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The Washington Redskins defense made it a point to be more aggressive in 2014. Of course, the unit was more or less made of traffic cops blowing whistles and hand gesturing opposing receivers to our end zone last year.
Would the addition of Jason Hatcher, Ryan Clark, Trent Murphy and Keenan Robinson (and yes, before the comments section tells me "HERMAGERD! HE WAS ON THE TEAM," this is his first year starting) make a difference?
Well math nerds, let's take a look at the stats shall we?
Through week one of the NFL season the Washington Redskins are tied for 9th, with 17 points allowed.
The Redskins also rank 9th, with 316 yards allowed.
You're probably sitting there, drinking your Dr. Pepper, thinking "Man, this is wack. iH8dallas is just being a total HOMER! The Redskins are going to revert to being awful, and they were only playing the Texans anyway."
Well, holster those finger guns. Don't assault your keyboard just yet. The Redskins being top-10 in defense might not be a fluke. Let's look at the other top-10 defenses in points and yards.
Points Allowed
1. Houston Texans-6
1. Minnesota Vikings-6
3.Tennessee Titans-10
4.Carolina Panthers-14
4. Detroit Lions-14
4. New York Jets-14
7. Cincinnati Bengals-16
7. Seattle Seahawks-16
9. Arizona Cardinals-17
9. Philadelphia Eagles-17
9. San Francisco 49ers-17
9. Washington Redskins-17
Yards Allowed
1. New York Jets - 158
2. Detroit Lions - 197 <----- HaHa! Everyone laugh at the Giants
3. Tennessee Titans - 245
4. Seattle Seahawks - 255
5. Carolina Panthers - 264
6. Arizona Cardinals - 290
7. Philadelphia Eagles - 306
8. Miami Dolphins - 315
9. Washington Redskins - 316
10. Minnesota Vikings - 318
The teams that are top-10 in both yards and points allowed Tennessee, Minnesota, Carolina, Seattle, Philadelphia, Arizona and Washington.
All of those teams, except for Washington, were expected to have a top defense. So is it a fluke that Washington is lumped in with those other teams, or is it all going to fall apart?