WP: For the Redskins, It's Simple - Defensive Approach ... (MERGE)

[bobzmuda]

Really interesting article from the Post about the defensive changes we can expect to see this year.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/15/AR2007061501605_pf.html


In three years under Gregg Williams, the Washington Redskins' defense was characterized by its numerous personnel packages and intricate schemes. Williams required his players to master responses to the opposing offense's every move, even as they carried out a series of pre-snap movements to conceal where the defensive pressure would be coming from.

In 2004 and 2005, the Redskins' defenders and their coach were completely in sync and became one of the fiercest units in the NFL. But as the unit's collapse last year revealed, the precision and choreography demanded by Williams could be undermined by a single misstep by one player.

As the team began a three-day minicamp at Redskins Park yesterday, there was a new buzzword for the defense: simplicity.

Williams's system has been pared down for 2007, players say, still emphasizing the principles of speed, aggressiveness and discipline but relying more on individual talent than collective obedience. There are fewer schemes for players to memorize and more alignments are designed to accentuate key players' strengths. There will be less of a burden on Williams and his staff to out-scheme the opposing offense every week.

"We've definitely simplified things," said linebacker Marcus Washington, one of the players who could benefit most from the changes. "And I think that was Gregg looking at us last year, all of us in it together, and nobody likes to be at the bottom, especially when we're used to being at the top.

"That was Gregg being the sharp mental guy he is, and being smart about it, saying, 'I'm just going to let these guys play. We have some talent here, and when I put them in the right position, I'm going to let them play and sit back.' And that's what we're going to do."

CLICK LINK FOR THE FULL STORY

[Area51]

Reading that piece makes me extremely excited. It seems that Williams realizes that talent is more important than scheme and will work his scheme to better fit the talent. I cant wait to see Taylor at CF, knocking down balls and getting picks while Washington has his hands in the dirt rushing the passer and Fletcher/McIntosh(who, unlike Holdman, has great athleticism) cover RBs and TEs.

Thank you Gregg "Genius" Williams for finally realizing that talent>scheme!

[Capt. Jack]

Reading this article made me even more excited for this season. I can't wait to see our new defense in action.

[B.A.M.F.]

Interesting...

Could mean more sacks and turnovers, and more big plays given up. If our offense is improved this will be a better style of defense to play IMO.

EDIT: More plays given up in general than we would like to see from our defense, NOT more than was given up last year. :doh:

[Siven]

Really interesting article from the Post about the defensive changes we can expect to see this year.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/15/AR2007061501605_pf.html



CLICK LINK FOR THE FULL STORY


Personal talent over collective obedience.

Man, hindsight is 20/20, but what if we still had a non injured LaVar. I know he was a total dickbag, but if he can still play, and still be good, I wouldn't mind bringing him back.

[authentic]

"That was Gregg being the sharp mental guy he is, and being smart about it, saying, 'I'm just going to let these guys play. We have some talent here, and when I put them in the right position, I'm going to let them play and sit back.' And that's what we're going to do."

its about time!

[Siven]

I'm excited, mostly about Sean Taylor, LaRon, and Carter. Carter's statements are very intriguing? 12 sack season?

[Tastes Like Chicken]

I wish Gregggg would address the concerns about Steve Jackson and whether ST will be reading the O-line or the QB this year?

[scruffylookin]

Personal talent over collective obedience.

Man, hindsight is 20/20, but what if we still had a non injured LaVar. I know he was a total dickbag, but if he can still play, and still be good, I wouldn't mind bringing him back.

While I disagree with your "total dickbag" description of LaVar, I will agree with you that as soon as I read this article that LaVar came to mind immediately. Not so much in terms of bringing him back (I think his body is telling him something--time to hang'em up LaVar) but just what could have been if Lindsey was never hired as linebacker coach and GW had embraced the concept of talent over scheme earlier.

Oh well.

I'm glad Williams is finally adapting to the talent he has.

[DCsportsfan53]

I'm telling you guys, the D is going to be fine. The coaches isolated what they felt was the problem and fixed it aggresively. With the CBs we have now we can get back to the man coverage, crazy blitzes and coverage disguises that we really haven't fully used since 04. I can't wait to see them in action. If Campbell is solid, mark it down, we're in for a good year because the defense is going to do it's part. I'm extremely confident in them.

