WP: Redskins’ 3-4 defense, finally built to Jim Haslett’s liking, is capable of causing havoc

[Skinsinparadise]

Cooley in his film review has been consistent on two points:

 

1.  The Redskins can't play zone well, there are some players that just seem outright confused about their assignments.  He said the same last season, same about this one.

 

2.  Haslett doesn't really mix coverages much.  He sticks to the same thing whether the team is getting burned or not.   He said the Redskins defense does especially a poor job against younger QBs because generally predictability of coverage is the best friend of a young developing QB -- and the Redskins feed right into it.  Generally defenses look to confuse the heck out of young QBs, apparently Haslett doesn't buy into that and allows them to have easy-predictable reads.

 

Cooley isn't the be all and end all but I put some stock in his assessment since he practiced against this unit and knows the players.  It always stuck with me ironically when Jay Gruden back when he was the Bengals O coordinator said that he saved the Sanu option pass for the Redskins game because he was confident that Haslett would provide a specific coverage to their formation becuase Haslett always reacts exactly the same way to that formation.

 

I like Gruden and hope he pans out.  But am not wild about him retaining Haslett  seemed like in part because he's his pal.  Shanny got run out of Denver because he had horrible defenses and hired mediocre D coordinators.  He came here and our defense quickly went from good to bad to laughable, and Haseltt has been here for that ride, time for him to go.   

[planter]

No matter who is DC, Skins need to provide him with more talented defenders. Now with Cofield and Hall out - we're screwed.

No DC could turn around our current defensive squad.

[RandyHolt]

I think one reason that Haslett will hang on this year is that every excuse will be made to rationalize our poor record, specifically that we have a new coach. Likely Allen smiling at the podium will be reminding us, since its him that stands to get the boot here.

 

Overlooking all the while the fact that we are in a win now mode. Making signings like DJax, Lauvao, tagging Rak. Those are win now moves, of Allen's.  He retained Haslett. 

 

Haslett is now Allen's problem. If Allen can't even try a new a coach for the defense, he has to go at year end. 

 

Whatever. At this point, maybe its best to re-evaluate at the bye week. Like in 2012, Haslett turned it around and got after QBs to start games, and we won X straight to make the loffs. But Haslett should be put on notice, coach properly to start games NOW, otherwise you are gone at the bye. Pun, intended.

[Brokenstriker]

Clearly Gruden is holding Haslett back.

UNLEASH THE GRUDEN!

[TheLongshot]

Haslett is now Allen's problem. If Allen can't even try a new a coach for the defense, he has to go at year end. 

 

How is this true when it was Gruden's decision to retain Haslett?

[RandyHolt]

How is this true when it was Gruden's decision to retain Haslett?

 

Is that speculation, or a known fact? Gruden's words at the podium day 1 mean little, as he may have been told to say that which makes you say it was all his decision. Whatever the boss wants. It was my decision.  It almost seems a rash decision for just one day on the job.

 

Haslett was retained before Gruden was even hired, while others were fired / released.

 

Gruden was thus under pressure to keep him, or didn't have the choice. An OC walking into his first gig may not always have all the power we think they do.

 

Gruden walked into the door, and Haslett was presented to him by his boss. Allen pushing Jim in the back... here.   An awkward situation for an OC to be walking into on day 1.  Making it even more awkward for Jay, were his ties to him. 

 

Are you saying Gruden needs to go for retaining him?

 

I presume Jay does not run the entire team and every facet. That is more the job of a general manager IMHO.

[TheLongshot]

Is that speculation, or a known fact? Gruden's words at the podium day 1 mean little, as he may have been told to say that which makes you say it was all his decision. Whatever the boss wants. It was my decision.  It almost seems a rash decision for just one day on the job.

 

Haslett was retained before Gruden was even hired, while others were fired / released.

 

Gruden was thus under pressure to keep him, or didn't have the choice. An OC walking into his first gig may not always have all the power we think they do.

