The Washington Defensive Line Thread

[Darrell Green Fan]

12 minutes ago, Stefanskins said:

isn't this our first year back to a 4-3?...I wonder how much that has helped our defense...

 

We never had players like this on the defense.  

[dyst]

Most of our exciting guys are homegrown talent. That is so damn exciting. Offensive and defense. Even the ones that are homegrown, they are unknowns and feel like our guys vs: them making their name elsewhere (Logan Thomas)

 

Edited December 18, 2020 by dyst

[skinny21]

22 hours ago, UK SKINS FAN 74 said:

I think we can re-sign all three....initially. There cap hits will stagger slightly at first. Might end up tagging one. We may not have them all in 2024 but there is a lot of football between now and then.

I could be misremembering this, but if we pick up the 5th year options (Payne, Sweat and Young), then Io’s contract is up before theirs, and if we signed Allen to a 3 year deal, his would be up before our DEs as well.  Payne and Settle would overlap Allen’s last year though.

This is one reason I don’t mind re-signing Kerrigan to a 2 year deal - aside from the idea of rewarding him, and retaining a solid backup (while hopefully grooming a young guy to supplant him), doing so shouldn’t impact keeping the rest of the line together.

 

Lumping McLaurin’s new contract in with this group is going to mean a lot of our cap taken up by a handful of guys in 3+ years though.

[PlayAction]

2 hours ago, skinny21 said:

This is one reason I don’t mind re-signing Kerrigan to a 2 year deal - aside from the idea of rewarding him, and retaining a solid backup (while hopefully grooming a young guy to supplant him), doing so shouldn’t impact keeping the rest of the line together.

 

The team is grooming James Smith-Williams but I'd be ok letting Kerrigan go if the team finds a developmental DE in the draft.  At the end of the season there is really nothing that Kerrigan can offer the team that can't be provided by a much cheaper journeyman player.  They don't need his leadership anymore and only need someone to spell the starters.  If either Young/Sweat get injured then James Smith-Williams will have to step up and benefit from the added reps.  

[Anselmheifer]

Just now, PlayAction said:

 

The team is grooming James Smith-Williams but I'd be ok letting Kerrigan go if the team finds a developmental DE in the draft.  At the end of the season there is really nothing that Kerrigan can offer the team that can't be provided by a much cheaper journeyman player.  They don't need his leadership anymore and only need someone to spell the starters.  If either Young/Sweat get injured then James Smith-Williams will have to step up and benefit from the added reps.  

At some point, we have to follow the Ravens/Steelers model, right? Continue to draft players that fit our scheme/culture, let the less important FA leave and replace them with draft picks?

[PartyPosse]

2 hours ago, skinny21 said:

I could be misremembering this, but if we pick up the 5th year options (Payne, Sweat and Young), then Io’s contract is up before theirs, and if we signed Allen to a 3 year deal, his would be up before our DEs as well.  Payne and Settle would overlap Allen’s last year though.

This is one reason I don’t mind re-signing Kerrigan to a 2 year deal - aside from the idea of rewarding him, and retaining a solid backup (while hopefully grooming a young guy to supplant him), doing so shouldn’t impact keeping the rest of the line together.

 

Lumping McLaurin’s new contract in with this group is going to mean a lot of our cap taken up by a handful of guys in 3+ years though.

I'm hoping we have everyone resigned before their 5th years are in play. I don't want that kind of headache.

[method man]

24 minutes ago, PlayAction said:

 

The team is grooming James Smith-Williams but I'd be ok letting Kerrigan go if the team finds a developmental DE in the draft.  At the end of the season there is really nothing that Kerrigan can offer the team that can't be provided by a much cheaper journeyman player.  They don't need his leadership anymore and only need someone to spell the starters.  If either Young/Sweat get injured then James Smith-Williams will have to step up and benefit from the added reps.  

 

I don't know if it is entirely true. JSW has been playing a lot of DT - when Ioan went down, instead of getting another DT, they've been using JSW there. Maybe it is because of necessity or maybe they see him as a disruptive 3 technique. It's Toohill, a promising pass rusher, who has been getting more reps on the edge.

