Help Me Help You

April 9, 2019

by Eric Hill

Redskins coach Jay Gruden recently went on record saying that the team is “looking for superstar status” from cornerback Josh Norman. The message was clear: We’re paying Josh a lot of money so he’d better start earning it.

Norman achieved All-Pro status with the Carolina Panthers in 2015 playing behind an aggressive front seven in a zone-heavy scheme that allowed him to keep everything in front of him and use his super-human anticipation skills to jump routes and create havoc. When he unexpectedly hit free agency in 2016, the Redskins pounced quickly, as Norman’s style of play fit in nicely with defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s scheme and vision.

In his first season in DC, Norman didn’t disappoint. With 19 pass defenses and three interceptions, Norman was selected to his second consecutive Pro Bowl (though he chose not to play).

While Norman worked out well for Joe Barry, nothing else did and Barry was fired in 2016. Barry’s replacement, Greg Manusky, prefers to pair his attacking front seven with more aggressive play from his cornerbacks, something Norman had been rarely asked to do, and in 2017 Norman’s numbers against the pass declined as he struggled outside of his comfort zone.

Norman saw a slight rebound last season with 9 pass defenses and three interceptions, but those numbers are hardly worthy of his $15 million cap number and certainly don’t qualify as “Superstar Status.”

Jay Gruden is correct: Josh Norman needs to play better.

But that’s not all on Norman.  He isn’t being asked to do what he’s good at – he was brought in to fit in a certain scheme, only to have the rug pulled from under him.  Sure, for the money he is making, Norman should fit any scheme but that’s on the Redskins, not him. Should he have turned down the money because he might not play well in a different scheme than the team used?

Gruden and Manusky need to help Norman by letting him do what he does best: sit back and let the game come to him. If that requires Manusky to step out of his comfort zone, then so be it. He’s the coach and it’s his job to put his players in a position to succeed.

This mindset doesn’t just apply to Josh Norman.  Adrian Peterson spent his entire career shredding defenses from the I formation. Rather than allow him to continue that trend, Jay Gruden and Bill Callahan chose to give him the bulk of his carries from the shotgun. Sure, Gruden would have had to draw up some pass plays from the I to disguise his run game, but that’s his job. Peterson had a good year but could have had a great one had the coaches not been so rigid in their scheme.

Preston Smith was a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end in college and was asked to be a stand up linebacker and drop in to coverage with the Redskins.  Is it any wonder he struggled?

Josh Doctson has shown the strategy of drafting a player to catch low-percentage passes might not be the best one, but he found a nice niche last year catching slants and skinny post routes.  More of that, please.

It’s the coach’s job to figure out what his players do best and allow them to do it. Players should be flexible, for sure, but Gruden should be willing to adjust what he does to help his players help him.