 

Gruden walked into the door, and Haslett was presented to him by his boss. Allen pushing Jim in the back... here.   An awkward situation for an OC to be walking into on day 1.  Making it even more awkward for Jay, were his ties to him. 

 

Are you saying Gruden needs to go for retaining him?

 

I presume Jay does not run the entire team and every facet. That is more the job of a general manager IMHO.

 

Fans really like to tie themselves into knots to believe something, when Occam's Razor points another direction.  Gruden has previous experience working with Haslett.  If he was being forced to work with him and didn't want to, he simply didn't have to take the job.

 

What the evidence out there says is that Haslett was retained because Gruden was interested in keeping him and given how honest and straightforward he has been with the media, I find it highly unlikely that he's spitting out a company line.

[RandyHolt]

Fans really like to tie themselves into knots to believe something, when Occam's Razor points another direction.  Gruden has previous experience working with Haslett.  If he was being forced to work with him and didn't want to, he simply didn't have to take the job.

 

What the evidence out there says is that Haslett was retained because Gruden was interested in keeping him and given how honest and straightforward he has been with the media, I find it highly unlikely that he's spitting out a company line.

The evidence is that Haslett was retained. Clearly Allen thought Haslett was worthy of being retained.

 

Others not worthy of being retained in the eyes of Allen, were released or fired.

 

This all occurred before Gruden was hired.  That is my evidence.

 

What is your evidence that Gruden wanted Haslett all along, and was not influenced by his boss retaining him?

 

Occams Razor is not evidence.

 

The great irony here is Gruden in Cincy saving his best plays for a predictable DC like Haslett. That may be better evidence than Allen not choosing to fire Haslett at year end.

[Thinking Skins]

Is that speculation, or a known fact? Gruden's words at the podium day 1 mean little, as he may have been told to say that which makes you say it was all his decision. Whatever the boss wants. It was my decision.  It almost seems a rash decision for just one day on the job.

 

Haslett was retained before Gruden was even hired, while others were fired / released.

 

Gruden was thus under pressure to keep him, or didn't have the choice. An OC walking into his first gig may not always have all the power we think they do.

 

Gruden walked into the door, and Haslett was presented to him by his boss. Allen pushing Jim in the back... here.   An awkward situation for an OC to be walking into on day 1.  Making it even more awkward for Jay, were his ties to him. 

 

Are you saying Gruden needs to go for retaining him?

 

I presume Jay does not run the entire team and every facet. That is more the job of a general manager IMHO.

 

This is funny. 

 

Gruden was interested in Paul Guenther, but he was named coordinator of the Bengals. 

http://www.csnwashington.com/football-washington-redskins/talk/reports-skins-gruden-interested-talking-guenther

 

And here's a story on Gruden's decision to let go of two of the retained coaches. 

http://espn.go.com/blog/washington-redskins/post/_/id/4805/turner-hightower-let-go

 

So just because they were retained doesn't mean that Gruden had to keep them. 

[Sacks 'n' Stuff]

Did any of the retained coaches get let go after Gruden was hired?

[Thinking Skins]

Did any of the retained coaches get let go after Gruden was hired?

 

Bobby Turner, Richard Hightower were let go. I think Hightower was the guy we were penciling in as our special teams coordinator after Danny Smith was let go, but we decided to go with Kotwica.

[Bishop Hammer]

This right here makes the most sense. Which is precisely why the skins won't do it. I really ****ing hate my team sometimes

I'm sure if snyder threw enough money at him he'd come over, even if he initially didn't want to.

He's around games/the team an awful lot though, which indicates to me he may want to...

but we're stuck with ****ing haztard AGAIN. It's like vinny all over again, just in a different job. A clown who has no business having the job he's got, but sticks around because he's a useful idiot to those in charge.

Wade comes to a loy of Skins games because one of his sons is an assistance coach here (Offensive line, I think).

[Commander Adama]

This is funny. 

