The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

Redskin in Canada wrote:HOWEVER, he should not keep calling a defense that HE KNOWS his players cannot execute. That is my complaint.

This is preceisely my complaint with Haz. These guys can't run his defense, he needs to simplify to meet their talent level. I am not saying that these guys will become great. I am saying that need to get back into at leas the top 20.

LaVar Arrington was saying today, that our safeties do not have the speed to do what Haz wants. If he simplifies the D. The players will do less thinking and increase their reaction time and most importantly be in the right position and have a chance to make the play.

Red_One43 wrote:

Redskin in Canada wrote:HOWEVER, he should not keep calling a defense that HE KNOWS his players cannot execute. That is my complaint.

This is preceisely my complaint with Haz. These guys can't run his defense, he needs to simplify to meet their talent level. I am not saying that these guys will become great. I am saying that need to get back into at leas the top 20.

LaVar Arrington was saying today, that our safeties do not have the speed to do what Haz wants. If he simplifies the D. The players will do less thinking and increase their reaction time and most importantly be in the right position and have a chance to make the play.

We share the same analysis, bro.

Redskin in Canada wrote:

Red_One43 wrote:

Redskin in Canada wrote:HOWEVER, he should not keep calling a defense that HE KNOWS his players cannot execute. That is my complaint.

This is preceisely my complaint with Haz. These guys can't run his defense, he needs to simplify to meet their talent level. I am not saying that these guys will become great. I am saying that need to get back into at leas the top 20.

LaVar Arrington was saying today, that our safeties do not have the speed to do what Haz wants. If he simplifies the D. The players will do less thinking and increase their reaction time and most importantly be in the right position and have a chance to make the play.

We share the same analysis, bro.

We did know our secondary was suspect during the preseason. We knew our front 7 was stout. We thought our defense would be the better of the two sides....not really fully appreciating how special RGIII was, nor how much of a beast mighy mo would be.

Our injuries have been significant, but every team has those. On the positive side, our defense is stout vs the run.....of course, good nfl qb's watch our secondary (and lack of pass rush) on film and lick their chops to throw the ball. We are also creating turnovers. But we are allowing teams to move the ball almost at will via the air.

Haslett, as far as I can tell, has never coached a top defense. Vs the bengals, we gave up a td on the first play because jay gruden was able to predict what haz would do in a certain situation. If jay can do that, what can other o coords see? Our offense can confuse defenses, we should be able to create some confusion with our d as well. Instead we all hold our breaths when our d is on the field, knowing they can give up the big play at any time.

With our cap issues next season, and lack of top draft picks....i am all for getting a 3-4 guru in here other than haz. Someone who might use our existing personnel better, and scheme better. Our talent is not going to signifiantly improve next season......maybe we can upgrade our d coaching.

rskin72 wrote:We did know our secondary was suspect during the preseason. We knew our front 7 was stout. We thought our defense would be the better of the two sides....not really fully appreciating how special RGIII was, nor how much of a beast mighy mo would be.

Is our front 7 stout? The front seven is stout against the run (you did say this later in your post), but they are part of the problem with the coverage (you didn't say this). A lack of a pass run. Blame it on injuries to Rak and Carriker (you didn't do this, but others do), but there were games last year when we saw the same problems with both of them playing. Riley will probably never be a good cover guy and Fletch, covering the TEs in the middle has never been an optimum match up.

At least last year in some games, the front 7 did put enough pressure to make our secondary look better especially in the two Giant games. In the two Cowboy games, the front 7 did not generate much of a pass rush.

Why the massive drop off in performance? Given the amount of time that Landry who cannot cover anyway and Atogwe spent on the sidelines is our secondary that much worse than last year? Add Madieu and you basically have the same starters for most of the season. Is Madieu an upgrade over Doughty? I have never seen Doughty get a pick 6.

Why isn't the Front 7 getting the pressure it got last year, which wasn't much if you take out the 7 sack Ram game?

