The Secondary: Exhale, It’s Going to be OK

| March 17, 2013 | 6 Comments

With the release of DeAngelo Hall and no immediate move to add another defensive back to the roster, there seems to be an air of panic among Redskin fans as it relates to the secondary. Local radio hosts, newspaper columnists, message board posters, and fans on Twitter have all expressed concern about how this team might stop anyone who attempts to pass the ball in 2013. That point of view isn’t without some logic, of course. The NFL’s third-worst passing defense from last season lost one of its starting cornerbacks and is bumping its head against the salary cap ceiling at the moment, preventing it from adding talent to its weakest link.

However, when you take a few steps back away from the ledge and look at the situation objectively, you begin to see that this team might be better off in the defensive backfield than it seems on the surface, at least for next year until it has more resources to spend.

First of all, a coverage unit’s best friend is a fierce and effective pass rush. Despite a late-season surge defensively, the Redskins often struggled to generate a timely pass rush, finishing in the bottom quarter of the NFL in sacks. That led to comfortable quarterbacks sitting in the pocket and waiting for receivers to break open. Given enough time, virtually any NFL receiver can eventually shake free from the best defenders in the league. There is reason to believe that this situation will improve next year as lineback Brian Orakpo will return from injury. Orakpo averaged over nine sacks per year during his first three seasons in the league before being injured in week two of last season in St. Louis. The front-seven will also benefit from the return of Adam Carriker, who was also lost to a season-ending injury last year against the Rams. It will feel like new additions to the team when those two starters return to the field and put pressure on opposing offensive linemen. The great play of their backups (Rob Jackson and Jarvis Jenkins) now offers the potential of a positional rotation that could see a relentless and tireless pass rush. That factor alone could cover up any learning curve or inexperience in the secondary.

According to many experts from major sports sites, the 2013 draft is deep with defensive backs. When combined with the fact that some of the best NFL defenses have found secondary starters after the first day of the draft, it becomes quite possible that April’s selections could provide a major talent infusion. In fact, when analyzing the top-10 passing defenses from last season, 26 of the 40 starting defensive backs (two cornerbacks and two safeties) were acquired after the first round. Six of those players actually went undrafted through seven rounds, yet still proved to be good enough to start for the best passing defenses in the entire league. Given the success that Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen have had in the draft since arriving in Washington, there’s no reason to think that they can’t find some potential starting-caliber players with their seven draft picks in April.

Finally, improvement can come organically from within as incumbent players gain comfort in the system, hone their strength and skills during the off-season, or just need the additional reps that multiple off-seasons, mini-camps, and training camps provide. The Redskins have several young defensive backs (25 or younger) who gained valuable experience with the defense during the 2012 season. Jordan Bernstine, Richard Crawford, DeJon Gomes, and Jordan Pugh all were drafted in the later rounds of the past three drafts and could step up to fill a role on this defense. Sometimes the only obstacle preventing a player from achieving success is the lack of an opportunity. It would not be surprising to see some significant contributions from some of these up-and-coming players. We also should not forget veteran Brandon Meriweather, who played in just one game in 2012 but gave the defense a spark against the Eagles that it hadn’t seen prior to that game. Meriweather will be returning from injury in 2013 and should bring both leadership and attitude with him.

It’s easy to panic, but the measured and restrained approach that is being employed at Redskin Park seems to be a wise one. The NFL-imposed penalties essentially simulate “salary cap hell” by removing roughly 15% of the Redskins’ resources to build a team. The last thing Shanahan and Allen should do is make rash decisions (adding players they can’t afford, restructuring contracts to defer money to future years, etc.) to worsen their financial position in the coming years. If the Redskins can lean on the factors above to field a secondary in 2013, they will be in great position to supplement that talent further once the penalties are lifted after this season. That will coincide with this team’s window being wide open to challenge for a championship run each and every year.

I know there are varying opinions out there, so let’s hear them!

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Ryan Ferrario
Ryan Ferrario

I see what you did there OlSkool...thanks for reading!

OlSkool1972
OlSkool1972

Actually I agree with the know nothing fanboys and masters of panic in the media. We should restructure every contract we have so we can bring back Hall, sign Antoine Winfield, Tiki Barber and Charles Woodson. I will feel better then because even though we push cap money into future years and acquire a bunch of DB's 30 and over we will have big names in the secondary and I will feel better. I don't like this column Ryan because it makes too much sense and I feel better when somebody writes something catering to my inner Chicken Little.

