Dismantling The Case Against DeAngelo Hall

Look, I get it alright. Guys like DeAngelo Hall are not going to be anyone’s cup of tea. I think DeAngelo Hall best says it best when he says he’s not a great corner; he’s a good football player. He doesn’t have the best technique, he doesn’t always have the best attitude, he runs his mouth. So I get it. I get why people can’t stand him. And that’s absolutely fine.

All I ask is that, if you’re going to hate DeAngelo Hall…hate him for what he ACTUALLY DOES, instead of what you think he does. I am not an apologist. If you suck, I’ll say you suck. Lord knows I’ve bagged on Madieu Williams more than a few times.

I’ve also disparaged fan favorite Chris Cooley despite others insistence that I just hated Cooley, and I also bagged on Brandon Banks before it was cool to talk about how useless he is. I am not a brainless homer. If I thought D-Hall was half as godawful as some paint him to be, trust me, I’d say it. Football is a bottom line business, and the bottom line is, when you don’t perform, you can get gone.

It’s why as we get closer to the start of the season, you’ll see me start to make the argument that, perhaps, it’s time to let London Fletcher go.

“Let London go and keep DeAngelo Hall! You’re nuts!”

Yes. Yes I am. But my crazy is rooted in analysis in fact and not in emotion. Emotion taints reason and blinds otherwise intelligent people to the facts that they don’t want to hear.

So, let’s take this bullet point by bullet point.

About Dallas

If we’re really going to bring up plays from two years ago as a reason a guy should be cut, then one thing needs to be known; they play call sucked.

Yes, this is the part where I bash Jim Haslett again, if only because Haslett has shown he learned nothing in proceeding season, as he’d continue to use everyone’s least favorite formation (Cover 0) in long down and distances.

The Dallas Cowboys had the perfect formation to defend that particular formation. The Dallas Cowboys used a split back formation in a shotgun set, with three wide receivers out wide.

Before this play happened, Tony Romo audibled to a hot route to Dez Bryant, who’s off screen. There’s only three men in coverage; the nickel corners.

We’re completely out formationed in this play. In a normal single back shotgun set, if the tight end goes out on his route, that leaves 8 men versus 6 blockers—the five offensive linemen, and the running back.

In a split back set, you now have 7 blockers to block 8 men. In theory, it’s still an advantage.

In theory.

The Cowboys offensive line slides to the left, washing 6 men out of the play. Meanwhile, the tight end and the running back slide right, and both take up the other two guys, one of which would ordinarily be the unblocked man.

In the meantime, Dez Bryant (I can’t find a capture of him on screen) is supposed to run a short route. DeAngelo Hall plays the short route. But then Tony Romo rolls right, and points for Dez Bryant to go deep. Bryant sprints up field and D-Hall has to flip his hips and get after Dez Bryant.

The facemask penalty that DeAngelo Hall called was ticky-tacky at best, but even if you take that away, it’s either tackle Dez Bryant, or give up a long touchdown.

It’s on record that the players on defense do not like Cover 0, and this is a key example why. Furthermore, it’s far from the only example of Cover 0 in long-down and distances being a fruitless and dangerous formation. DeAngelo Hall was far from the only frustrated player in the lockerroom; LaRon Landry also mouthed off about it, and beat reporters all noted the tension in the locker room over it.

Week 2

Yes, Danny Amendola had D-Hall’s lunch money that day, but Amendola had everyone’s lunch money that day. Haslett’s soft coverages and failure to adjust didn’t help. But it’s back handed to say that most of the onus falls on DeAngelo Hall.

Week 3

A.J Green’s first touchdown was absolutely, unquestionably, not DeAngelo Hall’s fault. To suggest otherwise is to look for reasons to dig at him. The play was absolutely not DeAngelo’s fault, and to be blunt, it’s bullshit if you think it is.

It didn’t help that Haslett didn’t inform players that that Sanu had thrown passes in college. Nor did it help that the Redskins completely bought in on the run, or the Bengals offensive coordinator straight up said he knew exactly what formation we’d show. There was literally nothing that DeAngelo Hall could do. No, he could not have/should not have shoved DeJon Gomes to go cover Dalton. Hall’s responsibility on that play is to cover Andy Dalton. If D-Hall tries to shove Gomes to cover Dalton and they get caught in between, and instead of A.J Green streaking down the sideline, it’s Andy Dalton streaking down the sideline for a touchdown?

All the sudden it’s D-Hall’s fault for not cover Dalton and not playing his assignment.

You play the defense as called. You don’t freelance and abandon your responsibility. Any number of things could’ve happened on that play. To call this “DeAngelo Hall’s touchdown” is borderline trolling and totally asinine.

Week 4

I already did an entire post on how what happened in the Tampa Bay game was not, in fact, DeAngelo Hall’s fault. To re-iterate; the long Vincent Jackson play was played by DeAngelo Hall about as perfectly as you possibly could.

The Redskins showed a run defense versus the Bucs run formation. Madieu Williams was sucked up into the box because of the run formation instead of playing the single high safety. The Bucs ran a play action pass effectively leaving Vincent Jackson 1-on-1 with DeAngelo Hall. It was a perfect thrown and a perfect catch by Freeman and Jackson.

D-Hall was playing off coverage on this play. He ran stride for stride with Vincent Jackson down the field. He did what many cornerbacks in the league today don’t do—look back for the ball. He was parallel to Vincent Jackson for the entirety of the play.

Look at this. How much better could D-Hall play this, unless he was jumping on Jackson’s back?

