Last season the Washington Redskins had 19 sacks. Total. In 16 games. For perspective, Tampa Bay had 25 sacks, and they were second to last in the league. The Chargers led the league with 61 sacks, more than three times as many as the Redskins Point being, Washington had a terrible pass rush. The lack of a pass rush last season is particularly befuddling considering that the Redskins had tallied 35 and 40 sacks respectively in the previous two seasons. In examining the reasons for this drop off, two things should jump out at the average observer. First, linemen such as Cornelius Griffin and Phillip Daniels saw a marked drop off in their pass rushing performance from previous seasons. It is also worthy to note that Griffin and Daniels are 30 and 34 years old respectively, and perhaps their most dynamic pass rushing seasons are behind them. This happens in the NFL all of the time. Another trend is the drop off from the past two seasons in the number of sacks generated by non defensive linemen. Las season the Redskins generated 6 sacks from their linebackers and secondary, as compared to 16 and 22.5 sacks generated by the same groups in the previous two seasons. As someone who watched all of the Redskins games last season, I can say that the non-linemen trend is a direct result of Greg Williams refusing to blitz, which is dangerous considering what the Redskins were throwing on the field in terms of corners last season. Since the Skins seem content to stick with Williams as coordinator, the seeming solution to the Skins pass rushing problem would be to bring in more playmakers at DE and DT, considering the age of Daniels and the fact that the Skins were so thin at DT that 6th round pick Kedrick Golston started for stretches.
The Redskins during the free agency period showed no interest in signing any impact defensive linemen or pass rushing OLBs. Unrestricted free agents such as Patrick Kerney, Juqua Thomas, and Dewayne White, all younger and better substitutions for Daniels, did not get any attention from Washington. DTs such as Anthony Adams and Ian Scott were likewise ignored. The biggest impact signing of the offseason for the Redskins, LB London Fletcher-Baker, is a tackling machine who has never been known as a pass rusher and whose career high in sacks stands at 5.5. I however, was not worried. There were enough scraps left at DT to sign an upgrade to Golston, second year LB Rocky McIntosh could grow into a pass rushing threat with increased playing time, and most importantly of all, the #6 pick in the draft was going to turn into a pass rushing defensive lineman. The last part of my hope was the most important. Just take a gander at the prospects that would be available the Redskins around that position: Michigan DT Alan Branch, Arkansas DE Jamal Anderson, and most promising, Clemson DE Gaines Adams. I am not going to lie, I have been salivating at the prospect of the Redskins having a monster like Adams lining up opposite of Andre Carter. Honestly salivating.
The reasons outlined above, are precisely why I woke up this morning distraught. As you may have seen reported on ESPN, the Redskins are in discussions with the Bears to trade for Lance Briggs. Under normal circumstances, or if the Redskins had signed a player like Kerney earlier this offseason, I would be ecstatic to hear such news. Briggs is an elite LB, there is no debating that. He is proficient against both the run and the pass, and is only 27 years old and has already made two Pro Bowls. Briggs is a stud, no question. However, my concern upon hearing this news was two fold. Namely that Briggs has 3.5 sacks.....IN HIS ENTIRE 4 YEAR CAREER. He along with Marcus Washington and London Fletcher-Baker will give the Redskins a very good tackling corps of LBs, but they also will be a completely punchless group of pass rushers barring a major departure from their past performances. The other part of my concern is the price tag being reported for Briggs: an exchange of the Redskins #6 pick for the Bears #31 pick. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't trade Gaines Skins! Don't throw a chance at Adams, Branch, or Anderson out of the window. Signing Briggs to the kind of mega deal that is going to be necessary for this trade to go through is also going to suck up any remaining cap space that could have been used to get a new DT or DE. The presence of Briggs on the Redskins roster is also going to extremely handicap the development of last years second round pick McIntosh. This proposed trade would be terrible for the Redskins, to put it bluntly. It would not however, be surprising given the Skins tendency in recent years to go after any player they think can help NOW, with no regard given to building a team and developing players. The Redskins practically give away all of their draft picks every year, and this move would show that the Redskins would rather bring in a big gun than let a player such as McIntosh develop alongside a top 10 defensive line prospect. It is a good thing the Redskins will have such a good group of tacklers. Because they are going to need it for every 5 yard run that cracks through their porous defensive line. For every 6 and 7 yard pass thrown by a QB without a hand in his face. And for every time a QB scrambles out of the pocket successfully when his recievers are covered downfield. It would seem to me that any intelligent football fan could recognize that the Redskins need pass rushers. It is a shame that no such person seems to reside in the Redskins front office.