Basically, the same players as last year (add Jenkins). Definitely the same DC!

I won't try to debate you on your fire Haz at the end of the season, because you got a good ammo supply.

For me:

The only way, I say fire Haz is if Wade Philips is available and he won't be. Haz is slowly making adjustments with his D and toning down his agressiveness. The last two games point to him getting it that he must do things differently. He maybe slow reacting to what is, but he is reacting and I beleive that we will see an improvement next week by beating the Steelers on their home turf.

oneman56 wrote:Madieu Williams has been atrocious

Yeah, that pick six last week was horrible.

Deadskins wrote:

oneman56 wrote:Madieu Williams has been atrocious

Yeah, that pick six last week was horrible.

One good play means he's good? For the most he's been terrible in coverage.

CanesSkins26 wrote:

Deadskins wrote:

oneman56 wrote:Madieu Williams has been atrocious

Yeah, that pick six last week was horrible.

One good play means he's good? For the most he's been terrible in coverage.

Not saying he's good or is playing well. I'm just sick of the hysteria. These guys are probably playing pretty well 90% of the game, and then have a lapse on one or two plays, but these plays happen to be game changers, so people say "this guy sucks," or "cut him," when we don't have any other options.

Deadskins wrote:

CanesSkins26 wrote:

Deadskins wrote:

oneman56 wrote:Madieu Williams has been atrocious

Yeah, that pick six last week was horrible.

One good play means he's good? For the most he's been terrible in coverage.

Not saying he's good or is playing well. I'm just sick of the hysteria. These guys are probably playing pretty well 90% of the game, and then have a lapse on one or two plays, but these plays happen to be game changers, so people say "this guy sucks," or "cut him," when we don't have any other options.

I'm 100% with you man. The team is 3-4 and has been competitive all season. We have one of the most exciting players in the league on our team. Why can't we just enjoy the season?

Keep your heads up kids. This isn't a perfect team, but its not Grossman and Gaffney anymore either.

I find it impossible to criticize Jim Haslett given the personnel he now has to work with. Then again, he wasn't given much to work with from the beginning. Even before all of the injuries and suspensions the safety corps was highly suspect. It puts too much on the cornerbacks when there is no pass rush and the safeties can't maintain coverage. No defensive coordinator is this same situation could get more out of the same personnel. Being ranked dead last in pass defense is not a scheme issue. It's a personnel issue.

I have to say that I personally would like to get Wade Phillips, but I don't see that happening. Haslett hasn't been outstanding, but he hasn't been as horrendous as most think.

I personally put most of the blame on Morris as he is IN CHARGE of the secondary -- however he only has 1 good player in Hall. The others are not very good. That said, I have seen a number of coaching errors on the field from the secondary; so it works both ways.

The remainder of the season and how this team plays will determine Hazs' fait. We have allowed the 3rd most points in the NFL this season -- which is horrible. Oddly enough we are the only team that has put up 200 and been scored on 200 in the NFL. Quite a contrast from our 14-10 games of the past 5 years or so.

All in all, I am going to keep an open mind to both Haz and Morris until the end of the year -- and I believe by then it will be obvious what to do.

Deadskins wrote:

CanesSkins26 wrote:

Deadskins wrote:

oneman56 wrote:Madieu Williams has been atrocious

Yeah, that pick six last week was horrible.

One good play means he's good? For the most he's been terrible in coverage.

Not saying he's good or is playing well. I'm just sick of the hysteria. These guys are probably playing pretty well 90% of the game, and then have a lapse on one or two plays, but these plays happen to be game changers, so people say "this guy sucks," or "cut him," when we don't have any other options.

Exactly.

Most have already agreed that our personnel in the secondary is below average and we all knew it prior to game #1. The injuries to our projected starters at safety made it worse.

