Now that we are more than halfway through this season’s Training Camp, Redskins Capital Connection is going to take an in-depth look at each unit on the team this year, analysing their strengths, weaknesses, projected starters and points of interest. In the lead up to the Week One game versus the Miami Dolphins, RCC will break down every single unit on the Redskins team.
Secondary
Unit Coach: Perry Fewell
Projected Starters: DeAngelo Hall, Chris Culliver, Dashon Goldson, Duke Ihenacho, Bashaud Breeland
Projected Backups: David Amerson, Justin Rogers, Kyshoen Jarrett, Jeron Johnson, Trenton Robinson
On the Bubble: Deshazor Everett, DaMon Cromartie-Smith, Akeem Davis
Key Additions
Like many other units on the Washington Redskins roster for 2015, the Secondary is likely to look significantly different this year in comparison to last season, starting from the Defensive Backs coach. Former unit coach Raheem Morris was part of the contingent of coaches that left when Jim Haslett was fired, and coming into the role is Perry Fewell, who had been the Defensive Coordinator for the New York Giants since 2010, a stint which saw him net himself a championship ring in Super Bowl XLVI.
Throughout Training Camp, Fewell was one of the more interesting coaches to watch and analyse how he interacts with his players. During coverage drills, Fewell would often be found standing in the center of the field a considerable distance from his players, watching them from afar. Interestingly, Fewell was noticeably more talkative to the younger Defensive Backs, giving them tips and critiquing their techniques when necessary, or encouraging them and congratulating them when they made good plays. When it came to veterans like DeAngelo Hall or Chris Culliver, Fewell was much quieter.
For most of 2014, the Redskins starting outside Cornerbacks were Bashaud Breeland and David Amerson. This year, veteran DeAngelo Hall will be lining up opposite Chris Culliver, who joined the team as a free agent from the San Francisco 49ers. In Training Camp, Culliver looked at home in the outside Corner spot, and won his fair share of battles against receivers DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon.
Lining up at the Free Safety position will be yet another new face, and yet another former San Francisco 49er coming across to the Redskins (albeit this one via Tampa Bay). Dashon Goldson, a two-time Pro Bowler and in 2012 a consensus First Team All Pro, will be lining up at the position that could arguably be described as the Redskins weakest for the past 5 years; Madieu Williams, Ryan Clark, OJ Atogwe, Bacarri Rambo and Chris Horton have all started games at Free Safety in the last 5 seasons.
Strong Safety Jeron Johnson came across to Washington DC from Seattle seeking opportunities for increased playing time, as he was stuck behind all stars like Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas on the Seahawks. Johnson was promised an opportunity to compete for the starting Strong Safety position on the Redskins, and that promise was up held, with both him and Duke Ihenacho splitting reps with the first team defense during minicamp and OTAs in the lead-up to Training Camp.
Unit Weaknesses
At the time of writing, multiple members of the secondary are unavailable for selection due to injury. Whilst none of the injuries are major, with Bashaud Breeland’s MCL injury the most significant (projected as a 4-6 week injury), these injuries have highlighted the vulnerabilities that can plague any NFL roster. When a team is realistically likely to only carry 5 Cornerbacks and 4 or 5 Safeties on their final 53 man roster, having multiple players from that unit dinged up with soft-tissue injuries quickly decimates the quality and quantity of available players. On day three of the scheduled joint practices with the Houston Texans, for example, with all of Breeland, Amerson, Hall, and Culliver unavailable due to injury, the starting outside Cornerbacks were Deshazor Everett and Tajh Hasson. So dire was the problem that Wide Receiver Quinton Dunbar changed position to Cornerback during camp, swapping his white offense jersey for the burgundy defense jersey.
Beyond the issue of durability and reliability that plagues every NFL roster, the biggest weakness of this unit is size. Whilst Free Safety Dashon Goldson is 6’2 and Strong Safety Duke Ihenacho is 6’1, none of the starting Cornerbacks are taller than 6’0. This may prove to be an issue considering some of the teams on the Redskins schedule this season have some notably large receivers; Atlanta’s Julio Jones is 6’3, Chicago’s Alshon Jeffery is 6’4 and Kevin White is 6’3, and Dallas’ Dez Bryant is 6’2.
Unit Strengths
Based on what we saw at Training Camp and what we have heard directly out of both players and coaches mouths, it is evident that the scheme that Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry and Defensive Backs coach Perry Fewell are implementing is working. Even when the top four Cornerbacks were unavailable due to injury as mentioned above, Tajh Hasson and Deshazor Everett came in and the Secondary was still a competitive unit.
During 11-on-11 drills throughout Training Camp, it was evident that this was a different scheme from the Haslett/Morris years. Cornerbacks stay on their own sides of the field, similar to the famous Seattle Seahawks scheme, and the Safeties seemed less likely to stack the box or roam the field, instead opting for the more traditional Cover 2 style of 3-4 defense.
When Culliver came to the podium on day four of Training Camp, I asked him what the key messages from Coach Fewell were in regards to his scheme (seen at the 5:00 mark of the below video). Culliver’s response was that Fewell didn’t want to see any balls going over the heads of the Defensive Backs; instead, Fewell wants the ball to always be in front of the secondary.
The other clearly apparent strength of the Secondary is their cohesiveness. Safeties Goldson and Ihenacho have already developed a chemistry that demonstrates an awareness, understanding, and trust of each others ability to do their job. This was most evident on a play where Duke Ihenacho was running with Jordan Reed who had motioned outside as a receiver, and Ihenacho tipped the pass intended for Reed. Goldson, who had shifted into single high coverage once Ihenacho went to cover Reed, was right there to catch the tipped ball, resulting in one of the few Robert Griffin III interceptions thrown in Training Camp. It was an excellent indication of the professional rapport between the two Safeties.
Young Player to Watch
After DeAngelo Hall went down with an achilles injury in 2014, 4th round draft pick Bashaud Breeland had to step up as a rookie and anchor the outside Cornerback position. Although Breeland won applause from Redskins fans for his huge game against Dallas in Week 8, limiting Dez Bryant to only 3 receptions, forcing a fumble, and breaking up a pass on fourth down effectively sealing the game for the Redskins, it is important to remember that Breeland had several games last year where he got torched.
With the aforementioned addition of Culliver and the return of Hall from injury, Breeland will be the Redskins starting nickel Cornerback in 2015 once he returns from injury and his Week 1 suspension.
We didn’t get to see much of Breeland’s work out of the slot last year, and after injuring himself early in Training Camp, we haven’t seen much of it this year, either. It is a position that has been incredibly weak for the Redskins in recent years, and if Breeland can build on his promising rookie season and shine as the nickel Cornerback, it will go a huge way to improving the entire Redskins defense.
Unit Grade
B.
On paper, easily the strongest secondary the Redskins have fielded in nearly a decade. On paper.
The secondary needs to perform cohesively and effectively in regular season games before we can adjudicate them as a unit completely, but if each player remains healthy and plays to their abilities, this is a unit that will turn heads in the NFL. An excellent combination of veteran leadership and youthful vigor, the Redskins secondary has the tools and the talent to win ball games.
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