Defense (and Playmakers) Wins Championships

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January 16, 2018

By Richard Rogers

The upstart Jacksonville Jaguars allowed the Pittsburg Steelers to score 42 points.  But don’t let that keep you from admiring this mostly young, fast and nasty group. They repeatedly battled back as the usual bully, the Steelers, were poised to remind us why they are the “Stillers”. But a funny thing happened. “Good” Blake Bortles showed up to Heinz field and seemed determined to etch his name in playoff lore. Blake Bortles is not a very good quarterback. He’s never had a QBR of greater than 85, and has been as low as 69.  He’s thrown double digit interceptions each of his four seasons in the NFL. So why is he and his team headed to the AFC Championship? It’s simple. He makes plays and his defense is the best in the league.

Jacksonville has been an afterthought in the NFL for the last six seasons.  This season is the first time they’ve won more than six games in as many seasons.  Jacksonville has picked in the top ten for the five of their last six seasons. They have a team full of productive first, second and third round picks.  Dante Fowler, Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Fournette, Allen Robinson and Marquise Lee are all playmakers, and all drafted in the first three rounds.  This is significant because if you look at the Redskins’ last three drafts, Brandon Scherff, Josh Doctson, Preston Smith, Matt Jones, and Su’a Cravens have all been drafted in the first three rounds in the last three seasons.  Compared to the Redskins draft, the Jaguars have hit pay dirt and Redskins fans are still in “wait and see” with a few of our aforementioned picks.  But even more glaring is that the Jaguars have PLAYMAKERS.  Leonard Fournette is a legit NFL starting running back with “take it to the house speed”. Marquise Lee is a sure-handed, speedy WR. Jalen Ramsey is an all-pro corner.

Who are the Redskins’ playmakers? Kirk Cousins is a playmaker, but who else?  The oft injured Jordan Reed, and Chris Thompson?  No disrespect, but last weekend, I saw better tight ends and better all around running backs.  The Redskins need playmakers and they need more on the defensive side of the ball.

Before the rash of injuries this season, we saw some potential.  Jonathan Allen and Matt Ioannidis seemed to be the playmaking duo on the defensive line we’ve missed for years.  Zach Brown was a man among boys, and Monte Nicholson flashed his 4.4 speed in the secondary. The problem is we need more, and we need em’ young and fast.  Eight of the eleven Minnesota Vikings defensive starters were drafted.  As fans, we often repeat clichés we hear people that know better than us say, such as “Build through the draft”.  That’s all well and good, but what good is the draft when you miss on, or don’t have impactful first, second and third round picks?  Look, we don’t yet know what Josh Doctson is. Cravens is M.I.A. (no Mia Khalifa pun intended), and Matt Jones was bust.

Playmakers make everyone look good.  Just ask Case Keenum about how Stefon Diggs single-handedly increased his free agent value this upcoming off-season.  The Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense is making Blake Bortles look better than average. The Eagles defense consistently bailed out Nick Foles.  What’s the common denominator? Playmakers.  But here’s another observation from the playoff weekend. The quarterbacks became playmakers themselves. Bortles is a limited, mistake-prone passer, but he seemed to channel his inner Mark Brunell recently, making play after play with his legs, seemingly without thinking. Case Keenum threw a sideline dart to Stefon Diggs, and you know the rest.

I hope the Redskins brass was paying attention. Build around the QB and you can make Blake Bortles into a potential Super Bowl winning quarterback. He has as good a chance as any.  The Redskins have to be more aggressive and more accurate in acquiring talent.  Neither we, nor Jay Gruden, have time for more free agent busts at skill positions. They need speed and route running on the outside.  They need to stop with the “feel good” stories at RB and go out and get a legitimate playmaking runner. Rob Kelley is not a playmaker. Samaje Perine is not a playmaker.  On defense, Josh Norman has somewhat disappointed in that his interceptions have been virtually non-existent. Nobody’s stopping the run, and who on the Redskins defense worries offensive coordinators? No one. Look, we have some nice pieces, but last weekend I saw more than “nice pieces”. I saw veterans Calais Campbell and Linval Joseph, and I also saw a young, brash Marquise Lee and quarterbacks that played football rather than “process”.

Playmakers win championships.  Defenses with playmakers win championships. Quarterbacks with playmakers and that make plays win championships.  What do the Redskins have?

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