However, they have played well at times. The secondary and Haz's schemes did a damn good job against a solid Vikings offense last week. Opponents have known all season that our secondary sucks, but Haz has schemed well at times to counter our inept personnel in the secondary.

Nevertheless, big plays happen in this game. 20 seconds before Cruz got behind our secondary for what turned out to be the game-winning TD, the Giants' fans, coaches and players were pissed wondering how the heck Santana Moss got behind the Giants secondary for what could have been the game winning TD. It's the same thing, and the Giants have a good defense.

I don't think this loss to the Giants can be pinned on Haslett. Turnovers and some questionable penalties cost us this game IMO. Instead of our 2 starting rookies turning the ball over multiple times, if our offense had actually scored points on those deep drives, much like they've done all season, we could have won on points by nearing or exceeding our season average of 30 PPG, the late TD to Cruz wouldn't have mattered and, nobody would be casting accusations at Haz. What might have happened if Moss hadn't fumbled on our last offensive drive? I just think there's too many other game variables in a loss to point the finger at one guy.

I can't say who we would replace Haz with, but I'm honestly not 100% sure we should do it this year. I know that our secondary seems to be the major problem and our front 7 is pretty top notch even with out Rak and Carriker. We really don't have a good secondary to work with at this point anyway, let's face it and most of us have, D.Hall is not that good, he can't really cover #1's or #2's even. I will give it to Hall that he is a playmaker but is the 1 pick worth the 3 TD's he gives up on double moves?
Josh Wilson is our best corner it seems, He can cover most receivers but does get beat as well.
Griffin has really surprised me this year, he hasn't really gotten killed like I thought he would and I would put in in front of Hall on the Depth Chart anyday, which seems like it's happening with Hall moving to nickel in some cases.
Our Safeties are not starter caliber by any means, Williams is decent but man we are so hurt at the safety position it is ridiculous.
I say let Haz play out the year and see what we can do in the secondary during Free Agency and draft, if we can get a Safety that can play in the draft and maybe shore up the CB position in FA then see what happens halfway through next season, if all sucks
Fire his @ss

I don't think Josh Wilson has been the same since his concussion against the Rams this year. And Hall's play has really improved — he's more physical and not always looking to strip the ball, and I think the coaches are using him better by playing him inside more often and even sometimes at safety.

I was down on Hall quite a bit last year, and I still don't think he's worth what we are paying him, but I have to give credit where it's due and IMHO he's been our best corner this year by a decent margin.

I think our biggest weakness are our safeties. No talent back there, just a couple of utility guys. Having good safeties would make Wilson and anyone playing our 3rd corner look a lot better.

What's the deal with Merriweather? Is that guy ever going to suit up??

He was reinjured when he ran into Aldrick Robinson before the Tampa game. I think he's on pace to come back after the bye.

. I know everybody is dying to get Garcon back, but seems like Merriweather is the guy we really need out there soon. I wonder if the guy can play???

This is one explanation on what Madieu Williams was thinking on that Cruz play. The film showed that Cruz never runs a go from the slot position. Cruz was lined up in the slot. Madieu saw that and was confident that Cruz would break off the route. The Skins were very conscious of the Giants marching down the field and kicking a FG, so Madieu was positioning himself to jump the route and possibly make the INT.

What was not known to the the person giving this explanation is the extent that Madieu was coached to watch for this tendency of Cruz. Madieu was responsible for Cruz deep, so it was his fault. Blame could also go to Wilson because he not only failed to get his hands on Cruz, as he turned to run with Cruz he seemed to open his hips awkward and quickly lost a step. It was said that Wilson should never have been over the slot guy because he is not physical enough. Williams being a veteran should have known when to turn and run and play the possibility of the deep ball, but the person giving the explanation kept emphasizing that Cruz never ran a go from the slot.

It seems to me that the person giving this explanation was saying that the coaches were also at fault because, he felt that Madieu was coached to look for Cruz to break off the route and the fact that Wilson being over the slot receiver.