[DCsportsfan53]

While I disagree with your "total dickbag" description of LaVar, I will agree with you that as soon as I read this article that LaVar came to mind immediately. Not so much in terms of bringing him back (I think his body is telling him something--time to hang'em up LaVar) but just what could have been if Lindsey was never hired as linebacker coach and GW had embraced the concept of talent over scheme earlier.

Oh well.

I'm glad Williams is finally adapting to the talent he has.

The defensive style and play calling have been drastically different from year to year as it is, to fit the scheme. In 04, Springs and Smoot were left on an island, we played a lot more man and blitzed more than any other year under GW. In 05, we did less blitzing and became primarily a zone team to cover up for Walt Harris' lack of speed. In 06, the bottom just fell out on the secondary and GW had no ability to blitz or do anything. Each year he's had to taylor his playcalling style, his ability to load the line of scrimmage with defenders, ability to disguise coverages, ect based on the capabilities of his secondary. We now have the talent and depth all across the secondary to be proficient at everything. GW just plain did not have the talent last year, bottom line.

[jeronimobrat]

I am forward to alot of surprises this season as well as alot of others. The thing that stuck out to me was this:

Lacking confidence in the unit last season, Williams was not as aggressive rushing the quarterback, players and coaches said, and relied on what's known as a cover-2 zone defense -- with the two safeties playing deep and the cornerbacks conceding yardage to receivers at the line of scrimmage. The Redskins expect to use significantly more man-to-man coverage in 2007 -- with their corners no longer stationed five yards back but jamming receivers at the line. The cover-2 has been relegated to only some passing situations.

[Habib1852]

I don't care what they do. W/e produces the best results is what i want. I am excited about this defense this year. Everyone is bashing this defense for this season. With the talent we have, we could easily be a top 5 defense in the league. 06' was just a bad year! We def. are the sleeper in the NFC and maybe the NFL

[bubba9497]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/15/AR2007061501605.html?sub=AR


click link for full article




For the Redskins, It's Simple
Defensive Approach Has Been Streamlined to Accentuate Key Players' Strengths

By Jason La Canfora
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, June 16, 2007; E01



In three years under Gregg Williams, the Washington Redskins' defense was characterized by its numerous personnel packages and intricate schemes. Williams required his players to master responses to the opposing offense's every move, even as they carried out a series of pre-snap movements to conceal where the defensive pressure would be coming from.

In 2004 and 2005, the Redskins' defenders and their coach were completely in sync and became one of the fiercest units in the NFL. But as the unit's collapse last year revealed, the precision and choreography demanded by Williams could be undermined by a single misstep by one player.

As the team began a three-day minicamp at Redskins Park yesterday, there was a new buzzword for the defense: simplicity.

Williams's system has been pared down for 2007, players say, still emphasizing the principles of speed, aggressiveness and discipline but relying more on individual talent than collective obedience. There are fewer schemes for players to memorize and more alignments are designed to accentuate key players' strengths. There will be less of a burden on Williams and his staff to out-scheme the opposing offense every week.


"We've definitely simplified things," said linebacker Marcus Washington, one of the players who could benefit most from the changes. "And I think that was Gregg looking at us last year, all of us in it together, and nobody likes to be at the bottom, especially when we're used to being at the top.

"That was Gregg being the sharp mental guy he is, and being smart about it, saying, 'I'm just going to let these guys play. We have some talent here, and when I put them in the right position, I'm going to let them play and sit back.' And that's what we're going to do."

Williams, who declined to comment for this story, told players this offseason that he plans to get his best players to the point of attack as much as possible and give them more freedom, they said. Williams is using more traditional five- and six-defensive back formations in passing downs. The addition of linebacker London Fletcher and cornerbacks Fred Smoot and David Macklin through free agency, and the selection of safety LaRon Landry with the sixth overall pick in the draft in April is expected to provide a major boost as well.

"You've got to have the right balance between players and scheme, and you've got to have the right players to make the scheme work," lineman Renaldo Wynn said. "We saw examples of that last year -- without mentioning any names -- when we brought in different guys and they just didn't fit our scheme. If you've got the players and the scheme, it can be successful as you saw our first two years. Now, with Gregg simplifying it makes it even better, and guys can be even more aggressive and not have to think as much."

