The Redskins played a league-high 36 players on defense this year. The average team only fielded about 29 players in 2014, and only 12 other teams played 30 or more players throughout the year. This really speaks to both the inordinate number of major injuries that were suffered by Washington defenders and to the team's lack of seemingly any quality depth.
Some may give Jim Haslett a break because of this and the lack of talent that he has to work with (I'm looking at you, Jay Gruden and Chris Russell), but even those that do cannot provide a reasonable explanation as to why the numbers that Haslett's defenses have produced are so staggeringly horrible. When you look at the statistics Haslett's failure is simply undeniable. We'll start by looking at the rankings in several major categories and advanced metrics for every NFL defense that Haslett has been in charge of. For further information on these advanced metrics visit the following links: DVOA, Defensive Simple Rating System (DSRS), Expected Points Added (EPA) and PFF team defensive rating.
Team - Position - Year | Points Allowed | Points/Drive | Total Yards | Yards/Play | Def DVOA | DSRS | EPA |
PFF Total D |
Saints - DC - 1996 | 20th | N/A | 13th | 9th | 19th | 20th | N/A | N/A |
Steelers - DC - 1997 | 11th | N/A | 6th | 7th | 2nd | 7th | N/A | N/A |
Steelers - DC - 1998 | 7th | 2nd | 12th | 13th | 11th | 10th | N/A | N/A |
Steelers - DC - 1999 | 12th | 10th | 11th | 18th | 15th | 17th | 16th | N/A |
Saints - HC - 2000 | 10th | 12th | 8th | 12th | 13th | 10th | 12th | N/A |
Saints - HC - 2001 | 27th | 29th | 16th | 24th | 23rd | 28th | 22nd | N/A |
Saints - HC - 2002 | 26th | 23rd | 27th | 26th | 19th | 28th | 18th | N/A |
Saints - HC - 2003 | 14th | 15th | 18th | 22nd | 22nd | 19th | 17th | N/A |
Saints - HC - 2004 | 28th | 23rd | 32nd | 29th | 27th | 27th | 27th | N/A |
Saints - HC - 2005 | 28th | 26th | 14th | 24th | 26th | 28th | 27th | N/A |
Rams - DC - 2006 | 28th | 26th | 23rd | 31st | 30th | 31st | 30th | N/A |
Rams - DC - 2007 | 31st | 29th | 21st | 24th | 26th | 32nd | 28th | 19th |
Rams - DC/HC - 2008 | 31st | 28th | 28th | 31st | 30th | 31st | 30th | 27th |
Redskins - DC - 2010 | 22nd | 16th | 31st | 30th | 26th | 19th | 24th | 26th |
Redskins - DC - 2011 | 21st | 24th | 13th | 17th | 14th | 16th | 20th | 20th |
Redskins - DC - 2012 | 22nd | 26th | 28th | 26th | 17th | 19th | 20th | 29th |
Redskins - DC - 2013 | 31st | 26th | 18th | 27th | 21st | 30th | 24th | 30th |
Redskins - DC - 2014 | 29th | 28th | 20th | 27th | 27th | 28th | 30th | 32nd |
Average Rank | 22nd | 21st | 19th | 23rd | 20th | 22nd | 23rd | 26th |
So as you can see Haslett's teams do not rank higher than 19th on average in any of these major defensive categories. Another way that you could look at this is by counting how many times his defenses ranked in the top or bottom ten of a category. I'll save you the trouble of doing the counting and just tell you that out of these 128 rankings that his defenses ranked in the top ten just 10 times and the in the bottom ten a whopping 67 times. Maybe you only care about how he has done as the Redskins' defensive coordinator though. The NFL is a "what have you done for me lately" business anyways. Here is how Haslett's five Redskins defenses stack up in franchise history.