Here's the issue with my source. I hearded this on either ESPN980 or the 106.7 The Fan. I came in after the guest was speaking. This wasn't a random caller, it was a reporter or someone who has inside football knowledge, who was a guest on the one of the shows. I flip back and forth on the stations, so and can't remember which station I was listening to at the time. This was a couple of days ago.

Perhaps someone else heard it as well and can elaborate or heard this from another source.

This the best I can find on the internet. I did find another person in this link from a mesage baord that they have read that Cruz never runs a go form the slot.

http://cpnd.proboards.com/index.cgi?boa ... 377&page=1

Matt Bowen's take on the Cruz Play

I have no issue with the coverage. In a two-minute situation, taking away Cruz is a smart idea. However, as a DB you can never assume (or guess) the route scheme. And there is no excuse to giving up a TD when you have two DBs bracketing a WR in the slot.

I would expect more of the same from now on. Teams are going to put a speedster in the slot and try to hit the big play. Cruz is a slot guy from what I hear but has great speed.

Kilmer72 wrote:Hard for me to say it was all Haslets fault. We did hire Raheem to fix the secondary.

That's a great point. Even though there were question marks in the secondary right from the start, and a suspension and injuries haven't helped, I see no logic whatsoever in taking the coordinator of a putrid secondary and giving him the defensive job because of poor secondary play. That is counter intuitive and makes zero sense.

The right defense was called by Haslett ... the players executed what is actually routine over-under double coverage as badly as two players can execute it. In fact, one of the analysts said it best ... "if I was running that defense, those two players would never see the field again."

Wilson needed to get his hands on Cruz off the line and disrupt him some, but Cruz blew by him like he was a shrub. You don't let the slot receiver run free like that ... he had two steps on Wilson in the first five yards, so if Cruz had turned that rout to a short post, Wilson still was not even in good enough position to make a trailing tackle. But Cruz then saw Williams standing there playing with himself like a flat footed idiot, and blew past him too. Totally inexcusable for two starters to play a simple over-under that badly. That's not even acceptable for backups. Until I looked at the play several times, I really wasn't even sure the call was to double Cruz .... but then I started paying close attention and it looked like Williams was trying to position himself to jump the outside rout being covered by Hall, watching Eli, instead of executing the coverage that was his responsibility ... and that's why he got beat so badly. By the time Williams realized Eli was targeting Cruz, he was already by him and the play was busted.

To be honest, I'd really have a hard time putting those two back on the field as starters this week, regardless of who's available to play for them. Somebody needs to send a message to this group that unacceptable is unacceptable, and such atrocious play has consequences.

Red_One43 wrote:This is one explanation on what Madieu Williams was thinking on that Cruz play. The film showed that Cruz never runs a go from the slot position. Cruz was lined up in the slot. Madieu saw that and was confident that Cruz would break off the route. The Skins were very conscious of the Giants marching down the field and kicking a FG, so Madieu was positioning himself to jump the route and possibly make the INT.

What was not known to the the person giving this explanation is the extent that Madieu was coached to watch for this tendency of Cruz. Madieu was responsible for Cruz deep, so it was his fault. Blame could also go to Wilson because he not only failed to get his hands on Cruz, as he turned to run with Cruz he seemed to open his hips awkward and quickly lost a step. It was said that Wilson should never have been over the slot guy because he is not physical enough. Williams being a veteran should have known when to turn and run and play the possibility of the deep ball, but the person giving the explanation kept emphasizing that Cruz never ran a go from the slot.

If that's true, it's probably because Cruz hasn't seen such an atrociously played coverage from the slot before.

If he was even thinking about jumping the rout Cruz was running, he ought to get cut, because that is the corner's option when he's got Safety help over the top. The safety is called that for a reason. In that situation, the absolute last thing that you can allow to happen ... let the guy get behind you, happened.

