Redskins defense will face much stiffer test this week against Green Bay

The Washington Redskins’ first string defense was impressive in their performance against the Baltimore Ravens. Despite not having many plays through which to evaluate them, the impact made by the Redskins’ newest additions was very noticeable. Zach Brown’s speed stood out, neutralizing Ryan Mallet and company’s ability to move east to west. Brown’s physicality was also on display too, which is what the defense lacked at the linebacker position. Phil Taylor, Jonathan Allen, and Anthony Lanier all had moments amongst the defensive line. Each of these three players made impact plays for the defense. There was a series for Lanier in which he got a tackle for a short gain and a sack the very next play. The effort amongst the defensive line was outstanding, and Tomsula’s tutelage has been oozing out of that unit since the start of training camp.

The secondary of Washington was decent  Kendall Fuller got beat out of the slot for what would’ve been 30 yards, but the pass was underthrown. Outside of that, the secondary held their own. Heading into this Saturday’s match-up against the Packers, the Redskins defense will face a much better test offensively. The Ravens offensive line, as well as their receiving corps (tight ends included), isn’t even top half of the league. So, by default, the Redskins defense impressed in their first outing. Much more work needs to be done, and more progress needs to be shown by this group, and the Packers have one of the better receiving corps and offensive lines in the NFL.

It’s still too early to tell how much Aaron Rodgers is going to play or not play on Saturday considering this is the second game of the preseason, but expect the Packers starters and second teamers to get a lot of snaps in the first half of the game. This game will shed more light on how good the Redskins’ front seven really is.  Also, how will the absence of strong safety Su’a Cravens his absence affect the secondary? That’ll be important, because even though both Cravens and reporters are saying that he’ll be back by week 1, he may not be ready by that point. Cravens may need more time to be one hundred percent healthy. The slot cornerback position was also in question for all of 2016 – how does Fuller respond against the Packers with more reps than last Thursday, and how does his coverage look with more reps? Giving up a deep ball within a limited number of snaps isn’t scoring Fuller points with his coaches.

 

You can also find me on Twitter: @_ayymall