Week 6

This game sucked. Period.

Week 7

First of all, this was one of D-Hall’s better days in coverage, including playing outside versus Hakeem Nicks and inside versus Victor Cruz. It’s nice to acknowledge the positive and the negatives.

Second, nothing D-Hall said about Madieu’s epic screw up was wrong. He wasn’t throwing anyone under the bus. Again, this is reaching during a week DeAngelo Hall actually played well.

Week 8

Whether or not you choose to believe that the referee in the Pittsburgh Steelers game used a racial slur against DeAngelo Hall is your prerogative.  There was a reason that the same referee got pulled off the playoff game versus the Seahawks.

But anyone who does believe that, is not saying there is some massive conspiracy against D-Hall perpetrated by the NFL. Please, do not put words in my, or anyone else’s, mouth. This was an unfortunate, isolated incident.

Week 9

Kept out of this was the fact DeAngelo Hall actually had a solid day, while the rest of the secondary crappyed itself.

Week 12

I still admit it; I thought D-Hall punching Dez in the face was funny. I don’t really find myself finding massive amounts of sympathy for someone who (allegedly) laid hands on his own mother.

But this was a good choice to gloss over a very good game by DeAngelo Hall, including the game clinching onside kick recovery. Not to mention that “MeAngelo” slid just short of the goal line, in order to let our rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III kneel on the ball, instead of taking the glory for himself in the end zone. But why mention [i]that part[/i].

Week 14

The touchdown to Anquan Boldin was (yet again) due to safety Madieu Williams not getting over top of the route to help DeAngelo Hall, as shown here by NFL Turning Point.

The Redskins only rushed 4 players versus the Baltimore Ravens on this play. Quarterback Joe Flacco looked off safety Madieu Williams, who was playing the center field deep safety. Williams moved to defend the short route, even though his responsibility on the play in the deep middle of the field. DeAngelo Hall plays the inside trail technique versus Boldin in the slot, expecting safety help over the top. He doesn’t have it.

It also don’t help that Hall is playing on a bum ankle in this game, and therefore can’t jump in front of the pass to stop it.

If you didn’t just want to blame a touchdown pass completely on DeAngelo Hall, a better play to call D-Hall on was a play in the second half where, again working against Boldin in the slot (when the Redskins, again, played Cover 0 with no safety help over top—I hope you’re starting to see a pattern here) where instead of securing the tackle, he went for the strip. Boldin gained more yards than he should have on the play if D-Hall wraps up and tackles him; then again, Boldin is a load and if D-Hall gets trucked it’s a whole different discussion.

Week 15

Another solid day glossed over by D-Hall.

Week 16

If’ we’re going to talk about the 56 yards giving up by all when he was lined up on Jeremy Maclin, we have to talk about the other 60 that was given up by everyone else.

Week 17

Dez Bryant did not begin the game with back spasms; he didn’t leave the game with back spasms until the fourth quarter, after DeAngelo Hall had already have a very, very solid say against him.

Wildcard Playoff

Can I get a picture? A film breadown of how D-Hall was worse than every other Redskins player on the field that day? Something more concrete that hyperbolic statements?

Economics

This argument is either about the economics, or it’s not. No, the argument “anybody would be cheaper/better” is not a valid one. Do research. Watch tape. Come up with answers to someone we can draft or someone we can draft that we can replace him, because if it’s so easy to replace him, it shouldn’t be hard to come up with a name.

The fact is that, for all intents and purposes, DeAngelo Hall has agreed to restructure his contract, at least in principal, and the Redskins are just trying to figure out whether to do that, or to sue the league. The fact that DeAngelo Hall said he was open to a taking a pay cut to stay with the team in 2011 and 2012 seems to be a testament that he’s not as selfish as the dumb “MeAngelo” nickname would suggest.

Overall

DeAngelo Hall missed 10 tackles this season. He also recorded 68 total tackles by himself, which ranked him in the top 3 amongst corners. He defensed 18 passes, which puts him in the tops of the league in that category. If you honestly look at DeAngelo Hall on tape, then you know and realize that DeAngelo Hall is far from our worst people.

The problem with “The Case Against DeAngelo Hall”, as it typically is, is that it relies not on thoughtful, stat based analysis based on watching film and breaking down coverage, but rather by the over-emotional, half-baked, half-remembered thoughts of how one thinks the play happened.

This clouds facts with opinion. If you hate DeAngelo Hall, nothing I said above is likely to change. In the coming days, Kevin Grant will do a much more in-depth analysis of each game involving DeAngelo Hall. Even after that in depth break down, I doubt that people will care.

I don’t care if you hate DeAngelo Hall. What I care about is dealing in facts, not in opinion. This front office has shown that it is not willing to put up malcontents and will cut bait with people that cut up with no problem, while also showing that more productive players who the feel they can’t get value and production out of will also not be given extra consideration.

Albert Haynesworth, Donovan McNabb, Rocky McIntosh, LaRon Landry, Carlos Rogers, Jabar Gaffney, Clinton Portis, Andre Carter, Jammal Brown, even Chris Cooley all gone for either because they were jerks,or because they were older players who couldn’t help us move forward. All those cuts, all the turnover, and an admirable unwillingness to keep players just for the sake of keeping them…and Hall is still here.

There must be something they like about DeAngelo Hall to have all that roster turnover, and he’s still here. And as of right now, he’s going to be here in the future.

All I ask if that, if you’re going to hate DeAngelo Hall…hate him for the right reasons. It’s harder to remain ignorant than you’d think.

About the Author: KC Clyburn