Not your father's defense for Redskins

One of the hallmarks of Gregg Williams' defense was the supremacy of the scheme over players. "Everyone's a starter," Williams said. Players were interchangeable. There were no stars -- but the coaches.

The philosophy worked in the first two years of the Gibbs II era. The Redskins defense ranked in the NFL's top 10 in '04 and '05, and was noted for its ferocity and pressure. It also meant that talent like LaVar Arrington was stifled. Arrington had his best years when he was healthy and encouraged to roam under the previous coaching regime. Gibbs' coaching staff saw Arrington as a wild card, interchangeable with Warrick Holdman who could be relied upon to be in the spot the coaches wanted him. Arrington, however, would make plays even from the wrong position. The defense fed off his fury. In the notorious conflict with linebacker coach Dale Lindsey, the coaching staff backed Lindsey rather than Arrington, who left the team in 2006 still nursing a mysterious knee injury.

The cosmos extracted payment for the Redskins' mistreatment of Arrington. Shawn Springs was never in good health. Pierson Prioleau, who won the starting safety role from Adam Archuleta, was struck down in a freak injury on the opening kick-off of the opening game and lost for the season. The Redskins rushed to bring in cornerbacks Mike Rumph and Kenny Wright. Neither would have made the team under normal circumstances. Lindsey, who mocked Arrington's mastery of the playbook even after he left the team, could not get rookie Rocky McIntosh up to snuff. Williams was forced to run schemes that compensated for weaknesses rather than pressure quarterbacks.

The theme in Jason LaCanfora's Washington Post story For the Redskins, It's Simple is Gregg Williams' new approach to defense that simplifies schemes and exploit athleticism this year.

"Williams, who declined to comment for this story, told players this offseason that he plans to get his best players to the point of attack as much as possible and give them more freedom, they said."

The Redskins intend to use more nickel and dime formations -- that's five and six cornerback sets for you uninitiated. The team expects to start Rocky McIntosh at linebacker, who has had a "superior offseason." (I have to wonder, again, at the owner's intrigue at trading for linebacker Lance Briggs if this was the plan. More nickel and dime formations usually means less weakside linebacker, thus less Lance Briggs or Rocky McIntosh.)

Williams will call for more cover-1 formations, with Sean Taylor at free safety to hunt for the ball, while strong safety LaRon Landry will "play close to the line of scrimmage to rush quarterbacks and help on run defense." Excuse me? Wouldn't the much maligned Adam Archuleta worked in that scheme? Instead, the Redskins used him in deep coverage, as they would have used Prioleau, and as they eventually used Troy Vincent and Vernon Fox. In fairness, changing coverage sets after the season starts is hard to do. It usually doesn't work. But the results couldn't have been any worse if they tried it. At least, they would have made better use of Archuleta, who was one of the top three tacklers when he was benched.

I'll be watching Archuleta's play with the Bears this season. Success in Chicago's cover-1, will be evidence that his failure here was on the Redskins for misuse of him. The Archuleta-Arrington experience may be the reason for Gregg Williams' openess to athleticism over scheme.

Photo: John McDonnell, The Washington Post

Getting Defensive

Let’s make this real clear. Defense is the heart and soul of the Washington Redskins. That has been true since Norv Turner left. Sure, the offense, especially the passing game, has agitated fans; but defense has, is and will keep the ‘Skins in games. The D will get them in the playoffs.

The Redskins play east coast football, in contrast to the west coast variety. East coast ball is smash mouth ball. This defense forces the pass, by stifling the run. Then, precise coverage, along with a blitz from anywhere approach, disrupts the play. This is the win-by-keeping-the-other-guys-from-scoring model. The Redskins would have been more successful over the past four years if the offense could have scored 13 points or more in each game. They couldn’t. Thus, fan agitation.

Gregg Williams is good at assessing talent. He and the defensive staff found these no-name players - Cornelius Griffen, Antonio Pierce - and made them stars. Marcus Washington was a salary cap casualty at Indianapolis who never made a Pro Bowl until he found his niche in the Redskins defense. "Everyone's a starter" is Williams' mantra, so everyone is interchangeable at their position.

That’s become more prominent in the NFL. Winning programs develop a system, then find players that fit that system. Players become snap-in parts and no player is larger than the system. Mike Shanahan’s rushing game at Denver is an example. The Broncos always feature high performing running backs. When the Broncos became a running team with Terrell Davis, they won the Super Bowl. When Davis went down, they found Clinton Portis. When Portis wanted to get paid, they went to Mike Anderson to Tatum Bell to Rueben Droughns and back to Anderson. Snap in parts. The system is supreme. You see the same approach with the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles and with similar results.

Teams have always had systems and philosophies, however, the dominance of the system over the player is emerging. It's the age of free agency, when players are more loyal to the NFL at large than to their teams (or the team’s fans). Teams cope by by being more loyal to their system than to their players. They invest in premier coaches who can implement a winning system. Players come and go or get injured; the system provides continuity. It’s the coaches who are the stars. Players are snap-in parts. The New England Patriots won three Super Bowls in four years without a legitimate super star. But they had Bill Belichick and his system. Ty Law wanted a larger contract after he helped the Patriots win a title. He was replaced and the Pats kept winning. Terrell Owens wanted a new deal after he helped the Eagles get to the Super Bowl. He was sent home for a week.

In this scenario, stars emerge from the system, but they are not essential to it. The system doesn’t need super stars. It requires disciplined role players who will cover their assignment. A system like that can survive player injury or contract negotiations. Players can be replaced. Coaches get consistency in their schemes no matter who is playing. Owners get negotiating leverage over prima donna stars. "We need you, but not as much as you think we do!"

This brings us back to the Redskins' defense. Lavar Arrington is the most visible face of the team. He is an outstanding athletic talent, yet he cannot get into games. Apparently the coaches feel that he is not the snap-in part they need to work the system. The 'Skins play great defense with Arrington. They play great defense without him. He is expendable in the coaches’ view. Antonio Pierce was a real find last season. When he wanted more money, the Skins did not keep him. They turned to Lamar Marshall who is doing as well. Fred Smoot wanted more money. Bye, Fred. The Skins bring in Walt Harris who has been very effective. (Maybe Fred wishes he stayed!) This is the profile of a team that values its defensive schemes, its system, more than the players that execute it. This repudiation of the star system is the single greatest change in the Gibbs era. Mr. Snyder’s stars are slowly being weaned from this system. Good bye Champ Bailey, Laveranues Coles, Fred Smoot, Antonio Pierce, Patrick Ramsey perhaps and Lavar Arrington maybe. You were good, but the system is supreme. There are no stars but the coaches. Steve Spurrier was not a star. He did not have a good system. (and I hope Mr. Snyder fired whoever it was that advised him to hire Spurrier)

Not that the approach is infallible. Good as they are, this defense gives up big plays. Seattle drove sixty yards down field to get in position to miss the winning field goal. With Sean Taylor and Shawn Springs out with injuries, the defense couldn’t stop the Seahawks’ march. The Redskins stifled the Denver Broncos – except for two long scoring runs by Tatum Bell. The Defense was victimized by a long pass play by Priest Holmes in Kansas City. Much is made of the inability of the defense to get turnovers. It's not enough to get turnovers. The defense and special teams have to score. That's got to be fixed, because the defense is the heart and soul of the Redskins.