 

If you get Kerrigan back on a reasonable deal (<$5M AAAV) for a couple years, fine. If not, there are plenty of other veteran pass rushers out there you can go get

[XxSpearheadxX]

5 hours ago, Darrell Green Fan said:

 

We never had players like this on the defense.  

And to be fair coaching/defensive coordination like this either 

[Commander -JB-]

On 12/16/2020 at 11:20 PM, Rskins91 said:

If we’re talking veterans QBs, I have my eye of Stafford or Ryan. Both QBs have never had to play as game managers; their defenses have stunk during their prime. I think backing either up with a legitimate defense would help them out tremendously. 

I’d take Stafford in a second.

5 hours ago, Anselmheifer said:

At some point, we have to follow the Ravens/Steelers model, right? Continue to draft players that fit our scheme/culture, let the less important FA leave and replace them with draft picks?

It does finally seem that we are beginning to follow that blueprint.  A lot of homegrown talent.  Keep our draft picks & hopefully gain some extra comp picks when guys do leave and continue to nail draft picks.

[JSSkinz]

Seattle has a poor O line and the final injury report shows they have two guards that have been ruled out and a tackle that's questionable so we should feast, supposedly their right side is really bad so hopefully Chase can take advantage of that.

[Anselmheifer]

 

This DL is so good. Also, Montez Sweat is under rated. Even just in the highlights above, he had a ton of pressures to go with his sack. His bull rush is nasty and his inside counter is also good. 

 

The defense is now 4th overall, both in yards and points. It's 3rd against the pass. Imagine how fearsome this defense would be paired with a high powered offense. 

 

[BayouBrave86]

Can we get a stud MLB for this defense? That is the missing piece.

[redskinss]

Its so nice to have great coaches again. 

I had no idea what to expect from this team this year with all the holes on our roster but the one thing I was nearly certain of is that we'd be at minimum a solid defense.

Having a head coach with a long proven record of success on defense and then a coordinator with just as good a track record if not better is and always will be the blueprint for success.

A rising tide lifts all ships and the coaches control the tide.

They're putting the extremely talented pieces of this defense in the right places at the right time and making sure guys are where they're supposed to be and curl, Darby and kpl are looking better than expected because of it.

We still have some pretty big talent deficiencies on defense and from time to time it shows but overall we're solid defensively. 

 the players deserve credit for making plays im not trying to take that away from them but in my opinion the coaches are the real reason we're having the success we are.

I firmly believe if last years coaching staff were still in place chase young would have a dozen sacks but we'd be giving up 30 points a game and we'd have maybe two wins right now.

We've all seen the huge sacks on first and 2nd down only to give up a conversion on 3rd and 17, its so refreshing to see things like that gone and a defense (which still isn't perfect) that can be relied on again. 

Edited December 29, 2020 by redskinss

[Ball Security]

Think about this:  this defense has given up 20 points or less in eight out of 15 games this season.  Don’t know if any team has more.  The Rams and Dolphins have eight.

[dyst]

I go by the eye test and the name test and these guys pass both. Names like Chase Young, Johnathan Allen, Daron Payne, Montez Sweat, Kam Curl, just sound like names that can play. That's why we need to draft Micah Parsons, which is another badass name to add to this list. It's why you don't see guys named Templeton Rodenbury dominating. No offense to any Templeton's out there.

[XxSpearheadxX]

Payne has really taken a huge step this season also, but especially the last few games. He is dominant. Good LBers will take advantage of that. 

[Anselmheifer]

 

 

 

 

 

This DL is going to be so ridiculous next year, with Chase young in his 2nd year and getting Ioannidis back. Also, the Whole DL is so good and fun to watch. Watch the Jonathan Allen week 16 highlights, but pay attention to Sweat, just in the plays where Allen did well. MLB, FS, CB, improve the offense. 

I really think that if we are smart, we could build not just a Ravens type defense, but a Ravens type team that contends across more than a decade. A super strong running game and adequate, Joe Flacco-esque QB and a team culture and identity that helps us bring guys in and instill toughness and a work ethic and develop them. It honestly feels that with Sweat And Young and JDR that we should be able to continue to change out the other pieces as we are moving on and keep things going. Would anyone really be that surprised If Montez Sweat had a Myles Garrett like season next year? The sky is the limit with the cornerstone pieces we have. 

