John Keim, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Washington Redskins failed with technique

The problem started with the bump-and-run coverage coach Jay Gruden said they employed against the New York Giants. It becomes a problem if the corners don’t get their hands on the receiver -- as the Washington Redskins rarely tried to do in their 45-14 loss.

“We asked them to do it,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. “If you’re in bump and run, it’s called ‘bump’ and run for a reason and we just weren’t getting a good piece of them.”

Time and again the Redskins’ corners were beaten off the ball. It’s a function of having two young corners in the starting lineup and a third corner in Tracy Porter who did not play this season until the second half of that loss.

The Giants routinely got clean releases and that allowed quarterback Eli Manning to get rid of the ball fast. In fact, he threw a season-best 27 passes (out of 39) while spending less than 2.3 seconds in the pocket, according to ESPN Stats & Information. He completed 22 of those for 227 yards and three touchdowns. It’s tough to get legitimate pressure on a quarterback throwing so fast.

“We’ve got to do a better job as defensive backs and linebackers when we’re out there playing bump and run -- get hands on them and reroute the guys,” Gruden said. “That wasn’t happening, and when you reroute them, it gives your defensive linemen that extra count to get home.

“Eli was throwing everything on rhythm and didn’t really have to pull the ball down at all to go to his second or third receiver. He was pretty efficient on who he wanted to go to and was able to get it out quick and didn’t really let our defensive line get a chance to pressure him.”

It’s been a season-long problem. The Redskins have faced 85 passes that were thrown in 2.3 seconds or less, fourth most in the NFL. Conversely, they’ve faced 43 passes in which the quarterback was in the pocket for 2.4 seconds or more -- only three teams have faced fewer, and two of those (Kansas City, St. Louis) have played just three games.

There are plenty of examples where receivers took clean releases, leading to big plays. (This was also a result of botched coverage whether via communication errors or simple misunderstanding of the defensive call. More on that later in the week). But here’s what happened on the four touchdown passes:

  • No. 1: Linebacker Perry Riley actually had decent position, but by the time tight end Larry Donnell was on him, he was five yards downfield. Riley lightly touched him, but not enough to cause any disruption – and he might have been worried about an illegal contact penalty. Manning threw a jump ball that Donnell easily won.

  • No. 2: Once again, Donnell got a clean release. At 6-foot-6, 269 pounds he’s tough to jam. But he’s clearly hard to stop when his release is free. This time, he ran at safety Brandon Meriweather, who had outside leverage. Meriweather backpedaled and Donnell then cut back inside without any contact for an easy catch. If Meriweather expected inside help, it wasn’t there: Linebacker Keenan Robinson turned to the three-receiver side at the snap and then back to Donnell’s side. Safety Ryan Clark was shaded to the other side as well.

  • No. 3: Donnell was paired one-on-one with corner Bashaud Breeland, a height difference of seven inches. That’s tough enough and Manning had to salivate at what he saw. Too easy. It’s hard for Breeland to jam such a big player, but if you’re not going to jam him, then you can’t lose on technique. Breeland opened his hips to the inside and had outside leverage, as if knowing he had inside help (safety Ryan Clark was dropping to the inside area). But Donnell crossed him up with a hard plant to the inside that Breeland bought. Donnell then cut back to the fade; this created enough separation to make for another lob pass and touchdown. Breeland is talented, but will undergo numerous lessons this season.

  • No. 4: Another one to the tight end. Daniel Fells released cleanly on a first and goal from the 4-yard line. Riley took the flat where the running back ran. Linebacker Gabe Miller, in the middle, eyed Manning and eventually ran towards Fells. Ryan Kerrigan rushed the passer from that side. I don’t yet know who was at fault; I do know Miller was the closest in coverage and was cut two days later, though it was mostly for special teams.

^ Back to Top ^