News » Redskins First Quarter Defensive Progress Report

The most surprising unit of the team for most fans has been the defense. Many knew what the Redskins were building towards for a couple of offseasons with the attention they gave to the front seven. Over the past three seasons Youth Trent Williams Jersey , the Redskins have acquired Matt Ioannidis, Jonathan Allen, DaRon Payne, Zach Brown, and Josh Harvey-Clemons. All of whom play an integral part in the most used packages by defensive coordinator Greg Manusky. Not to mention the key players in the secondary who have a mix of veteran leadership, speed, and youth that have contributed early on this season. The Redskins defense currently ranks second in both points and yards per game. Not middle of the pack, or bottom 12, but second. The key to the Redskins great start on defense is their physical play up front. The defensive linemen are now leading a defense that has been led by the edge rushers and linebackers in sacks for the last four seasons. The Redskins have accumulated seven sacks on the year; the defensive line makes up for six of those sacks. The pressure produced by the front seven drastically influenced the teams ranking against the pass, which is fifth best in the NFL. That is not to take away from their secondary who has done more good than bad this year, but the front office’s emphasis on building a bully in the trenches is paying dividends right now, and the play of the defensive line will take this team a long way. The front seven is not only affecting the passing game, but they are playing better against the run this year too. Not great, but better Ryan Kerrigan Jersey , the Redskins have had problems in the first quarter of games for whatever reason it may be versus the run. Nonetheless, they have settled in very nicely as games went along and are currently ranked eighth against the run. If a team can play good offense and stop the run on defense, their chance of winning games increases. The Redskins are on the right track after the first quarter of the season. One of the most important things a defense has going for them is always points allowed, and moving forward it will be essential to continue keeping teams out of the end zone. As the Redskins have struggled offensively in the second half putting up points, the defense has excelled in the second half keeping teams out of the end zone. Over the first three games, they have only allowed 20 points, which is just less than seven points per game. Overall they are first in the NFL in percentage scores per drive, at 20.6. This is elite production. Can it be upheld? Maybe not; communications issues still exist, coverage is problematic at times too. But can they remain a good unit throughout the year? Absolutely, they are built that way. Jamual’s Grade for the defense: A- Thus far, the success of the 2018 Washington Redskins season has been part “Redskins coming up with gutty, clutch performances” and part “stars aligning in their favor.”The end result is a 4-2 record that puts Washington two games up in the loss column over everyone else in the NFC East.What’s more, the previously formidable schedule suddenly looks rather favorable.A couple of weeks ago, observers highlighted the fact that the Redskins had no winning teams left to play.That’s changed slightly Cheap Trent Williams Jersey , thanks to the surging Houston Texans, but the truth remains that a whole bunch of middling teams populate the remainder of the Redskins’ slate.In fact, it’s not totally out of the question to say that the Redskins have already played most of the best teams they’ll see all year.Washington has squared off against three others teams who would make the NFC playoffs if the season ended today—and the Redskins beat two of them.Of course, a lot of that manageable-looking schedule owes to the fact that the six current NFC playoff teams are the only teams in the conference with winning records, but I digress.That brings us to this weekend’s game against the downtrodden New York Giants.Not only are the Giants struggling mightily, but they appear to have bailed on 2018.Just in the past few days, they’ve dealt cornerback Eli Apple to the Saints and former All-Pro run-stopper Damon “Snacks” Harrison to the Lions.Janoris Jenkins may be next.New York is already in full rebuilding mode, and it’s only October.Add to the mix a disgruntled Odell Beckham, Jr., and it’s clear that the Giants are reeling—and the timing of their collapse works decidedly in the Redskins’ favor.When people talk about “must-win” games, they usually mean games that, if lost, effectively (or literally) eliminate a team from contention.In this case, the Giants game is a “must-win” because it’s a 24-karat-golden opportunity.Why?So many reasons!New York may have the worst offensive line in the NFL.They have a quarterback in Eli Manning who is clearly in the last phase of a very good career.New York’s defense was ranked 25th in points allowed before it dumped Apple and Snacks Youth Chase Roullier Jersey , which, incidentally, sounds like it should be the name of the #2 morning radio team in Phoenix circa 1989.In short, this is a team in disarray. Admittedly, the Giants do have two elite skill players in OBJ and rookie Saquon Barkley.Both are true gamebreakers.But Washington’s pass-rush and run defense have been so good of late that it’s going to require an otherworldly effort from one or both of them for the Giants to win.Granted, there are concerns about the development of the Redskins’ passing game with Alex Smith at the controls.So far this year, he’s provided excellent ball security but only modest productivity (sort of the anti-Kirk Cousins, oddly enough).He’s missing several weapons, though, so I’m not ready to pass any final judgments.Regardless, with a huge amount of help from Adrian Peterson, Washington’s offense has been good enough to get them to this point, and there’s no reason to think they won’t have a big game against a Giants team that just voluntarily parted ways with two defensive starters.Yet, Redskins fans are understandably guarded in their optimism.They’ve seen this movie before.And Womens Zach Brown Jersey , in recent seasons, it hasn’t ended well. Last week, I said that the Cowboys game represented a chance for Washington to take a real step forward: “If (and it always seems to come back to “if” for this team) Washington can prevail at home against their biggest rival in a featured, late-afternoon throwback game, we’ll know the Redskins are in this race for the long haul.”They did it.And they are.Now comes the other half of the equation.In the parity-driven NFL, the gap between good teams and bad teams isn’t all that large.This isn’t the ACC or the PAC-12, after all.Yet, by all accounts, the 1-6 Giants are a team the Redskins should beat.Even on the road.And that presents this week’s particular test for Washington: Yes, good teams often beat their rivals.And good teams also necessarily sometimes beat other good teams.But what really separates good teams from mediocre teams in the NFL is the fact that good teams almost always beat bad teams.Are the Redskins ready to be a good team?I think they are.I thought they would beat Dallas last week.I thought they would win the NFC East this year.I think they’ll make a statement with a decisive win against the Giants on Sunday.Do that, and Washington will be 5-2, and the front-running can begin in earnest.