 

Gruden was interested in Paul Guenther, but he was named coordinator of the Bengals. 

http://www.csnwashington.com/football-washington-redskins/talk/reports-skins-gruden-interested-talking-guenther

 

And here's a story on Gruden's decision to let go of two of the retained coaches. 

http://espn.go.com/blog/washington-redskins/post/_/id/4805/turner-hightower-let-go

 

So just because they were retained doesn't mean that Gruden had to keep them. 

 

No, but the Front Office kept saying that is was Shanahan that kept messing with Hasletts Defense, which is what was causing the issues.

[War Paint]

No matter who is DC, Skins need to provide him with more talented defenders. Now with Cofield and Hall out - we're screwed.

No DC could turn around our current defensive squad.

BS.  Just look at Dallas' roster on defense.  On paper, they have nothing, yet, they have a good DC coaching them up.  We do have some talent on defense and they should be much better than what they are.  It's the coaching.

[Thinking Skins]

BS.  Just look at Dallas' roster on defense.  On paper, they have nothing, yet, they have a good DC coaching them up.  We do have some talent on defense and they should be much better than what they are.  It's the coaching.

We're ranked 10th in the league in defense. Not saying our defense is dominant, but its not the weakness of this team people are acting like it is.

BTW, Dallas ranks 21st in total defense. So planter may have a point.

[RandyHolt]

This is funny. 

 

Gruden was interested in Paul Guenther, but he was named coordinator of the Bengals. 

http://www.csnwashington.com/football-washington-redskins/talk/reports-skins-gruden-interested-talking-guenther

 

And here's a story on Gruden's decision to let go of two of the retained coaches. 

http://espn.go.com/blog/washington-redskins/post/_/id/4805/turner-hightower-let-go

 

So just because they were retained doesn't mean that Gruden had to keep them. 

 

Thanks for posting those. 

 

But just because they were retained doesn't mean that he wasn't pressured by his boss to keep them. Allen started assembling the old band long before Gruden was hired. Gruden just retained that vision, for reasons we can only speculate on. If a noob potential coach does not share the vision of the GM, why would he even get the job? 

 

I have a theory. A first time head coach is likely to agree to almost anything. to get his first gig.  Is it common for a GM to give full control of every component to a guy with no experience? 

 

I would like to see someone admit directly how much nepotism, or previous band ties, shaped a hiring decision.  It happens all the time. I hired him because he is my son, duh!   Until these types of things are openly admitted, reasons given to us as fans are lucky to be half the truth.

 

Haslett was handcuffed is the big talking point and may be true, I just hope they didn't dupe Gruden as well as fans. 

[darrelgreenie]

Defense still isn't as bad as people think.

Defense has lost A LOT of talented players...Cofield, Hall and Hatcher less then 100%

Gruden being 'forced' to retain Haslett is bunk.

Dallas defense is being helped by complementary football. The are running the snot out of the ball which makes life a lot easier for the defense. Our offense is inefficient, does not commit to running the ball and makes life harder for the defense.

[Laron Burgundy]

Defense still isn't as bad as people think.

Defense has lost A LOT of talented players...Cofield, Hall and Hatcher less then 100%

Gruden being 'forced' to retain Haslett is bunk.

Dallas defense is being helped by complementary football. The are running the snot out of the ball which makes life a lot easier for the defense. Our offense is inefficient, does not commit to running the ball and makes life harder for the defense.

 

Although we did lose some major names on defense, I'm not sure if their backups are really worse than them at this point.  Obviously where it hurts is depth.

 

You're right, our defense hasn't been THAT bad, certainly not as bad as last year's, but two of our games were against Houston and Jacksonville.  Luckily we don't face many great offenses this year either.  The troubling matter is that we're giving up the second highest qb rating when we've faced qb's like Fitzpatrick, Eli and Henne.  We just can't defend the pass (and against Seattle the coverage was almost comically bad).  Our pass rush is getting home but our coverage doesn't even look like professional players most of the time.