Defensive Franchise Ranks | Points Allowed | Point Diff. | Total Yards | Pass Yards | Comp % | Pass TD | Takeaways | INT |
2014 | 2nd Worst | 5th Worst | 5th Worst | 4th Worst | Worst | 2nd Worst | 4th Worst | 2nd Worst |
2013 | Worst | 4th Worst | 7th Worst | 5th Worst | 22nd Worst | 8th Worst | 12th Worst | 15th Worst |
2012 | 8th Worst | 23rd | 2nd Worst | Worst | 2nd Worst | 6th Worst | 28th Worst | 27th |
2011 | 15th Worst | 15th Worst | 10th Worst | 11th Worst | 18th Worst | 22nd Worst | 5th Worst | 5th Worst |
2010 | 10th Worst | 16th Worst | Worst | 12th Worst | 25th Worst | 19th Worst | 17th Worst | 9th Worst |
And now the Advanced Metrics.
Defensive Franchise Ranks | DVOA | DSRS | EPA | PFF |
2014 | 6th Worst | 11th Worst | 2nd Worst | Worst |
2013 | 11th Worst | 9th Worst | 3rd Worst | 2nd Worst |
2012 | 12th Worst | 25th Worst | 4th Worst | 4th Worst |
2011 | 13th | 29th | 6th Worst | 6th Worst |
2010 | 10th Worst | 31st Worst | 7th Worst | 3rd Worst |
If that wasn't enough for you then check out some of Haslett's ranking low lights as the Redskins defensive boss. All of the following rankings pertain to all-time NFL rankings since 1940 (all teams).
- 2014- 61st most points allowed (438), 67th most passing yards allowed (3,974), 22nd highest completion percentage allowed (66.5%), 10th most passing touchdowns allowed (35), 14th fewest interceptions (7), 53rd fewest takeaways (19), 11th lowest PFF grade for total defense, 23rd worst EPA and 145th worst defensive DVOA.
- 2013- 11th most points allowed (487), 99th most passing yards allowed (3,896), 38th worst completion percentage allowed (65.6%) and 12th lowest PFF grade for total defense
- 2012- 47th most total yards allowed (6,043), 9th most passing yards allowed (4,511), 45th most passing touchdowns allowed (31)
- 2010- 24th most total yards allowed (6,226) and 24th most passing yards allowed (4,187)
Perhaps the biggest indictment on Haslett and the best reason for the Redskins to show him the door is the fact that defenses actually improve right after he leaves.
Improvement Post Haslett? | Points Allowed | Points/Drive | Total Yards | Yards/Play | DVOA | DSRS | EPA | Wins |
Saints 1996 to 1997 | Yes | Unavailable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unavailable | Yes |
Steelers 1999 to 2000 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Saints 2005 to 2006 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rams 2008 to 2009 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
You simply cannot win with Haslett. I'm not sure that he really even knows how to win. He never has done it consistently at any level, so why would anyone expect him to do otherwise now.
Position | Years | # Winning Seasons | % Winning Seasons | Wins | Losses | Ties | Win % |
College Player | 4 | 1 | 25% | 20 | 15 | 3 | .566 |
Player | 8 | 2 | 25% | 51 | 72 | 0 | .415 |
Non-NFL Coach | 6 | 2 | 33% | 27 | 32 | 0 | .458 |
NFL LBs | 3 | 2 | 67% | 27 | 23 | 0 | .540 |
NFL DC | 12 | 2 | 17% | 67 | 116 | 0 | .366 |
NFL HC | 6 | 2 | 33% | 48 | 62 | 0 | .436 |
Total NFL Coach | 21 | 6 | 29% | 142 | 201 | 0 | .414 |
Total Football (NFL + College) | 39 | 11 | 28% | 240 | 320 | 3 | .429 |
Jim Haslett has participated in some form of college or professional football for 39 years and his teams have only had 11 winnings seasons in that time. His overall winning percentage in those 39 seasons is .414. Let me give you some advice, Dan. Give Jim Haslett a wide berth. He's what's called a born loser. A real Munson.