Rett
Rett

Great post and follow up comment. Thoroughly enjoyed reading through them all. I too think the Skins will be fine, hard to be worse. Hall has always taking a lot of heat for being a poor cover corner (though his playmaking ability will be missed), and M. Williams was horribly out of position. Someone with time on their hands could make a really funny highlight reel of him showing up late to TD after TD, cause I sure got tired of seeing it. Minnifield is an intriguing one, I just hope his once promising career isn't over before it started. Something tells me the micro-fracture is going to always leave him susceptible to further knee injuries. The fact that the Skins drafted two talented and promising DB's in the 7th round last year gives me hope they can come away with a good haul this time as well.

Adam
Adam

I totally agree. I've written for a while that getting rid of Hall and Williams is addition by subtraction and this is the second article I've seen written by red skins fans in as many days that talks about the incumbent you we have coming back at DB, a lot of that depends on health though. Our two most promising DBs last spring were injured badly last year Minifield and Bernstein, if they can return healthy that will be a big boost the the defensive backfield. Great point about the amount of DBs who have been picked after the second round of the draft and are starting in he league now, I didn't realize it was that high, that's certainly encouraging for our future. Do you realize that we have 5 incumbent safeties on the team? The answer at both saftey positions may certainly come within next year. 1. Bernstein 2. Doughty 3. Gomes 4. Meriweather 5. Pugh We have Bernstein the wild card who was very promising last summer but had a horrible knee injury where he tore his acl, MCL and PCL. If he can return though and just be on the practice squad or PUP it sheds some light on our future because many believe he has the talent to be a starter, he's been compared to Bob Sanders. Then we have mr reliable in the run game and special teams Reed Doughty who is almost guarenteed a spot this year as a reserve for his leadership and sound reserve play. Whenever called upon all he does is come in the game and become the teams best tackler. While not an ideal scenario, I can see a situation where he starts at SS and Meriweather starts at FS and our safety play is better than last year because Madieu Williams won't be back there. Meriweather has better range and he's a heavy hitter which will scare wrs and TEs because they think Meriweather will knock them out as a FS. Don't get me wrong, this sutuation is not ideal but its not the worst. Think 2007 and after Sean 's death and 2009 as a safety tandem equivelant with Landry and Doughty it could certainly be worse. We have two young vets on our roster in DeJon Gomes and Jordan Pugh who've flashed signs of taking the next step in their young careers but they haven't remained consistent enough to warrant starting jobs yet. Gomes in only 23 and going into his 3rd year already and Pugh played well at times as a FS last year and is 25. I could see either guy taking the next step next year and finally getting it and becoming a starter at either safety position. At cb we do have some talent, but we also have question marks. A lot of redskins fans don't know this because he doesn't make many interceptions but very quietly Josh Wilson has been a very good cb in the league the last 4 years. He's been far better than what DHall as been, he's not the ball hawk Hall is but he's much more consistent in coverage. Some like to talk about his small stature but in reality he's only an inch shorter than Hall. I think of Wilson as a poor mans Darell Green, sound in coverage, gets ints off of having sound coverage not by gambling therefore he won't have high int numbers and he's not the worlds best tackler. After Wilson we have Richard Crawford a 7th round pick who the coaching staff and fans alike love his potential. He played well last preseason and down the stretch the last month of the season, even having a key int of Romo in our big win vs Dallas- of course everyone was picking off romo that game... Lol. I could see a scenario, although far fetched where he wins the starting job this summer. After those two it's really sketchy at CB. There are a few players with a lot of talent but have injury concerns like Chase Minifield or have been widely inconsistent after being a 3rd pick of the rams but still have talent like Jerome Murphy. Minifield looked like our best DB last spring after we took him undrafted out of Virginia. He had come back string from Microfracture surgery which made him go Undrafred after it was thought he could be drafted as high as round 2 but an unfortunate accident where he was stepped on the final day of the final minicamp left him with a torn acl and out for the year. He had the same injury as RG3 and it also was his 2nd time tearing the same acl so he is going through the exact same knee rehab. Though his twitter account and a few articles he his well in his way to a full recovery and should be ready