Cornelius Griffin and the DL

[bulldog]

Pro Football Prospectus, which publishes a comprehensive statistical analysis, rated Griffin "the best run-stuffing defensive tackle in the league last year," and gave the Redskins' defensive line the second-highest rating in the league.
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the above was extracted from today's WP article on Cornelius Griffin which has already been posted by Bubba.

I post it here as a stand alone thread to invite discussion among those fans who identified the Redskins defensive ends as being among the worst in the NFL and the DL as being a weak point.

Just because the team does not have a single player that had 15 sacks in 2004 doesn't mean the Redskins have a poor line :)

Just look at the Packers. KGB posts those 10-15 sacks seasons all the time and yet the Packers run defense and overall D are porous.

Dwight Freeney consistently posts great sack numbers and the Colts can't stop a college team on defense.

Griffin gets a good push inside and with Daniels returning to man the RDE spot should be even more effective in 2005.

The presence of outside rushers Arrington and Clemons on the roster also no doubt influenced the decision of the team not to use a #1 pick on a pass rush specialist at DE.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Well, I think that we have one of the best run-stopping DLs in the league. I'm not sure if this article implies that we were rated the best overall or in that category.

As for a pass rush, I think we struggle there at times.

[zoony]

Football is a team sport :)

You raise some good points... it takes much more than a few pro-bowlers or a pass rushing specialist to make a good defense.

That being said, I've never thought our D-Line was a weak spot, but I would take a KGB or a Dwight Freeney in a minute. ;)

[G-Prime]

Anyone that says our line is bad or even subpar needs to actually watch a game.. Our line is steady and strong at stopping the run.. We do apply consistant pressure to QB's but that doesn't translate into sacks.. Which is the number most people look at.

[GSF]

The DTs, especially Griffin were the main reason why the defense was so good last year. That is why losing Pierce should not be such a big deal.

A stud DT changes everything. Just think of the Skins defense with Gardener a few years ago, then how bad the defense was after he left. Insert Griffin and the defense was great again. Obsviously there was more to it than that, like scheme ect, but it all starts on defense with the DT.

[Art]

Exactly right Bulldog. From a run perspective, our defensive line has skills that surpass those of any other line in my view WITH Daniels playing on a regular basis. We are a below average team from a pass rush perspective at least in terms of compiling sacks along the defensive line.

Unfortunately as we saw with Flashback in an earlier thread, most fans are pretty dim, and don't understand the game is MORE than just sack stats when it comes to rating defensive linemen.

[Neophyte]

I have been a proponent of upgrading at DE for the purpose of getting a better rush on the QB with just the line. I have never argued that our DL is great at stopping at the run and I would not give that up to get a better pass rush. I just think that for this defense to really be dominate in the way the 2000 Ravens or 85 Bears where dominate we have be able to get a better push on the QB without always falling back on the blitz.

I think this is a very large part of the reason that this defense stops people but does not generate a larger number of turn overs. Solid and consistent pass rush will, over time, force QB's into bad decisions. Those bad decisions translate directly into interceptions if you have the people in the defensive backfield to make them. In short, getting to the QB with just your DL leaves 7 guys in the backfield to pick those bad passes off.

However, I will take a defense that makes the opponent one dimensional above all. I just see DE as a place of possible upgrade, that's all.

[Vladimir L]

The guy is a monster