[Om]

Geez, bubba. Run a search first. :)

[the burgundy and gold]

bubba search function is your friend :doh:



;)

[bubba9497]

bubba search function is your friend :doh:



;)


yes, yes it is :laugh:

I deserve a :whippin:


Geez, bubba. Run a search first. :)


dang, I scrolled the wrong forum :doh:

my bad

[gclark84]

Interesting...

Could mean more sacks and turnovers, and more big plays given up. If our offense is improved this will be a better style of defense to play IMO.

EDIT: More plays given up in general than we would like to see from our defense, NOT more than was given up last year. :doh:

There is no way that anf D in Pro Football could give up as many big plays as we did last year!

If our D somehow does the almost impossible and gives up more big plays than last year than our season will be over very early in 2007 even with 8-8 getting a wildcard as it was last year.

I really believe that our D will be much improved and we will finish 10-6 or even 11-5. JG and GW have something to prove and I think the players will have a huge chip on thier shoulders.

The fact that almost every publication has us as dead last in our division and also listed as 25th or 26th in the NFL will only make the climb to the top sweeter and by the time some of the supposed "Elite" teams take notice it will be too late!

[korserra]

If Marcus Washington is going to take snaps at DE on passing downs that is a good start toward helping the DL. Everytime he lines up at DE one of our aging linemen gets to take a play off. With Daniels sometimes moving inside the DTs will get some rest too.

In the long run everyone will be fresher and less beat up. Except Marcus Washington of course. This is a lot to ask of a LB and I hope we don't pay a price for it.

[jtyler42]

This is music to my ears! I am glad we are going to return to the aggressive, blitzing, in your face, knock your dick in the dirt defense...REDSKINS DEFENSE! From George Allen to Richie Pettibone to the 04 version of G Williams D, this is the type of D successful Redskins teams have played...

[bubba9497]

"We've definitely simplified things," said linebacker Marcus Washington, one of the players who could benefit most from the changes. "And I think that was Gregg looking at us last year, all of us in it together, and nobody likes to be at the bottom, especially when we're used to being at the top.




:) I agree MW


hope he turns into a QB's nightmare

[TheLongshot]

I'm glad Williams is finally adapting to the talent he has.

Actually, in his first two years, he did adapt to the talent he had, which wasn't huge. I also think last year he was doing the best with what he had, which wasn't nearly enough.

I think he's able to do what he's doing now because he has more talent than when he started.

Jason

[Siven]

While I disagree with your "total dickbag" description of LaVar, I will agree with you that as soon as I read this article that LaVar came to mind immediately. Not so much in terms of bringing him back (I think his body is telling him something--time to hang'em up LaVar) but just what could have been if Lindsey was never hired as linebacker coach and GW had embraced the concept of talent over scheme earlier.

Oh well.

I'm glad Williams is finally adapting to the talent he has.

If he trashed Dale Lindsay or Williams, fine, but he trashed JOE GIBBS, perhaps the classiest individual ever, and 2nd nicest guy ever, only behind maybe Jesus, or depending on your beliefs, someone else.

[Thirtyfive2seven]

Personal talent over collective obedience.

Man, hindsight is 20/20, but what if we still had a non injured LaVar. I know he was a total dickbag, but if he can still play, and still be good, I wouldn't mind bringing him back.

As I read the article that is the first thought that came to mind. I'm actually a little annoyed that it took a season of complete failure for him to realize this. I guess that's what arrogance will do.

[Fifty Gut]

now this is the kind of article I want to read in the offseason. breaking down scheme and strategy. that's what's up.


The Redskins expect to use significantly more man-to-man coverage in 2007 -- with their corners no longer stationed five yards back but jamming receivers at the line. The cover-2 has been relegated to only some passing situations.

thank God

[Thirtyfive2seven]

Can someone explain to me why Sean Taylor would play 'center field' and LL will play closer to the line? It seems backwards to me, but I never claimed to know the intricacies of GW's defense. Help me out here.

[tr1]

When a team has talent, it doesn't need to be overly clever.

[SkinsTillIDie]

Enough! Enough already!

There is too much optimism around these parts. I'm feeling too damn good about our chances next year. I'm feeling too good about Jason Campbell as our first franchise QB in god knows when, I'm feeling too good about our incredible running back duo, I'm feeling too good about an Al Saunders offense in Year Two with an all-pro gamebreaking receiver and one of the league's best offensive lines with a top 5 TE to boot, and now I'm feeling too good about our defense.