If the Redskins know what's good for them they'll dump Jim Haslett and not think twice about it. The problem is that they don't know what's good for them and there's no sign that they ever will.
Twenty-two years ago Joe Gibbs left the NFL and Jim Haslett returned to it as a coach. Since then Haslett and the Redskins have shared almost identical winning percentages (.414 and .410). Maybe that makes them perfect for each other.
64 Snaps were run against the Defense
37 Passing Snaps (58%)
27 Rushing Snaps (42%)
- The Washington defense allowed the Cowboys offense to score on 7 of their 13 drives (54%) in this game (four touchdowns and three field goals), with five of those scores coming on Dallas' first 5 drives. Tony Romo threw one drive-ending interception for tradition's sake.
- The defense was responsible for four of the team's nine penalties (50 yards) in this game. David Amerson committed a 26-yard pass interference penalty when he was burned yet again, this time by Terrance Williams. On the very next Dallas drive, E.J. Biggers was flagged for an egregious face mask grab on Cole Beasley (14 yards) and Bashaud Breeland was called for an illegal use of hands infraction (5 yards). Jackson Jeffcoat was also penalized for illegal use of hands (5 yards) in the fourth quarter.
Downs
Down | # of Plays | Short (1-3 yards) | Med (4-6 yards) | Long (7+ yards) |
1st | 28 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
2nd | 21 | 1 | 7 | 13 |
3rd | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
4th | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- The Redskins were only able to force a third down on 43% of Cowboys' offensive sets.
- When the defense did manage to push it to a third down, they were only able to hold Dallas to a third-and-long situation 42% of the time (lowest rate in the last six weeks).
- In spite of that, the Redskins allowed the Cowboys to convert on just 33.3% of their third-down attempts (4 of 12), which was one of their better efforts in this department all year.
- Unfortunately, it didn't matter much, as Dallas scored four offensive touchdowns on first and second down.
Defensive Snaps
Name (*-denotes starter) | Position | Snaps | Snap % |
Ryan Clark * | FS | 64 | 100% |
Perry Riley * | ILB | 64 | 100% |
Bashaud Breeland * | CB | 63 | 98% |
Phillip Thomas * | SS | 63 | 98% |
David Amerson * | CB | 62 | 97% |
Ryan Kerrigan * | OLB | 62 | 97% |
Keenan Robinson * | ILB | 61 | 95% |
Jackson Jeffcoat * | OLB | 48 | 75% |
Chris Baker * | DE | 35 | 55% |
Stephen Bowen * | DE | 32 | 50% |
Kedric Golston | DE | 28 | 44% |
Jarvis Jenkins * | DE | 28 | 44% |
E.J. Biggers | CB | 26 | 41% |
Gabe Miller | OLB | 26 | 41% |
Barry Cofield | NT | 22 | 34% |
Frank Kearse | DE | 9 | 14% |
Trevardo Williams | OLB | 5 | 8% |
Justin Rogers | CB | 3 | 5% |
Will Compton | ILB | 3 | 5% |
Trenton Robinson | FS | 0 | 0% |
Ja'Gared Davis | ILB | 0 | 0% |
Akeem Davis | S | 0 | 0% |
Steve Beauharnais | ILB | Inactive | N/A |
Kenny Okoro | CB | Inactive | N/A |
Travian Robertson | NT | Inactive | N/A |
- Ryan Clark's 2,011 snaps (98%) in 2014 led the defense.
- Ryan Kerrigan came in second with 975 snaps (94%).
- After recording the first sack of his career last week against the Eagles, Jackson Jeffcoat grabbed the first interception of his career against the Cowboys on Sunday. That's impressive considering that those were the second and third career games for the 23-yeard old. He's one of the few newcomers that might be worth keeping around next year.