[War Paint]

We're ranked 10th in the league in defense. Not saying our defense is dominant, but its not the weakness of this team people are acting like it is.

BTW, Dallas ranks 21st in total defense. So planter may have a point.

Those rankings don't tell the full story and I don't care about a total yards ranking.   Before the season started, Dallas was looking to be the worst defense in NFL history, but now, they looked much more improved than they did last year, in spite of looking worse on paper than they did last year.  Their D roster of backup quality starters are being coached up.  I'd also like to see the turnover stats, because from what I understand, Dallas' D is generating some turnovers.  Our D doesn't produce turnovers.

Defense still isn't as bad as people think.

Defense has lost A LOT of talented players...Cofield, Hall and Hatcher less then 100%

Gruden being 'forced' to retain Haslett is bunk.

Dallas defense is being helped by complementary football. The are running the snot out of the ball which makes life a lot easier for the defense. Our offense is inefficient, does not commit to running the ball and makes life harder for the defense.

What did our offense have to do with Seattle's opening drive, where the defense looked completely clueless, like they were game planning for a QB like Carson Palmer instead of Russell Wilson?

you guys are worrying for nothing.

All haz needs is a few more years to get his players for his system and all will be ok.

 

Everyone knows it will take at least 5 more years before the defense is "his" and it will surely take that long for him to get out from evil shanny's shadow...

so maybe by 2020 he will have a low 20's defense.. we can hope right?

Yep, I'm already reading crap like "we're not that bad" etc....It'll probably be the same excuses we'll be fed next offseason as to why they retain Haslett again.  SMH...

[Pedro]

Against the Seahawks,Ryan Kerrigan looked like he'd never played football.  That takes a special coaching staff......

[General NSJ]

Men lie, women lie, and stats most certainly lie.  I trust my eyes and they don't tell me that this defense plays like a top 10 unit.  Without doing any research, I'm gonna go on a limb and say the Jags game really inflated our numbers.  

 

I say can Hazmat now and get someone in here to judge these dudes with fresh eyes.  Something has to change and think about it...can it get any worse?

[Rufus T Firefly]

Men lie, women lie, and stats most certainly lie.  I trust my eyes and they don't tell me that this defense plays like a top 10 unit.  Without doing any research, I'm gonna go on a limb and say the Jags game really inflated our numbers.  

 

Yep. Without that game we're giving up 388 yards per game, which would have us ranked 26th.

[Stormy]

Yep. Without that game we're giving up 388 yards per game, which would have us ranked 26th.

That would be a much more accurate reflection of what our defense plays like against any legit NFL team. That doesn't even account for the fact that with all of our special teams gaffes that have led to scores and short fields, not to mention all of the offense's turnovers, there aren't as many total yards to allow in a game. Our defense allows opposing QBs the second highest QB Rating in the NFL, which means Haslett's defense makes every QB we face look like Andrew Luck or Peyton Manning. That is particularly bad when you consider we've played against Henne and Fitzpatrick already, and no truly elite QBs.

[mwj473]

We're ranked 10th in the league in defense. Not saying our defense is dominant, but its not the weakness of this team people are acting like it is.BTW, Dallas ranks 21st in total defense. So planter may have a point.

Yards per game is not a great way to rank a defense. Yards don't lose games, points do. Dallas is giving up 20 ppg, which is 8th and the Redskins are giving up 27 ppg, which is 26th. Also both teams have 9 giveaways from their offense, so that is equal, and both teams have put their defenses in bad spots. Also Dallas has 9 takeaways as a defense while the Redskins have only 4 takeaways.

[chipwhich]

Dallas defense is being helped by complementary football. The are running the snot out of the ball which makes life a lot easier for the defense. Our offense is inefficient, does not commit to running the ball and makes life harder for the defense.

 

Redskins defense being helped by complementary teams (Houston, Jacksonville) your post is nonsense.