Contrition

by Skin Patrol on Oct 9, 2007 3:15 PM EDT in Redskins Analysis

Key to the [Lions] game will be pressure and I am taping this one to review whether Gregg Williams has the brains or cajones to actually do so.

Gregg Williams had the cajones not to blitz, as documented by (Hat tip Curly R) Mike Wise of the Post:

Of all the tests before Williams the past three-plus years, the Lions represented maybe the biggest. Never mind the numbers; Detroit didn't roll into FedEx Field as the most potent or dangerous offense the Redskins' defensive boss had seen.

But Martz has played mind games with so many, daring defensive coordinators to bring the house with a blitz and take his quarterback down before the yards and touchdowns pile up. In a maximum-protection league, Martz is more "mini-pro." No one stays back to block. Everybody and their mom goes out for a pass...

So what did Williams do yesterday? He remembered the film on the Lions, swallowed his stubborn pride and all but abandoned the blitz. He could not remember that ever happening in Washington.

"All last year and this year, there is nobody in the National Football League that gets more maximum protections than us," Williams said afterward. "Because they say, 'There goes Williams, blitzing again.' This week we didn't get it."

The surprise move wasn't that Gregg Williams blitzed too much, but that he didn't blitz. At all. Not a single time. And yet still our much castigated defensive line managed 5 sacks and enough pressure to force Jon Kitna into frequent mistakes and their passing game into oblivion. [Buzz Kill: "Fair enough, but for the record, Detroit had given up 27 sacks, eight more than any other team." Five games they've given up over 5 sacks a game, meaning we underachieved against them. What to the ever, our front four is dominant regardless your "stats" and "evidence".] The result of this defensive strategy was:

Punt punt punt punt end of half punt field goal safety punt interception interception decision. Game, blouses.

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