Special Teams Snaps
Name | Position | Snaps | Snap % |
Will Compton | ILB | 21 | 66% |
Trenton Robinson | FS | 21 | 66% |
Logan Paulsen | TE | 19 | 59% |
Akeem Davis | S | 18 | 56% |
Niles Paul | TE | 17 | 53% |
Gabe Miller | OLB | 16 | 50% |
Frank Kearse | DE | 15 | 47% |
Darrel Young | FB | 13 | 41% |
Silas Redd | HB | 13 | 41% |
Andre Roberts | WR | 13 | 41% |
David Amerson | CB | 12 | 38% |
Kedric Golston | DE | 12 | 38% |
Spencer Long | G | 12 | 38% |
Ja'Gared Davis | ILB | 12 | 38% |
Trevardo Williams | ILB | 12 | 38% |
Bashaud Breeland | CB | 11 | 34% |
Justin Rogers | CB | 9 | 28% |
Ryan Grant | WR | 9 | 28% |
E.J. Biggers | CB | 8 | 25% |
Stephen Bowen | DE | 8 | 25% |
Barry Cofield | DE | 8 | 25% |
Jackson Jeffcoat | ILB | 8 | 25% |
Perry Riley | ILB | 8 | 25% |
Keenan Robinson | ILB | 8 | 25% |
Ryan Kerrigan | OLB | 8 | 25% |
Philip Thomas | SS | 8 | 25% |
Kai Forbath | K | 7 | 22% |
Nick Sunberg | LS | 7 | 22% |
Tress Way | P | 7 | 22% |
Shawn Lauvao | G | 3 | 9% |
Chris Chester | G | 3 | 9% |
Tyler Polumbus | T | 3 | 9% |
Tom Compton | T | 2 | 6% |
Kory Lichtensteiger | C | 1 | 3% |
- Will Compton and Trenton Robinson led the team in special teams snaps once again. Outside of five spot starts for Compton, neither player has seen much playing time this year; however, they both consistently found their way onto the game-day roster and the field, thanks largely in part to their work on the special teams units.
- According to the 2014 Redskins media guide, Tress Way broke the Redskins' single season record for highest net average on punts (40 yards). His 47.52 yards per punt average led the league in 2014 and ranks him 10th and 40th in franchise and NFL history (minimum of 20 punts) respectively according to PFR.
- As I've discussed in previous editions of Snap Judgments, special teams production is indicative of the quality of the bottom of a team's roster and thus the team's depth. I think that it's clear that the Redskins are lacking in this department - due mostly in part to poor roster management by Bruce Allen and company - but I wanted to take a deeper dive into this idea so I pulled together all of the Pro Football Focus (data back to 2007) and Football Outsiders (data back to 1989) special teams rankings to see how the team has fared in this department since Allen took over in 2010. Here is what I found.
Special Teams Ranks | PFF Yearly | PFF Franchise | PFF All-Time | DVOA Yearly | DVOA Franchise | DVOA All-Time |
2014 | 28th | 3rd Worst | 24th Worst | 29th | 4th Worst | 67th Worst |
2013 | 32nd | 2nd Worst | 2nd Worst | 32nd | Worst | 2nd Worst |
2012 | 26th | 8th Worst | 121st Worst | 27th | 7th Worst | 121st Worst |
2011 | 27th | 7th Worst | 123rd Worst | 21st | 13th | 296th Worst |
2010 | 16th | 6th Worst | 110th Worst | 25th | 10th Worst | 211th Worst |
Out of XX # of teams | 32 | 8 | 256 | 32 | 26 | 797 |
Records and Rankings
- David Amerson wildly regressed this year and the results were disastrous. Pro Football Focus has him ranked as the worst cornerback in several major categories; in fact, his 2014 season is one of the worst that they have ever tracked (data dates back to 2007). For example, Amerson is one of only two players (all position) to allow ten receiving touchdowns dating back to 2007 (the other was Dre Bly in 2007). I hate to say it, but when you put this all into perspective, it's hard to argue that he isn't trending towards being a bust, if he isn't already one. See how he ranks below. Only cornerbacks that were in on 25% of their team's snaps were included.
