Ashburn, Va. – When the Washington Redskins and the Seattle Seahawks begin what Redskins fans hope will be a competitive contest this coming Monday night, many eyes will be on Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins to see how he handles the Seahawks’ vaunted secondary. Cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Earl Thomas are guys known for their physicality, their uncanny knack for being around the ball and the highlights regularly showing up on the NFL Network. These guys have names that most sports fans recognize. But, there are a lot of other guys on that Seahawks defense — a unit that has a great mix of youth and experience — that will cause the Redskins’ offense plenty of problems.
Nose tackle Brandon Mebane is the anchor on the defensive line and is going to be hard for the Redskins offensive line to move around. Washington running back Alfred Morris will find him a huge obstacle as his 6’1”, 310+ lbs. frame can absorb more than one of the Redskins’ offensive linemen and their blocks at a time. As a matter of fact, the eight-year veteran was voted the third-best defensive tackle in the league last year by Pro Football Focus.
Defensive end Michael Bennett, at 6’4” and 274 lbs. is a long, strong mover that can jump quickly off of the line and through gaps in passing situations. He has played every position along the defensive line in his career and that versatility makes him able to come from a lot of different directions. Redskins center Kory Lichtensteiger and company will have to be quick themselves to keep him away from Cousins.
Everyone will also be watching Seattle’s left outside linebacker, Malcolm Smith (6’0”, 226 lbs.), who was the Super Bowl XLVIII’s Most Valuable Player when the ‘Hawks beat the Denver Broncos 43-8 last year. He is the first defensive player to receive that honor since defensive back Dexter Jackson (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) earned it in 2002.
Safety Kam Chancellor (6’3, 232 lbs.) has a name that strikes fear into the heart of most quarterbacks. He is a five-year man out of VA Tech who has been selected to the Pro Bowl twice, once in 2011 and again in 2013. The Norfolk, Va. native was named Defensive Player of the Week after the Seahawks’ 26-20 overtime victory against the Denver Broncos two weeks ago. He made nine tackles and intercepted Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning in the fourth quarter, ending what might have been a scoring drive by the opponent. That return was the longest return of an interception (52 yards) so far this season. Chancellor played a big part in the Super Bowl, intercepting Manning in that game as well.
Bobby Wagner, Seattle’s middle linebacker (6, 0” 241 lbs.) was a second-round pick for Seattle in 2012 and in that rookie year, he was selected to the 2012 Pro Football Focus All-Pro second team. He’s not huge but he has a big wingspan for his size and excellent gap awareness. One of his weaknesses when he came into the league was a tendency to go around blockers instead of taking them on and shedding them. He has improved his technique however and logged five sacks and two interceptions in 2013. So far this year in the three games Seattle has played (the team had its bye last week), he has been involved in 35 tackles, only 10 of which were assists.
Outside linebacker K.J. Wright, (6’4” 246 lbs) was drafted by the team in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. In 2013 he started 14 games and was a top-five cover linebacker at Pro Football Focus. At the 2011 Combine, Wright ran his 40 yard dash in 4.75 seconds so he is not the fastest linebacker in the league. But at 6’4”, what he lacks in speed, he makes up with his amazing length. He is going to test the Redskins’ tight ends Monday night and it would be great for Washington if its top two tight ends — Jordan Reed and Niles Paul — can get out onto the field… the two of them together would give the Seahawks’ defense that much more to think about.
Defensive end Cliff Avril (6’3” 260 lbs.), originally drafted by the Detroit Lions in the third round in 2008, is in his second year with the Seahawks. With 22 career forced fumbles, he has a knack for getting the ball out of opponent’s hands and, in the 15 games in which he played last season, the veteran defensive end got to opposing quarterbacks eight times. This is scary after last week’s turnover-fest of the Redskins against the New York Giants.
This is defensive tackle Tony McDaniel’s (6’7” 305 lbs.) second year in Seattle and he is the veteran of the defensive squad at 29 years old. He is having a good season, starting it out by getting a safety in Seattle’s opener versus the Carolina Panthers. All-Pro safety and teammate Earl Thomas had forced a fumble on the Seahawks’ eight-yard-line with 5:25 left to play as the Panthers were getting ready to drive for a go-ahead score. McDaniel recovered the fumble in the endzone. The tackle also led the linemen with five tackles and was part of a unit that had back-to-back stops (one on second-and-two-yards-to-go and one of them on third-and-one-yard-to-go) on Carolina Pro Bowl running back DeAngelo Williams.
Cornerback Byron Maxwell (6’1” 207 lbs) was just named a starter this year, replacing Brandon Browner (now with the New England Patriots) just at the end of the 2013 season. Now a new member of a secondary that includes Sherman and Thomas (which is appropriately dubbed “The Legion of Boom”), he has one interception this year which he got in Week One against the Green Bay Packers. Maxwell was instrumental in Seattle’s win over the Denver Broncos in last season’s Super Bowl and he forced a fumble in the third quarter. Washington head coach, Jay Gruden, will likely keep the cornerback busy Monday night if he asks Cousins throw in the direction of “The Legion’s” newbie rather than Sherman. Maxwell’s speed compliments his teammate’s length and physicality though and the Redskins’ wide outs will have to make some serious plays if Washington is going to have a chance against that talented group.
The Redskins are dealing with a lot of injuries on the offense. Left tackle Trent Williams is still smarting from a knee injury he suffered last week against the Giants and is questionable. Guard Shawn Lauvao (also a knee injury) had limited practice earlier in the week before finally taking a full practice on Saturday and is questionable. Niles Paul is coming off of that concussion he sustained against New York and is questionable and; Jordan Reed, with his hamstring injury, had a sporadic practice week (he was limited Thursday and Friday but did not practice on Saturday) and is questionable. Gruden said on Saturday that the team wanted to give Reed an entire day of rest and re-evaluate him today.
There is so much talk in the league about Sherman and Thomas… but their defensive teammates are just as lethal and the Redskins are going to have to be on their “A game” to win Monday night. This doesn’t even take into account that the Redskins’ defensive line is going to have their hands full… two of the Seahawks’ offensive linemen are first round picks and two were chosen in the second-round.
Hail.