watched it on NFL.com.  It's Jordy Nelson's second TD.  The one that makes it 31-0.

 

I've never played football in any organized manner and I understood the simple route combo to that side of the field.  Not sure how Rambo didnt get there but some credit goes to Rodgers and Nelson on that play.  Rodgers threw it behind Nelson (to his outside shoulder) and Nelson with his great catch radius made the play.  If the throw had been on the money Rambo may have been able to make a play on it.  Having said that, IMO, Rambo needs to be there to break up the play no matter where the ball is placed.

[redskins4ever28]

Kdawg, thank you as always for this.

I BEG you, PLEASE, do a chalk talk on RG3 from this past weeks game at Green Bay. PLEASE.  All of the talking heads on these forums think they know football (including myself), I am begging you to do a write up on Griffin since you actually are a person who knows football, and then maybe we can either stop worrying, or start worrying.  But, regardless, we need a guy who has real football brains to tell us whats going on.

PLEASE

[RG3Hunna]

Some Peoples disdain for Orakpo simply has to do with they said Rob Jackson was a better option so now they are sticking to their guns because they don't want to be wrong. Would be the same if Orakpo was playing bad, people who said Orakpo is better than Rob Jackson would stick to their guns because they don't want to be wrong.

 

At the end of the day i'm very happy to see Orakpo is playing well and commanding double teams like a good pass rusher is supposed too. 

[Mahons21]

KDawg,

 

I was talking about this with some people in another thread, and I'm curious of your opinion on it.

 

Why aren't we running more cover-2 looks?  In my opinion if we're going to run as much zone as we do, we need to incorporate some cover-2 or teams are going to eat us up underneath.  I have a theory that Haslett isn't comfortable with our safeties in cover-2, but nothing to really support it.

 

Why aren't we running the defense we ran down the stretch last season?  We pressed receivers, stacked gaps, and ran a lot of man blitzes, at the end of the season and it seemed to be working quite well.  So why have we scrapped this plan?

[MartinC]

Just watched it on NFL.com.  It's Jordy Nelson's second TD.  The one that makes it 31-0.

 

Yep I just watched that - its in the 3rd quarter. Its not Cover 2 though - we have 5 defenders on the LOS plus a DB (Biggers?) over the slot receiver and Hall and Wilson with 8-10 yard cushions outside and Rambo centre field. Its a Cover 3 shell. We have a slot blitz called so a 6 man rush.

 

The ILBs drop in short middle zones and Hall rolls up to take the short out by the slot guy. Rambo should know by alignment and with the slot defender blitzing that Hall will roll up if the slot guy breaks out and he has to take any vertical route by the outside receiver and he is a step or so slow getting over and is beaten by Rodgers getting the ball out quickly as he did all day.

 

I'd say that was a bit slow recognition of what was happening and bit his lack of elite speed to cover that distance from a centre field starting spot. I would not kill him for that play but look at the play call in that field position asking him to do what would have been a big ask for any safety in the NFL.

[KDawg]

KDawg,

 

I was talking about this with some people in another thread, and I'm curious of your opinion on it.

 

Why aren't we running more cover-2 looks?  In my opinion if we're going to run as much zone as we do, we need to incorporate some cover-2 or teams are going to eat us up underneath.  I have a theory that Haslett isn't comfortable with our safeties in cover-2, but nothing to really support it.

 

Why aren't we running the defense we ran down the stretch last season?  We pressed receivers, stacked gaps, and ran a lot of man blitzes, at the end of the season and it seemed to be working quite well.  So why have we scrapped this plan?

 

I have no idea why we're not utilizing cover 2. Perhaps they don't think our safeties can cover the deep halves well enough? Or the corners with the flats? I don't know, but I think it could help us quite a bit.

 

I don't think we're doing a ton of man stuff so far because the receivers on opposing teams have been far better than our DBs. Running man is basically suicide with the QB/Receiver/Schemes teams we've faced have been running. Against Philly, Vick bought time with his legs, and it's tough to cover that long. Against Green Bay, Rodgers is pinpoint accurate and the receivers are tough to stay with. Against Detroit, Stafford is solid and the receivers (Johnson) are big, strong and fast. We may see a lot of it versus Oakland...

Yep I just watched that - its in the 3rd quarter. Its not Cover 2 though - we have 5 defenders on the LOS plus a DB (Biggers?) over the slot receiver and Hall and Wilson with 8-10 yard cushions outside and Rambo centre field. Its a Cover 3 shell. We have a slot blitz called so a 6 man rush.

 

The ILBs drop in short middle zones and Hall rolls up to take the short out by the slot guy. Rambo should know by alignment and with the slot defender blitzing that Hall will roll up if the slot guy breaks out and he has to take any vertical route by the outside receiver and he is a step or so slow getting over and is beaten by Rodgers getting the ball out quickly as he did all day.

 

I'd say that was a bit slow recognition of what was happening and bit his lack of elite speed to cover that distance from a centre field starting spot. I would not kill him for that play but look at the play call in that field position asking him to do what would have been a big ask for any safety in the NFL.

 

Oh, that was the overload blitz I was talking about. Yeah, the execution by Rambo wasn't great, but I'm not a fan of that call versus that look. *shrug*

 

Enough blame to go around, I suppose!