I know I'm setting myself up for a letdown, but dammit, I just can't see it any other way: this is our year. This is the year we turn it around. This is the year where we shock everyone, and put in a superb 16 game season. Our defense is coming around. No more of the 10 yard cushions that killed us on every 3rd down and 5. No more 7 men in the box in obvious rushing situations. No more slow players that are unable to wrap up. No more lack of a pass rushing initiative. No more players being misused in positions not apt for their abilities (or lack thereof). No more overthinking and overanalyzing. No more cover-2 on every ****ing play. No more Sean Taylor being held back.

Our offense is ready. Our defense is ready. Washington is ready. Maybe this is an absurdly over-dramatic post, but it's 5:15 in the morning and I haven't slept for two days. Your 2007 Washington Redskins, making the NFC East into NFC Easy.

[Art]

The amazing thing about the first two years of the Williams defense is we could blitz and still have everything covered. How? Because we rarely blitzed balls out. We may have taken a guy from an angle, but someone else rotated to that spot. A tackle was assigned to lay back watching the draw. An end protecting the screen. Williams had funnel points. He could get opposing offenses to go into the area he expected when he overloaded and it worked.

Last year, teams stopped believing their eyes and trusted the fundamentals and started exploiting holes that where always there, but, never appear to be until the plays develop a bit. An adjustment was necessary. What this article touches on is some of those changes. Because of more confidence in what the secondary and linebackers can do, you will allow the line to sell out more against the pass to generate a rush.

Because of more talent now than a year ago, you can overmatch some teams simply with ability. Though we were aggressive, we RARELY had a sell out blitz. I can envision more of that this year. Zero coverage schemes, man up tight on the outside and go. It will be interesting to watch. I think the sound of it means we will go in to games knowing we are more exposed to a big negative play against us, but, think we have that counterbalanced with the potential to turn the ball over for us. Let's hope it works.

[SWFLSkins]

As I read the article that is the first thought that came to mind. I'm actually a little annoyed that it took a season of complete failure for him to realize this. I guess that's what arrogance will do.
__________________________________________________ ___-

That is what you gathered from the article? I got that bringing in Tom, Dick and Harry were not the answer at corner. And Hold-me-man could not support the run in the middle, thus changing the scheme for the backfield. Rogers is the corner we thought, and last year he was lined up way off the guy he was covering. They tried to not give up the big play and it did not work, covering the weakness was exposed.

+++++++++++++++

Williams gave the linemen less pass-rushing support from safeties and corners than usual in 2006 -- the lack of talent at those positions was a huge factor in that decision -- and opposing quarterbacks enjoyed too much time to pass the ball. With Fletcher, a stalwart on Williams's defense when both were with the Buffalo Bills, anchoring the interior as middle linebacker now, the Redskins believe they will be more stout against the run. Also, Williams is more willing to overload the line of scrimmage to stop the run, players said. Concerns about the woeful secondary prevented that last year.

[TLusby]

Can someone explain to me why Sean Taylor would play 'center field' and LL will play closer to the line? It seems backwards to me, but I never claimed to know the intricacies of GW's defense. Help me out here.

Landry's is more talented in the box than in coverage and Sean has an unbelievable ability to stretch the field and cover side to side. He's a ball hawk that now does not have to be concerned with the run. Taylor will thrive under this and will generate 6-8 turnovers himself. He will do this through big hits deep in the middle which will cause fumbles, as well as interceptions. The CB's playing man to man will allow Landry to look for the run and cover the TE.

[atloldskin]

Williams is a very smart coach. Maybe he realizes he has more talent now than he did three years ago! Maybe he realizes that our players need a more simplified approach. I still think the backfield's play last year negated what he wanted to do with pass rush schemes and blitzes. Rogers and Taylor made too many mistakes last year and Springs was hurt and not able to cover the opposing team's #1 receiver. Help is on the way.

[mardi gras skin]

Personal talent over collective obedience.

Man, hindsight is 20/20, but what if we still had a non injured LaVar. I know he was a total dickbag, but if he can still play, and still be good, I wouldn't mind bringing him back.