Go look at the play and watch it several times. Hall is covering Nicks one on one, and keeping Nicks in front of him ..... and I believe Williams was watching Eli, anticipating that he might throw to Nicks in single coverage, where he might jump that rout, because it was clear that Nicks wasn't running a go rout. And before he even gets moving, Cruz already has Wilson beat and is on top of him and Williams is dead meat at that point and Cruz knows it. By the time the ball is released, Williams is behind both Cruz AND Wilson, when he should have been in front of both.

Williams sucks ... and Wilson ain't much better when you see how fast Cruz got past him.

Red_One43 wrote:It seems to me that the person giving this explanation was saying that the coaches were also at fault because, he felt that Madieu was coached to look for Cruz to break off the route and the fact that Wilson being over the slot receiver.

Here's the issue with my source. I hearded this on either ESPN980 or the 106.7 The Fan. I came in after the guest was speaking. This wasn't a random caller, it was a reporter or someone who has inside football knowledge, who was a guest on the one of the shows. I flip back and forth on the stations, so and can't remember which station I was listening to at the time. This was a couple of days ago.

Perhaps someone else heard it as well and can elaborate or heard this from another source.

This the best I can find on the internet. I did find another person in this link from a mesage baord that they have read that Cruz never runs a go form the slot.

http://cpnd.proboards.com/index.cgi?boa ... 377&page=1

The coaches would not be coaching him to stand there like a statue ... and if they are, they need to go.

The more likely scenario is what I suspect ... that Williams was splitting his attention between Cruz and Nicks ... he's watching Eli instead of Cruz, and Eli looks him off of Cruz just enough to freeze him, allowing Cruz's speed to blow by him ... since Wilson was already beaten like a Salvation Army drum, the moment Cruz sees Williams flat fotted, it's pitch and catch for the TD.

Red_One43 wrote:This is one explanation on what Madieu Williams was thinking on that Cruz play. The film showed that Cruz never runs a go from the slot position. Cruz was lined up in the slot. Madieu saw that and was confident that Cruz would break off the route. The Skins were very conscious of the Giants marching down the field and kicking a FG, so Madieu was positioning himself to jump the route and possibly make the INT.

What was not known to the the person giving this explanation is the extent that Madieu was coached to watch for this tendency of Cruz. Madieu was responsible for Cruz deep, so it was his fault. Blame could also go to Wilson because he not only failed to get his hands on Cruz, as he turned to run with Cruz he seemed to open his hips awkward and quickly lost a step. It was said that Wilson should never have been over the slot guy because he is not physical enough. Williams being a veteran should have known when to turn and run and play the possibility of the deep ball, but the person giving the explanation kept emphasizing that Cruz never ran a go from the slot.

If that's true, it's probably because Cruz hasn't seen such an atrociously played coverage from the slot before.

If he was even thinking about jumping the rout Cruz was running, he ought to get cut, because that is the corner's option when he's got Safety help over the top. The safety is called that for a reason. and cannot allow the guy to get behind him.

If you go back and look at the play, you'll see Hall in man coverage on Nicks ... Williams is positioned about half way between Nicks and Cruz .. Cruz blows by Wilson, and Williams doesn't even break until it's too late. I think he was keeping position to jump Nick's rout, as he was anticipating Eli to throw to single coverage ... Eli may even have froze him by looking at Nicks ... that hesitation is all that was needed for Cruz to blow by him. He even ended up behind both Cruz and Wilson!!

Red_One43 wrote:It seems to me that the person giving this explanation was saying that the coaches were also at fault because, he felt that Madieu was coached to look for Cruz to break off the route and the fact that Wilson being over the slot receiver.

Here's the issue with my source. I hearded this on either ESPN980 or the 106.7 The Fan. I came in after the guest was speaking. This wasn't a random caller, it was a reporter or someone who has inside football knowledge, who was a guest on the one of the shows. I flip back and forth on the stations, so and can't remember which station I was listening to at the time. This was a couple of days ago.

