Washington Football Team: Thanksgiving reality checks vs. Cowboys
By Tim Payne
2. The Reality Is, Jack Del Rio needs to use his best 11 defenders more.
Sunday, for the first time that I’ve noticed this season, Jack Del Rio made an effort to simply put his best 11 available defenders on the field, rather than sticking to standard personnel groupings. He didn’t quite go all the way there, but he did get closer.
The last two weeks, Washington has employed a five-man front, with Montez Sweat, Chase Young, Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, and Tim Settle all playing at the same time. Behind that front, they have mixed a variety of personnel.
Sunday, on several occasions, Cole Holcomb was the only linebacker on the field. This was a welcome and effective package. Holcomb is the only linebacker on the team deserving of consistent playing time.
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This defensive line is extremely fast and athletic. The secondary has struggled in coverage. Given all of those factors, the ideal defensive alignment for Washington is that five-man front, with Holcomb at linebacker with Kameron Curl serving as the nickel “linebacker”.
This would allow Deshazor Everett or Troy Apke to play strong safety, Kendall Fuller to play free safety, and Ronald Darby, Jimmy Moreland, and Fabian Moreau to play corner. This configuration is the best lineup Jack Del Rio can have on the field given the players available to him.
My Prediction: Look for more of this 5-down, 1-LB package in the coming weeks, and look for Kendall Fuller to continue to get more snaps in various safety roles. Bostic and Kevin Pierre-Louis will still get a good amount of snaps, but Del Rio has to know his team is best served by getting his best players on the field, and he has to know Bostic and Pierre-Louis aren’t in the top 11.