I had the exact opposite reaction. I remember the year Lavar gave Marvin Lewis grief over the three point stance. Compare that to Marcus Washington:

"Putting my hand on the ground, I hadn't done it in awhile. But coach Greg Blache and the rest of the defensive line, they've been helping me through it and it's something I'm excited to do."

[Philip Pease]

This post is the most exciting thing I have read so far this year. Last season the defense lost their aggressiveness and this article implies that Greg has recognized that and has made some changes to get the team back to playing hard-hitting aggressive football.

[trez]

THis article gave me a raging hard on. I just hope most of the guys can stay healthy.

[RedDevil]

I bet Lavar would love to be back now... lol

[TheLongshot]

Can someone explain to me why Sean Taylor would play 'center field' and LL will play closer to the line? It seems backwards to me, but I never claimed to know the intricacies of GW's defense. Help me out here.

With his combination of size and speed, Sean Taylor is best suited to play in coverage. He can cover just about anyone and his hitting ability makes people look around for where he is.

Jason

[the burgundy and gold]

the article made it sound like Landry and Rocky would definintly be starting for us this year. That's odd because i thought that was still up in the air. interesting...

[Siven]

With his combination of size and speed, Sean Taylor is best suited to play in coverage. He can cover just about anyone and his hitting ability makes people look around for where he is.

Jason

Seconded, cause it's true. Sean Taylor is a cornerback in a linebackers body. Landry is average safety size, except he is extremely fast.

[Siven]

that and, Taylor is a natural ballhawk. Landry's instincts just aren't as good.

[edgun88]

Williams's system has been pared down for 2007, players say, still emphasizing the principles of speed, aggressiveness and discipline but relying more on individual talent than collective obedience.
If this had been the case 2 years earlier then LaVar would still be with us.

[dfos81]

Less thinking, more attacking, sounds simple and it sounds more like what we did in GW's 1st season w/ the Skins. Can't wait to see the results.

[McD5]

Fantastic article. Williams finally realized that he was about to be fired if he coached another loser like last season. Whether we had the players or not last year, his decisions were absolutely awful. Not blitzing, and having Carlos line up 10 yards off the receiver on a 3rd and 2 made him one of the worst coaches in the league last year.

Add the Arch debacle on top of it, and losing the entire locker room to that, and he was on a fast track out of Washington. I personally believe he was the number one reason--even more than injuries--for our terrible showing last season.
Hopefully these changes will finally fix some of the damaged attitudes in the locker room, and players will actually want to play for this guy again. Nice job.

[FuriousD]

While the article reads well and seems up beat, I would caution against getting too excited just yet.

After all, this is still the same super-smart GW who thought AA was a perfect fit and wanted him so badly he was willing to overpay to the hilt for him.

Still the same super-smart GW who chased off Walt Harris (who went on to have a probowl season) in favor of Kenny Wright and Mike Rumph, for chrissakes!

And this is still fundamentaly the same defense who were bit hard by injuries last year. Just 1 year older.

GW and this defense have a lot to answer for and the proof will be in the pudding not on the page.

[Tastes Like Chicken]

I'm excited about these comments, but, is it some new revelation that you should design your scheme to the strengths of your players?

[Art]

Maybe it's just me, but, I'm not quite as excited about this as I probably should be. I'm not because I've watched the defense from 2004 and 2005 and it was aggressive while being so incredibly sound as to take EVERYTHING away from the opposition. Simple and more aggressive is fine and will be exciting, but, I loved the defenses in 2004 and 2005 so much, I'm worried we are giving something up by taking away some of the creativity Williams has. Now, there's something to the fact we couldn't have had as many packages or keys in 2004 as last year because it was so new to everyone. As the players grew in the system it should have been easier to play, but, I would guess Williams kept adding elements to the point players knew the defense, but, it got so bloated, it was hard to master it and play with the speed we played with most of 2004 and 2005.

I will simply be interested to see how it goes because I remember the Rams preseason game a couple years ago when they shredded our defense much like everyone did last year :). I remember Williams grinning like he knew something after that. It was a lesson to the players to trust the scheme. If he left them out there on their ability alone, they'd get abused. Trust the scheme and his ability to design it and you could stop anyone. And the players believed.

That belief was broken apart last year for many reasons and there has to be a return of the trust all around. I just would like to see us play as a team like we did most of 2004 and even 2005, developing a great chemistry, even as we struggled to really find the key to winning, more than I'd like to see anything else.