Perhaps someone else heard it as well and can elaborate or heard this from another source.

This the best I can find on the internet. I did find another person in this link from a mesage baord that they have read that Cruz never runs a go form the slot.

http://cpnd.proboards.com/index.cgi?boa ... 377&page=1

The coaches would not be coaching him to stand there like a statue ... and if they are, they need to go.

The more likely scenario is what I suspect ... that Williams was splitting his attention between Cruz and Hall's guy Nicks ... he's watching Eli instead of Cruz, and Eli looks him off of Cruz just enough to freeze him, and Cruz is off to the races since Wilson was already beaten like Salvation Army drum.

Red_One43 wrote:

rskin72 wrote:We did know our secondary was suspect during the preseason. We knew our front 7 was stout. We thought our defense would be the better of the two sides....not really fully appreciating how special RGIII was, nor how much of a beast mighy mo would be.

Is our front 7 stout? The front seven is stout against the run (you did say this later in your post), but they are part of the problem with the coverage (you didn't say this). A lack of a pass run. Blame it on injuries to Rak and Carriker (you didn't do this, but others do), but there were games last year when we saw the same problems with both of them playing. Riley will probably never be a good cover guy and Fletch, covering the TEs in the middle has never been an optimum match up.

At least last year in some games, the front 7 did put enough pressure to make our secondary look better especially in the two Giant games. In the two Cowboy games, the front 7 did not generate much of a pass rush.

Why the massive drop off in performance? Given the amount of time that Landry who cannot cover anyway and Atogwe spent on the sidelines is our secondary that much worse than last year? Add Madieu and you basically have the same starters for most of the season. Is Madieu an upgrade over Doughty? I have never seen Doughty get a pick 6.

Why isn't the Front 7 getting the pressure it got last year, which wasn't much if you take out the 7 sack Ram game?

Basically, the same players as last year (add Jenkins). Definitely the same DC!

I won't try to debate you on your fire Haz at the end of the season, because you got a good ammo supply.

For me:

The only way, I say fire Haz is if Wade Philips is available and he won't be. Haz is slowly making adjustments with his D and toning down his agressiveness. The last two games point to him getting it that he must do things differently. He maybe slow reacting to what is, but he is reacting and I beleive that we will see an improvement next week by beating the Steelers on their home turf.

Sorry I did not get back to you on this earlier, am on travel and have not had a chance to respond.....

Actually I did mention lack of a pass rush as one reason that good NFL QB's look at our D and salivate. Concur with your thoughts on Riley and Fletcher in coverage, though.....and with London, it is not only his speed that is a factor, but also his height especially against the new trend to basketball forwards playing at the TE position.

Yea, firing Haz as a scapegoat is not what I would like to see (as happened in Philly last week).....but if there is a better candidate available, and I have to believe that there is a D coach somewhere that would be better than Haz at this point....I would like to see that change take place.

And....I absolutely DO believe we can beat the Steelers in their home....just not sure that the D will be the side of the ball that will provide us with the best opportunity for the W. Think that defensive success vs the Steelers will also hinge on the continuing Big Ben vs O Coord. issues that are being seen in Pittsburgh. And, as with the other games thudfar this season.....give RGIII a close game and the ball at the end, and I like our chances......

Double Post....

RayNAustin wrote:

Red_One43 wrote:This is one explanation on what Madieu Williams was thinking on that Cruz play. The film showed that Cruz never runs a go from the slot position. Cruz was lined up in the slot. Madieu saw that and was confident that Cruz would break off the route. The Skins were very conscious of the Giants marching down the field and kicking a FG, so Madieu was positioning himself to jump the route and possibly make the INT.

