What changes should the Washington Commanders consider making to their defense after a surprisingly woeful start to the 2023 season?
After the 2005 season - the last time the team now known as the Washington Commanders won a playoff game - management made several questionable personnel moves. None proved odder than kicking their solid young veteran safety Ryan Clark out the door in favor of free agent Adam Archuleta.
Not only that - they shocked the league by handing Archuleta the biggest contract ever given to a safety. If you’re old enough, you know what happened.
Archuletta was so bad that he was benched midway through the season - reduced to playing only on special teams. The team’s record went from 10-6 to 5-11. The second Joe Gibbs era was nearing its end.
Of course, it is ludicrous to place the blame for all that on Archuleta. And it would be equally ludicrous to pin the Commanders' current defensive woes on free agent Cody Barton. But there are some similarities.
Archuleta was a good player early in his career for the Rams. They understood his strengths and weaknesses. Though he had good straight-line speed, his best attributes were physicality and toughness.
He was good playing close to the line, blitzing and blowing up running plays. Archuleta would probably have thrived as a hybrid buffalo nickel, had such a thing existed back in 2006. But when asked to cover a lot of the field, he struggled.
This offseason, the Commanders essentially brought in Barton to replace Cole Holcomb. He was cheaper and faster. Maybe it would work.
So far, it has not.
Washington’s defense, which by reputation and draft capital spent, should be the strength of the team, has not played up to its potential. They can look truly dominant during certain stretches of a game, but they have not played consistently. And it is getting worse.
Coming into Thursday’s game against the Chicago Bears, the Commanders were allowing their opponents to score three points - more than their season average. That may not sound like a lot, but when your defense is supposed to be a strength, you should holding your opponents below their season average.
Then, in the total collapse against Chicago, the Commanders allowed a Bears offense that was averaging under 20 points per game to drop a 40-piece on their heads. That pushed the points-above-average-allowed to just under a touchdown per game. That’s a number that the league’s worst defenses flirt with.
Washington has also given up 34 “big plays” through their first five games - defined as runs of more than 10 yards and passes of more than 20. Over the last four weeks, this vaunted defense has given up an average of eight big plays per game. That’s abysmal. That gets players benched and coaches canned.
How can the Commanders' defense be fixed? Here are three suggestions.
Commanders must rethink Cody Barton's role
A collapse so complete cannot be blamed on any one player. But more than a quarter of the way into the season, Cody Barton does not appear to be able to do what coaches are asking of him.
He is an undersized, active linebacker. Barton should be able to cover as a traditional weak side or should be able to man one of the inside spots in a 3-4 front. But the Washington Commanders do not play either of those defenses.
With their standard two-linebacker set, they essentially ask him to cover half the field. Barton has to step into running lanes and pick up crossers. He has to drop into coverage on passing downs. So far, he has looked lost doing all of that. The proof is in the numbers.
Barton has been on the field for every defensive snap this season, yet he has zero tackles for loss. That’s almost inconceivable for a linebacker.
More than 300 NFL defenders have at least one tackle for loss through four games. The Commanders have about 10 players who have done it - which is right around the league average. But Barton simply does not make plays at or behind the line.
That may be one reason why his Pro Football Focus (PFF) ranking is the worst in the league amongst regular starting linebackers. The only two with lower ratings are Drew Sanders and Chad Muma, both of whom are backups who became starters in Week 4 due to injuries.
With Barton unable to consistently make tackles near the line, it has forced safeties Kamren Curl and Darrick Forrest to cheat toward the line, thus leaving the corners vulnerable. This is not surprising. I wrote about how this was likely to happen in the preseason, and we have seen it play out so far this year.
So now the question becomes what does Jack Del Rio do about it? Does he simply continue to run Barton out there play after play assuming things will improve with time? That is not an insane strategy.
I think Barton has played slightly better over time. Perhaps he will make a bigger leap forward if given the chance.
But I don’t think the Commanders can wait too much longer. There are several other scheme and personnel options that they need to consider.
Commanders defensive options
The Washington Commanders have four other linebackers - in addition to starter Jamin Davis - currently on the roster. David Mayo and De’Jon “Scoota” Harris cannot be inserted into Cody Barton’s spot. They are both decent run-stoppers but are far less mobile.
They can be used in short-yardage packages. However, both would be a liability if ever asked to play in the Washington base two-linebacker set.
Khaleke Hudson is a different story.
Hudson should be able to do exactly what they seem to want Barton to do. He is a little smaller but moves equally well.
Early in his career, Hudson seemed destined to be a special teams player, and that has been his role through four seasons. But he has looked more comfortable at linebacker in very limited opportunities over the past year or so. Maybe it is time to give him a longer look.
The Commanders signed Jabril Cox at the start of this season and immediately began talking up his potential. I liked him coming out of college, but he was far from a polished prospect. And the fact is that in 16 games as a pro - mostly on special teams- the former LSU stud has made eight tackles.
Barton - the man I am looking to replace - had eight tackles against the Chicago Bears in Week 5.
Cox may get a look down the road. But I would think if Washington simply wants to try a replacement, it is Hudson or nothing.
Commanders defensive scheme
I thought before the season that the inability of Cody Barton and Jamin Davis to make plays against the run would be a problem and one way to address it would be using more five-man defensive fronts. I have been a little surprised that the Washington Commanders have not tried this more so far this season.
I suspect that the absence of both Efe Obada and Phidarian Mathis has been one reason for this.
Abdullah Anderson has been a pleasant surprise as a backup defensive tackle. He has appeared to move ahead of John Ridgeway as the first backup for Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne as a result.
Jack Del Rio has been careful about overworking those tackles, and I suspect Payne is already logging too many minutes. But I would still expect to see more five-man fronts as the season goes on, perhaps using a player like James Smith-Williams on the inside as someone who can shoot gaps and disrupt plays behind the line of scrimmage.
If they play more 5-1-5 defenses, I would also expect to see Davis and Barton split those snaps more evenly.
So far, Barton has been the only linebacker on the field, but I think Davis needs to be out there more to see what he can do. The former first-round pick has improved from his rookie season to the point where he is a good player - the only Commanders linebacker who can make disruptive plays.
Davis may still be considered an underachiever if you take into account his first-round draft pedigree, but that really doesn’t matter at this point. He has developed into a decent player.
But if decent isn’t good enough for you, here’s my more radical solution to Washington’s defensive woes. A zero-linebacker strategy.
Run a 5-6 on early downs, and a 4-7 on passing downs. Put Quan Martin and Percy Butler on the field and let them wreak havoc.
If the linebackers are not going to step up and make stops on running plays within six yards of the line anyway - and if they are going to be shaky in coverage - why not try these fast, aggressive hybrid safeties?
Opposing offenses will just attempt to pound the ball at an undersized defense. That might be interesting to watch in this day and age when even the most conservative minds can’t seem to resist flinging the ball all over the field.
Unless the opposing coach is Bill Belichick, I’d wager they will not stay disciplined enough to just run the ball play after play.
Worth a try, no? I mean, it’s not as if Adam Archuleta is coming out of the broadcast booth to save the day.