[Art]

I'm excited about these comments, but, is it some new revelation that you should design your scheme to the strengths of your players?

I don't think Williams schemed around the strength of players. He schemed around the weakness of players. Meaning, if a player couldn't do something, he'd try to protect them, first and foremost, within the scheme. These are very different concepts.

[authentic]

THis article gave me a raging hard on. I just hope most of the guys can stay healthy. :paranoid:

[thelarkascend1ng]

The Redskins expect to use significantly more man-to-man coverage in 2007 -- with their corners no longer stationed five yards back but jamming receivers at the line.

SMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT

[thelarkascend1ng]

That belief was broken apart last year for many reasons and there has to be a return of the trust all around. I just would like to see us play as a team like we did most of 2004 and even 2005, developing a great chemistry, even as we struggled to really find the key to winning, more than I'd like to see anything else.

art, you bring up a valid point. something i think that could be telling is the fact that williams declined to comment in this article - perhaps he didn't want to sell the defense as being as simple as the WP makes it out to be at this point. it might not be - it might simply be a reduction of complexity, or something else - perhaps similar to how you said that he could have been scheming too much around his player's weaknesses last year.

either way, i am still pretty pumped for our personnel we brought in and the potential that we have.

[angel2]

Really interesting article from the Post about the defensive changes we can expect to see this year.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/15/AR2007061501605_pf.html



CLICK LINK FOR THE FULL STORY




More WP "don't know sh#t" about the defensive philosophy of Greg Williams. Are they suggesting that LaVar Arrington's perspective of letting loose will be the forte of our defensive strategies.

Even Buddy Ryan had orchestrative chaos in attacking offenses.

[Tastes Like Chicken]

I don't think Williams schemed around the strength of players. He schemed around the weakness of players. Meaning, if a player couldn't do something, he'd try to protect them, first and foremost, within the scheme. These are very different concepts.

If that's true, then who was the weak link in the secondary last year- Archuleta or the backup CB's (Wright/Rumph/Jimoh etc)? They played more Cover 2 for a reason. I see Arch's weakness being pass coverage, so asking him to play back in coverage is counter to the theory. Springs was ok when he was playing, Rogers underperformed, Wright was spotty and Rumph was bad. Don't remember much of Jimoh at all. So I can see how Greggg might've felt it necessary to protect those guys. Honestly, 1/2 the time it seemed that ST was as guilty as AA in blown coverages. I give him a free pass because A) he was all over the place, trying to make plays and B) he could destroy my body and soul with one hit.

[Art]

Your problem is thinking asking Arch to play back in coverage not being a sign of his weakness in coverage. Arch had a problem handling players when he was asked to take them in man coverage from a trail position. When facing the ball and closing he's typically stronger. It's what he'll be asked to do with the Bears this year for certain. But, for the most part he couldn't rely on his secondary to play up and cover for any length of time. So, he pulled them back in an effort to take something away from the opposition, but, knowing he was surrending something at the same time.

[Tastes Like Chicken]

Your problem is thinking asking Arch to play back in coverage not being a sign of his weakness in coverage. Arch had a problem handling players when he was asked to take them in man coverage from a trail position. When facing the ball and closing he's typically stronger.

My memories of Arch include the play-action skinny post or play-action up and out to the corner, where Arch bit like there's no tomorrow on a PA and/or pump fake. Also, the last possession by Dallas in the miracle/bizarro finish game at FedEx. Arch got abused by Witten repeatedly with the same exact play, even run consecutively. He is the reason why they got in FG position to begin with.

If he was so suspect in pass coverage, it's beyond me that he could be expected to cover 1/2 the deep field. It seemed many times that we had a Tampa 2 with Marshall covering a deep 1/3, as I'd sometimes see him trailing somebody deep. That would've left Arch with 1/3 of the deep field to cover, but still a liability at that.

I would suspect that it was partially Arch's weaknesses, and partially the weaknesses stemming from the lack of talent at CB ie. Wright/Rumph etc.

[cmorina69]

Personal talent over collective obedience.

Man, hindsight is 20/20, but what if we still had a non injured LaVar. I know he was a total dickbag, but if he can still play, and still be good, I wouldn't mind bringing him back.

Good point, i think hif he was healthey we would be much better off. Never heard dickbag before, well played.