David Amerson PFF | TD | Pass Rating |
Overall Grade | Coverage Grade |
2014 Value | 10 | 140.2 | -19.7 | -15 |
2014 Rank (of 108 CBs) | Worst | Worst | Worst | 6th Worst |
All-Time (867 CB seasons) | Worst | 5th Worst | 5th Worst | 9th Worst |
- One of the few secondary player seasons to ever be given a lower overall grade by PFF is Ryan Clark's over-the-hill 2014 campaign. The game charters at Pro Football Focus have only ever credited two players with more missed tackles in a season than the 22 that Clark had in 2014: DeMeco Ryans with 23 in 2007 and Tanard Jackson with 24 in 2011. Clark was just about as bad this year as London Fletcher was in 2012 and 2013. The 2014 season was a truly a stop-gap year for Clark. A stop-gap for the Redskins to find just one competent safety and a stop-gap for Clark to finish his quasi-internship at ESPN. I don't care how many people like Clark as a person, he needs to be gone. Now.
Ryan Clark PFF | Overall Grade | Run D Grade |
Missed Tackles |
2014 Value | -20.2 | -12.8 | 22 |
2014 Rank (of 88 Safeties) | Worst | Worst | Worst |
All-Time (694 Safety seasons) | 4th Worst | 6th Worst | 2nd Worst |
- Keenan Robinson has been one of the few bright spots on the defense and on the team as a whole. I looked at PFR's top 100 tackle seasons by a Washington Redskin and converted the total tackle numbers for each player into a tackles per game statistic. This helps to even the playing field for Robinson, as he missed three games in 2014. Robinson came in at 8 total tackles per game, which was tied for 21st most in a season by a Redskins player. Only six other players (London Fletcher, Wilber Marshall, Andre Collins, Kurt Gouveia, Brad Edwards and Marvcus Patton) have ever had a higher number for the team, and only two of them did so when they were 25 or younger like Robinson was in 2014.
- Signing a 32-year old defensive lineman to a fairly lucrative deal is never a good idea, and Jason Hatcher wasn't an exception. Hatcher was fairly productive when he was able to play, but that wasn't often. Those of you that are hoping that the soon to be 33-year old makes the money that the team paid for him worthwhile should not hold your breath. Only 24 players have ever recorded ten or more sacks in a season in which they were 33 or older. Nine of those players are in the hall of fame. Only 21 players have ever recorded eight or more sacks in a season in which they were 34 or older. Again, nine of them are in the hall of fame. See the trend? Almost nobody is truly productive this late into their careers unless they are a transcendent talent. Sorry, but Jason Hatcher does not fit that bill.
- This isn't the first time that I've discussed the Redskins old and under-performing defensive line. In March I put out a three-part series (here, here and here) that described how the Redskins had one of the oldest and least productive defensive lines in the league, yet all that anyone can talk about is the offensive line. I understand that the offensive line is a major area of need, but the defensive line is right there too. If you don't believe me that check out the table below which lists the six linemen the team will have under contract next year.
Player | Age on 9/1/15 | 2015 Cap Number |
Jason Hatcher | 33.1 | $ 3,750,000 |
Kedric Golston | 32.3 | $ 1,245,000 |
Barry Cofield | 31.5 | $ 7,677,500 |
Stephen Bowen | 31.4 | $ 4,688,750 |
Chris Baker | 27.9 | $ 2,000,000 |
Frank Kearse | 26.8 | $ 570,000 |
Total | 183 | $ 19,931,250 |
Average | 30.5 | $ 3,321,875 |
**Statistics derived from Advanced Football Analytics, ESPN, Football Outsiders, NFL GSIS, Over the Cap, Pro Football Focus, Pro Football Reference and Team Rankings**
To buy tickets, visit the NFL Ticket Exchange.