By Rich Tandler
A good pass rush is a defensive back’s best friend.
Redskins safety Oshiomogho Atogwe was asked today about how he would help contain Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald. He said that it would be fairly easy to do if he gets some help.
“The best way to stop Larry Fitzgerald is to have Rak [Brian Orakpo] and [Ryan] Kerrigan and Barry [Cofield] and Stephen [Bowen] get after the quarterback,” he said. “If he can’t throw it, Larry can’t catch it.
“For me, that’s a good day.”
The Redskins had a pretty good day rushing the passer during Sunday’s win over the Giants as they tallied four sacks of Eli Manning. The interesting aspect of that performance is that all of the sacks came from defensive linemen—two by rookie nose tackle Chris Neild and one each by ends Stephen Bowen and Adam Carriker. Usually in a 3-4 defense the linebackers are the ones who make the plays. Getting pressure from the defensive line is a big plus.
In 2010, the Redskins won six times and they had 15 sacks in those games. In their 10 losses, they had a total of 14 sacks.
Of course, such analysis can be misleading, as the team that is trailing tends to throw the ball more often, giving the team that is ahead more chances to pick up sacks. But regardless of cause and effect, if the Redskins can dump the opposing quarterback three or four times every week their record will end up looking pretty good by the end of the year.
How did Otogwe do last game? Did not seem to hear his name much. Hard to observe the FS in TV action, where they concentrate on the QB.
Posted by: me | Sunday, September 18, 2011 at 09:37 AM