Redskins: A Coach Taking Sides has its Challenges

As the Washington Redskins get ready for the second-to-last practice of their 2016 training camp program, it has become apparent that the ballclub’s defense has made some improvements over last season. There have been many times when, during both walkthroughs and padded practices, the defense has owned the day.

Second-year cornerback Bashaud Breeland has had several interceptions and Will Compton has shown that he is the clear choice to be the starting middle linebacker. He has been disruptive to quarterback Kirk Cousins and his crew several times over the two weeks and is found frequently around the ball. This is no surprise because he said that he wanted to work on causing more turnovers this season.

These turnovers are a good thing, to be sure but the frequency of them against his offense poses a bit of a problem for Head Coach Jay Gruden when the media gets to asking about it. He then has to publicly decide: is he happy that his defense is making plays or is he upset that his offense let it happen?

“I like that… [our defense is causing] turnovers,” Gruden said about his defense, “So I could be a negative guy and say, ‘Our offense was awful,’ or I can be positive and say, ‘Wow, what a defense!’ I chose to be: ‘What a defense!’ [It} wasn’t good enough by our offense today, by any stretch. We had some issues in protection today. Defense really got after us, offensively. Don’t like to ever see turnovers, but in practice, we like to see our defense get turnovers. That’s what we’re trying to preach – getting your hands on the balls and turning the ball over, so I’m happy in that regard. That’s just a matter of how you look at it; is the glass half full? I’m going to be positive. Our defense played well today.”

Forcing turnovers is a great way to win games but, what if it isn’t so much that that unit causing them is good but rather the offense isn’t quite where it needs to be? This could be the assumption if turnovers happen consistently during practices.

This is not the first time Gruden has been asked whether he sees that turnover glass half-full or half-empty. We won’t know ourselves how to view it until those turnovers are happening against another team.