What was not known to the the person giving this explanation is the extent that Madieu was coached to watch for this tendency of Cruz. Madieu was responsible for Cruz deep, so it was his fault. Blame could also go to Wilson because he not only failed to get his hands on Cruz, as he turned to run with Cruz he seemed to open his hips awkward and quickly lost a step. It was said that Wilson should never have been over the slot guy because he is not physical enough. Williams being a veteran should have known when to turn and run and play the possibility of the deep ball, but the person giving the explanation kept emphasizing that Cruz never ran a go from the slot.

If that's true, it's probably because Cruz hasn't seen such an atrociously played coverage from the slot before.

If he was even thinking about jumping the rout Cruz was running, he ought to get cut, because that is the corner's option when he's got Safety help over the top. The safety is called that for a reason. and cannot allow the guy to get behind him.

If you go back and look at the play, you'll see Hall in man coverage on Nicks ... Williams is positioned about half way between Nicks and Cruz .. Cruz blows by Wilson, and Williams doesn't even break until it's too late. I think he was keeping position to jump Nick's rout, as he was anticipating Eli to throw to single coverage ... Eli may even have froze him by looking at Nicks ... that hesitation is all that was needed for Cruz to blow by him. He even ended up behind both Cruz and Wilson!!

Red_One43 wrote:It seems to me that the person giving this explanation was saying that the coaches were also at fault because, he felt that Madieu was coached to look for Cruz to break off the route and the fact that Wilson being over the slot receiver.

Here's the issue with my source. I hearded this on either ESPN980 or the 106.7 The Fan. I came in after the guest was speaking. This wasn't a random caller, it was a reporter or someone who has inside football knowledge, who was a guest on the one of the shows. I flip back and forth on the stations, so and can't remember which station I was listening to at the time. This was a couple of days ago.

Perhaps someone else heard it as well and can elaborate or heard this from another source.

This the best I can find on the internet. I did find another person in this link from a mesage baord that they have read that Cruz never runs a go form the slot.

http://cpnd.proboards.com/index.cgi?boa ... 377&page=1

The coaches would not be coaching him to stand there like a statue ... and if they are, they need to go.

The more likely scenario is what I suspect ... that Williams was splitting his attention between Cruz and Hall's guy Nicks ... he's watching Eli instead of Cruz, and Eli looks him off of Cruz just enough to freeze him, and Cruz is off to the races since Wilson was already beaten like Salvation Army drum.

Your explanation is quite plausible as to what Williams was doing. Hall says that they just got beat and the coaches say, Williams got caught flat-footed. Explanations that we can see with our own eyes, but what happend in that defensive meeting before the D took the field? The guest on the radio show was trying to give us what he found out. True, I didn't get the guest's name, but I listen to ESPN980 and 106.7 The Fan often enough to know when the hosts are talking to someone who is credible. I also posted that link to the another fan site where members also read that Cruz never runs a go from the slot.

The guest wasn't saying that the coaches coached him to stand like a statute. The guest was saying that the coaches told him that the chances are slim that Cruz goes deep so watch for the short route. They weren't telling him that he has no responsibility for the deep ball, it is understood that the safety always does. No one is absolving Madieu. The question is did the coaches, knowing that they have a back up for a starting safety, who is new to the defense, make sure that Madieu had his prioritites straight.

I posted this in the Haslett thread, because if true, it is a knock on Haz or Coach Morris or both. I think most of us would agree that a DC coordinator should be saying "Just Don't Get Beat Deep! Period!."

People keep saying that these kind of things don't happen to the good teams. Giants blitzed and got burned by Sanatana - that happens to every team, but a fundamental error like Madieu's and the other crazy stuff that has happened this year - penalties and the like - point not only to the players, but the coaches - maybe your ingredient of "benching" is needed. Maybe, we need to simplify the D for its "back up" starting secondary personnel.

Here's a request for you - When you watch the All -22 count the number of times that Cruz lines in the slot and key on Madieu to see if he is in that same coverage and watch what he does and Cruz does. This will give you more insight as to why Williams didn't do what he was supposed to do.