Week Two Defensive Metrics - Cardinals vs Redskins

Week two defensive metrics are here for all to enjoy. It was a tough game for the secondary as the front 7 again failed to produce any consistent pressure. There are some bright spots shining through however.

I have remembered to add PI's as a column this week, it was unneeded last week, but this week we were called a couple of times for Pass Interference so these will show up. They are record as a "1"

in the PI column, they are recorded as a target with no reception, but the yardage is added into the yards column. I.E if Player Y was thrown at and committed a 15 yard PI and then was thrown at for a 10 yard gain his line would be;

2 targets, 1 reception, 25 yards, 1 PI.

Enough technicalities, hit the jump to see the numbers;

• - AJ Jefferson continues to thrive in just his 2^nd year in the league, another very good game from the young corner from Fresno State. He was thrown at 6 times with just two completed and one PI penalty. He looks very assured in coverage and was getting his hands at the ball a bit more, a nice sign for Cardinals fans.
• - Clark Haggans was the best looking player getting to the QB again. He is not elite, but he is serviceable and smart, he can create pressure, holds his lanes in the running game and gets his hands into passing lanes. Haggans should not be the first OLB to go.
• - Joey Porter needs to shape up or ship out. He was useless getting at the QB, he never once even got close to pressuring Rex Grossman, and this was against a 2^nd year tackle in Trent Williams who struggled as a rookie. For a period early in the 4^thquarter Schofield was the main OLB on that side of the ball and the defense looked far better.
• - Schofield stood out in the one coverage play he made, one target and one reception may not look good, or even something that would stand out, but when you realize that the play in question saw him in man coverage against Dante Stallworth it makes the play a bit more impressive.
• - I believe the "Hole in Zone" numbers say one of two things; 1] The Cardinals played a lot more zone week two than they did in week one, or 2] The high number compared to last week is a function of me adjusting in terms of these Metrics. I believe it is a bit of both, and I am trying to be more consistent with this designation.
• - Richard Marshall looked darn impressive. Most of the time he was in pure man coverage against the slot receiver and did well.
• - Dan Williams really needs to play more consistent football. He was brilliant week one and not so good week two. Where we see this the most is not only in the rushing numbers, but in the production of those around him. Williams needs to be a player who commands double teams and punishes the opposition when they leave him single blocked. If he can do that expect the Cardinals defensive stature to rise substantially.
• - The struggles of Patrick Peterson continue. He struggled again in week two, allowing all three balls thrown his way to be caught, and is possibly on the hook for another (22 yard completion to Jabar Gaffney). On the play in question it looked like while the rest of the DB's dropped into zone coverage, Peterson played Man, and still allowed the catch. Currently it stands under "hole in zone".

*Over the course of the season, as I add new categories and as I possibly go back and watch some older games I am likely to make adjustments to some of these stats, the adjustments will be recognised in the cumulative stats that come out at each quarter of the season, and I will tell you what changes have been made at that stage*