Redskins Reality Checks: The future is looking murky
By Tim Payne
5. Reality Is, the Redskins’ defensive scheme and execution have been extremely poor the last four weeks.
Defensive scheme, coaching, and individual assignments are difficult to evaluate. Given that the defense is often reacting to what the offense is doing, there are times when the defense can be made to look very out of control and haphazard. However, the best defensive coaches manage to make the necessary adjustments in game and week to week so as to keep the offense on their toes.
Greg Manusky and his staff have, to my eye, simply not adjusted well between games or in the midst of games. So, as a result, the Redskins, two years in a row, now, have started strong and then fallen off a cliff defensively.
That’s not a coincidence, and it’s not because they have a depleted team.
The defense has been largely spared the big injuries this year, and almost to a man (except for Matt Ioannidis and Jonathan Allen), nobody seems to be dramatically improving or exceeding expectations. Manusky and his staff partially deserve blame for this, and that could put them in precarious standing this offseason should the overall play of the defense continue to decline.