Riggo's Rag
FanSided

Redskins’ Ryan Kerrigan Enjoying His Best Season

By Chris West

facebooktwitterreddit

Sep 14, 2014; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan (91) celebrates after a sack against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second half at FedEx Field. The Redskins won 41-10. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Kerrigan has been the Redskins most dominant defender in 2014. With Brian Orakpo out for the season, Kerrigan is the top pass rusher and leader of the defense. I took a close look at him in losses to the Colts and Rams to see if his play suffered from the poor play from other parts of the Redskins defense.

Kerrigan started out with a bang against the Colts. He sacked Andrew Luck on the Colts first play from scrimmage and caused a fumble which was recovered by the Redskins. The offense of the Redskins managed only a FG after getting the ball inside the 10 yard line.

More from Riggo's Rag

Kerrigan’s first quarter was excellent. He scored an incredible 20 points on only 12 graded plays for a 1.67 rating. With most teams, a first quarter like that puts them in position to get an early lead. That is not the case with the Redskins as while Kerrigan and the defense played well, the offense was unable to capitalize on early turnovers.

Kerrigan played his normal steady game versus the Colts. Even while Andrew Luck was giving the Colts a big lead in the third quarter, Kerrigan continued to put pressure on the Colts QB. If not for massive breakdowns in coverage, Kerrigan may have been able to have another multiple sack game.

Overall Kerrigan ended with 54 points on 46 graded plays for a 1.17 rating. The Colts offensive line isn’t a great unit and Kerrigan faced off almost exclusively across from Colts RT, Gosder Cherilus.

The next week, Kerrigan and the Redskins faced off against a much better offensive line with the St. Louis Rams. Kerrigan had 2 sacks versus the Rams. His play allowed the Redskins to keep the game close in the first half.

Both of Kerrigan’s sacks came in the second quarter. The first was when the Rams were in a goal-to-go situation and was followed by a sack by Jason Hatcher. The Rams’ Greg Zuerlein missed an easy FG to keep the Redskins within 6 points.

Kerrigan got his second sack on the next series. He also had 2 QB pressures in the first half.

In the third quarter, the Rams came out running the football. They countered Kerrigan’s pressure by running WR Tavon Austin in motion towards Kerrigan and giving him the ball quickly after the snap. Kerrigan had trouble countering the move and Austin gained 22 yards on 2 runs in the quarter.

Austin had another run of 18 yards in the fourth quarter before Kerrigan finally figured it out and stopped Austin for a 2 yard loss by following the play to the outside quicker. It was too little, too late though as Austin’s punt return for a TD in the third quarter had staked the Rams to a 24 point lead.

Kerrigan finished the game with 57 points on 59 graded plays for a 0.97 rating. He could have had a much higher rating if not for negative grades on 3 of the Austin runs.

More often than not, the Redskins defense has been taking a beating in 2014. From week to week, players are out of position and giving up big plays. Kerrigan has not been one of them.

Kerrigan has been consistently performing at a high level all season. He plays through injury and keeps giving 100% play after play. Kerrigan deserves a return trip to the Pro-Bowl this season.

If the Redskins front office is smart (yes, I know that could be considered an oxy-moron), they will re-sign Kerrigan to a long-term contract in the off-season. They have him under contract for 2015 by picking up his fifth year option but signing him for more years should be a top priority.

Whether he has a multi-year contract or not, Kerrigan will continue to be the high-motor star of the Redskins defense.

Home/Commanders News