for the preseason. If he can be healthy that could be another wild card and a promising thing for our secondary just like Bernstein's possible return. Both guys have starting talent they just had unfortunate injuries in their rookie years. I'm intrigued by Jerome murphy as well, he's flashed some potential in his first 3 years. So, it's quite possible he finally "gets it" this offseason and season like we hope that our young safties Justin Pugh and DeJon Gomes do. We are in luck in this years draft because from round 2 throughout it is loaded with DB talent that many believe can come in and contribute right away. Right now there is a strong possibility we find our staring CB or FS in round two of the draft and that player just learns as a rookie on the fly. Worst things can happen, like having to rely on Reed Doughty or Madieu Williams at FS. I currently have my list of FS targets as this for the skins: 1. Eric Reid, LSU 2. Jonathan Cyprien, Florida International 2. Matt Elam, Florida (debate over whether he can play FS, I've seen tape and convinced by a great break down by a Florida fan that he can or he can at least be a better option than what Doughty and Gomes have shown at FS) 3. Phillip Thomas, Fresno State 4. Bicarri Rambo, Georgia 5. DJ Swearinger, South Carolina 6. Duke Williams, Nevada 7. Tony Jefferson, Oklahoma 8. Earl Wolf, NC State 9. Josh Evans, Florida 10. Rashard Hall, Clemson 11. Prentiss Waggner, CB/S, Tennessee 12. Jarred Holley, S, Pittsburgh 13. Javon Harris, S, Oklahoma 14. Vaughn Telemaque, FS, Miami Also lets not forget about two SS candidates I think will go undrafted but flashed a lot of potential through their college careers but couldn't stay healthy (Kenny Tate) or had an off the field issue (Ray Ray Armstrong). Either of these guys would be steals i the late rounds or as udfa's. I could actually see either coming in and being a better version of our 09 7th round rookie surprise Chris Hortin because both are better in coverage than Horton. Especially Kenny Tate who had his best year in college Park at FS before Edsall moved him to a rover type LB but he spent the last two years of his college career recovering from a knee injury. If not for that knee injury and Armstrong's suspension, I think you would have heard both guys names called on the second day of this years draft. As I said before, the could be big time steals in the late rounds or as udfa's. Then at CB we have the following possibilities from the second round on for us. 1. Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State 2. Darius Slay, CB, Mississippi State 3. Blidi Wreh-Wilson, CB, Conneticut 4. David Amerson, CB, N.C. State 5. Jordan Poyer, CB, Oregon State 6. Logan Ryan, CB, Rutgers 7. Robert Alford, CB, Southeast Louisiana 8. Will Davis, CB, Utah State 9. Leon McFadden, CB, San Diego State 10. Dwayne Gratz, CB, Connecticut 11. Terry Hawthorne, CB, Illinois 12. Tharold Simon, CB, LSU 13. Josh Johnson, CB, Purdue 14. BW Webb, CB, William & Mary 15. Tod Sweating, CB, Georgia Tech 16. Sanders, Commings, CB, Georgia 17. Demontre Hurst, cb, Oklahoma 18. Michael Hyde, cb, Iowa 19. Tyrann Mathieu, CB, LSU 20. Nigel Malone, Kansas State Lastly, as far as possible returning talent last resort measures 4 moves could be made on the cheap some time next offseason to bolster the depth or even to come back and start but none of the 4 should be counted on. The team could certainly bring back Deangelo Hall for much cheaper if he can't find a better option and we can't as a starter. The team could always re-sign 2009 3rd round pick Kevin Barnes to be a CB or safety. I always liked him but thought he would be better at safety than cb and he flashed some good safety skills when being forced to start because of injury back in 2010. Beinging back Cedric Griffin to play CB or safety is also certisnky an option we have. He's big and a phyisical cb and he had flashed a few moments last year that he csn still play a little bit. If Ced Griffin returned, I'd like him to get a look at FS just like Barnes, because just like Barnes he isn't always the greatest at one on one coverage but they are both physical, good tacklers and heavy hitters for cbs. Then we still own the rights to Tanard Jackson who is suspended through August but is a starter in this league at FS if drug free. Losing him and Meriweather last year killed our secondary, Madieu Williams was never expected to start, he was expected to be a reserve or not even make the team when we signed him. I have to believe that the red skins front office has been in some kind of contact with Tanard over the past 7 months and helped him get drug counseling and knows his situation better than anyone. Mike Shanahan had kind words and encouraging words to say about Tanard after learning of his suspension last September. If they can get Tanard help with counseling and also make sure he's working on the proper skills to be ready for a return in September, he could be our starting 2013 free safety. I know it's far fetched that he stays clean but miracles do happen my friends.

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