Next up, MLB and improve the offense. 

 

 

[Anselmheifer]

 

We are so lucky to get to watch this. 

[Burgundy Yoda]

1 hour ago, Anselmheifer said:

 

We are so lucky to get to watch this. 

The amount of tipped passes that turned into interceptions was awesome. That is truly next level stuff right there, if you can't get to the QB that is the next most efficient thing you can do to impact the game as a DL. 

 

Sweat, Young, and Payne are all really good at tipping passes. 

Edited January 6, 2021 by Burgundy Yoda

[Going Commando]

Sweat and Payne are almost there.  Their playmaking is like a step slow from being elite.  If Sweat can have another year of real growth, then he could reach that Danielle Hunter potential.

 

Payne is the driving force in the run defense and already looks like a finished product there.  His effort on plays outside of his area is tone setting too.  But his pass rush reps are pretty inconsistent.  He gets stymied and doesn't have a string of moves to work through after getting stumped.  Also, he just doesn't have the elite size and length of most of the good a and b gap rushers, Aaron Donald aside.  None of our DTs really do, though Ioannidis is close.  We could benefit from increasing our IDL pressure on second and third and long.  One of the few areas where I don't have confidence that the D will be excellent.  Either getting a huge DT like a Malik Jackson or Calais Campbell type who have that kind of length, or getting a rush technician like Jalen Twyman could give us that missing piece.

 

Sweat and Young are going to cost a fortune to keep, but my hope is that our DTs can be kept for cheaper since they aren't piling up sacks.

[method man]

On the 3rd DE slot, you obviously let Kerrigan go if the price gets over $5M. I would take a smaller fluid athletic type in the 3rd or 4th for depth and maybe look at signing a veteran as well. 

[Warhead36]

3 hours ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

Sweat and Payne are almost there.  Their playmaking is like a step slow from being elite.  If Sweat can have another year of real growth, then he could reach that Danielle Hunter potential.

 

Payne is the driving force in the run defense and already looks like a finished product there.  His effort on plays outside of his area is tone setting too.  But his pass rush reps are pretty inconsistent.  He gets stymied and doesn't have a string of moves to work through after getting stumped.  Also, he just doesn't have the elite size and length of most of the good a and b gap rushers, Aaron Donald aside.  None of our DTs really do, though Ioannidis is close.  We could benefit from increasing our IDL pressure on second and third and long.  One of the few areas where I don't have confidence that the D will be excellent.  Either getting a huge DT like a Malik Jackson or Calais Campbell type who have that kind of length, or getting a rush technician like Jalen Twyman could give us that missing piece.

 

Sweat and Young are going to cost a fortune to keep, but my hope is that our DTs can be kept for cheaper since they aren't piling up sacks.

Yeah its where we really miss Ion. I think he would have crushed it this year with a possible double digit sack season. He is our best pass rushing DT by far.

[Est.1974]

In Rivera’s press conference yesterday he detailed how critical the interior upfield pressure is, looking back at the sacks and turnover statistics going back through his Carolina days too. Credited much is that to interior pressure.
 

They don’t get the stats, but they largely contribute to others getting them.

[RansomthePasserby]

20 minutes ago, UK SKINS FAN 74 said:

In Rivera’s press conference yesterday he detailed how critical the interior upfield pressure is, looking back at the sacks and turnover statistics going back through his Carolina days too. Credited much is that to interior pressure.
 

They don’t get the stats, but they largely contribute to others getting them.

Interior pressure is especially critical against Brady because it takes away his option to buy time by stepping up in the pocket.

[XxSpearheadxX]

On 12/18/2020 at 12:08 PM, skinny21 said:

 

Lumping McLaurin’s new contract in with this group is going to mean a lot of our cap taken up by a handful of guys in 3+ years though.

This is the Way of the NFL though, all good teams are structured that way. Good team culture and good drafting is the other piece of the puzzle. 

 

The other thing about having a "good" team is that players are more likely to take a little less to play there if they are interested in winning, and if we are drafting the right kinds of guys they will be interested in winning. 

 

I have no problem Paying for elite all pro talent and pro bowl talent, its when you are signing chumps who are full of themselves to bloated contracts that it destroys your team.

 

Plus NFL players earn more money when they win with most contracts