The Washington Redskins 5-3 record seems even more impressive considering they are in the same division of the Super Bowl winning Philadelphia Eagles… except when also considering the way their three losses looked. The defeats showed inconsistencies in the team’s improved and otherwise stout 2018 defense that are concerning.
The QB hurries, the total yards allowed (at least in the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons games) and the number of third-down conversions allowed are so different in the losses than they are in the wins that it’s as if there was a different unit on the field.
The team for which the Redskins are preparing is a conundrum. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a ballclub with an offense that can put up a lot of points quickly through the air but their defense is bad. Really bad. The Redskins cannot let Tampa Bay get ahead quickly because Washington apparently can’t recover when that happens.
If Bucs wideouts Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson — both extremely fast and excellent route runners — get behind the Redskins secondary often (they will a couple of times), the game will get ugly quickly. Washington defensive coordinator Greg Manusky’s secondary must have a big day if the Redskins want to win the game.
The Redskins DC was asked about defending some of the killer receiving routes specifically this week.
“Well there is a lot of pick routes going on in the league,” he said. “Sometimes they are a little bit beyond two yards or one yard that they say and not everybody catches those. We got a couple of calls with one or two last week, but I’m just saying it’s where you have to balance. If the team’s doing it, you’ve got to make sure you get in a situation where you are playing a little bit of zone then man. We’ll go back and forth based upon the down and distance. It’s huge nowadays, they give you one yard, which they fudged about two or three, but we’ll see.”
It will be interesting to see which DBs Manusky assigns to the Bucs’ pass-catchers this week. The Redskins No. 2 cornerback, Quinton Dunbar (some feel he is the No. 1 but that’s another discussion), is still dealing with the nerve issue in his leg and did not practice all week. He is questionable for the game. Should Manusky ask young CB Danny Johnson to cover Evans with some safety help while Josh Norman — who practiced against Jackson while the WR was with the Redskins — covers the smaller receiver?
Here’s what’s for sure… it won’t matter who’s covering who if the front seven doesn’t get better push on the pocket and pressure on the Bucs QB. The pass rush needs to be better against Ryan Fitzpatrick than it was against Matt Ryan because Fitz will make mistakes if he is forced into space or is uncomfortable.
“It was a good offensive line,” Manusky said of the lack of QB pressure last week. “Overall, I think they had some big bodies up front. I think we got there a couple of times, we were in his face a couple of times but good quarterbacks make those throws. He did, so I think that he’s a good quarterback and then the receivers that he has are very talented. So overall, he made some throws, we didn’t execute sometimes and that’s what happened.”
Fortunately, the Redskins have gotten themselves another talented safety by acquiring former Green Bay Packer DB Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. The safety will have had a second week to conquer the learning curve and he will be valuable against the Bucs receivers if Clinton-Dix is communicating well with his teammates. Manusky seemed pleased with his progress.
“Very good, he’s a Pro Bowl guy,” the defensive coordinator said of his new DB. “He understands coverages. He knows exactly from a leverage standpoint and overall, just a phenomenal human being that understands the game of football. I’m excited for him and getting ready for the team that we’re playing.”