[TODD]

"This year they really want to rely on our talent on the front four itself."

Don't get me wrong, this article has me excited, too. But this quote scares me a little.

[fansince62]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/15/AR2007061501605.html?sub=AR

Now, with Gregg simplifying it makes it even better, and guys can be even more aggressive and not have to think as much.

what's wrong with this picture?

[fansince62]

Maybe it's just me, but, I'm not quite as excited about this as I probably should be. I'm not because I've watched the defense from 2004 and 2005 and it was aggressive while being so incredibly sound as to take EVERYTHING away from the opposition. Simple and more aggressive is fine and will be exciting, but, I loved the defenses in 2004 and 2005 so much, I'm worried we are giving something up by taking away some of the creativity Williams has. Now, there's something to the fact we couldn't have had as many packages or keys in 2004 as last year because it was so new to everyone. As the players grew in the system it should have been easier to play, but, I would guess Williams kept adding elements to the point players knew the defense, but, it got so bloated, it was hard to master it and play with the speed we played with most of 2004 and 2005.

I will simply be interested to see how it goes because I remember the Rams preseason game a couple years ago when they shredded our defense much like everyone did last year :). I remember Williams grinning like he knew something after that. It was a lesson to the players to trust the scheme. If he left them out there on their ability alone, they'd get abused. Trust the scheme and his ability to design it and you could stop anyone. And the players believed.

That belief was broken apart last year for many reasons and there has to be a return of the trust all around. I just would like to see us play as a team like we did most of 2004 and even 2005, developing a great chemistry, even as we struggled to really find the key to winning, more than I'd like to see anything else.

nice post!

[CGSKINS]

I want to see action. I'm tired of all the talk.

[bulldog]

There is no NFL defensive coach that could have won with the combination of injuries to top players and lack of talent at various positions, as Williams faced in 2006.

That said, some of the decisions leading to that situation were his fault. Namely, some of the personnel decisions to bring in players such as Archuleta and Kenny Wright, who did not contribute positively to the team. Also the move to bring back Warrick Holdman after a horrid 2005 season was another mistake that came back and bit the defense.

But even if those decisions were not made and other players filled those positions, the injuries to Washington, Springs and Griffin meant that the defense was not going to be top notch as these three are the team's on the field leaders.

Like it or not we are in a similar position in 2007.

We have better talent at CB and S and better play inside at LB, but if Washington and Griffin were both to go down again the front seven would be hurting badly.

[TheLongshot]

Like it or not we are in a similar position in 2007.

We have better talent at CB and S and better play inside at LB, but if Washington and Griffin were both to go down again the front seven would be hurting badly.

I don't agree completely. If Washington goes down we have Marshall, who proved he could be pretty darn solid on the outside. He's better than Holdman or Posey.

As for the DL, the rookies now have a year of experience and can build on what they learned last year, as well as having a full offseason in the team's workout program. I wouldn't underestimate that.

Jason

[ZoEd]

Williams's system has been pared down for 2007, players say, still emphasizing the principles of speed, aggressiveness and discipline but relying more on individual talent than collective obedience. There are fewer schemes for players to memorize and more alignments are designed to accentuate key players' strengths. There will be less of a burden on Williams and his staff to out-scheme the opposing offense every week

This is exaclty what I said he needed to do last season when our D sucked. He was coaching the instinct out of players by making them play within the scheme instead of allowing them to play to their strengths. Him turning these boys loose is the best thing he could do for our defense and for us to win ballgames. IMO his style of play is more about give but don't give up the big play, however that doesn't set your defense up to force turnovers. Allowing players to be aggressive and go after the ball may give up some big plays but it should also allow us to get more turnovers which IMO wins ballgames.

[bulldog]

there is more individual talent in 2007 so it makes sense to use that to our advantage.

look, I don't care who the DC is, if the team is playing Kenny Wright and Mike Rumph at corner, Vernon Fox at safety and Warrick Holdman at LB...........you aren't going to be competitive in some games on that side of the ball.

There just wasn't enough NFL talent out there last year.

The last game against the Giants showed just how woeful this unit had become both physically and mentally as the year was ending.

It was demoralized.

The addition of a vocal leader in London Fletcher who knows the defense is a major move in the right direction.

Fletcher was perhaps more important for the Redskins to add than he would have been for the other teams that were interested in signing him.