Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Blache is not an easy man to please.
Through more than 48 minutes of Sunday’s game at Detroit, Blache’s defense held the Lions to 143 yards, 10 points and eight first downs on 35 snaps. But Detroit’s subsequent 76-yard touchdown drive apparently was enough to push Blache over the edge despite the 25-17 victory that improved the Redskins to 6-2 at midseason.
Middle linebacker London Fletcher said Blache - who’s not available to reporters on Mondays - expressed his displeasure with his defense in no uncertain terms, saying he was embarrassed it played “like the south end of a north-bound skunk.”
Given that comment, it’s hard to believe the Redskins rank sixth in total defense, fifth in rushing defense and 11th in passing defense - rankings achieved against five of the eight top offenses in the NFL.
But neither Fletcher nor cornerback Carlos Rogers, the unit’s two leading Pro Bowl candidates, think the defense is playing to its potential.
“We did enough to win, [but] we can play a lot better than we did,” Rogers said. “We always struggle with teams that we expect to come in and dominate. We have to get better to be considered that next team or that team that people talk about.”
Only Denver, Detroit and Seattle have fewer takeaways than Washington’s eight, and those teams have each played one less game. The Redskins rank 16th in red zone defense.
“You feel good about the fact that we have won six ballgames, but we have a lot of work to do,” Fletcher said. “We need to get better in the red zone. We need to create more turnovers … give our offense more opportunities … give them short fields.”
Coach Jim Zorn didn’t react as strongly as Blache to the defense’s performance at Ford Field or during the first half of the season, for that matter. However, the coach appreciated his assistant’s fire.
“We’re not far away,” Zorn said. “We’ve just got to continue to push that pocket to get pressure on the QB, and we need to make the interception when we have the chance. Just like little things irritate me, little things irritate Greg. It’s the little things that are keeping us from playing a very solid game. He’s trying to create some urgency.”
Record pace
Clinton Portis extended his NFL rushing lead to 260 yards over Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson, though the Vikings’ star has played one fewer game.
With 944 yards at midseason, Portis is on pace for 1,888 yards, which would rank as the seventh-highest total in NFL history. Only Jamal Lewis, Terrell Davis and Hall of Famers Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson, Earl Campbell and O.J. Simpson have topped that mark.
Portis also would become just the third Redskins player to lead the NFL in rushing, joining Cliff Battles (1937) and Larry Brown (1970).
Santana Moss’ big day in Detroit moved him into a tie for eighth place with 42 catches and into fifth place with 658 receiving yards. Only Arizona’s Anquan Boldin has more touchdown catches than Moss’ five. Moss is on pace for 84 catches. Only Hall of Famer Art Monk (three seasons) and Laveranues Coles finished with more in a season for the Redskins.
With 40 catches and 451 yards, Chris Cooley is on pace for 80 and 902, which would be a new team record for a tight end. The late Jerry Smith finished with 849 yards on 67 receptions in 1967, a 14-game season.
Shaun Suisham’s 16 field goals put him on pace for 32, one shy of the team record 33 kicked by Mark Moseley in 1983. Moseley missed 14 attempts that year. At 16-for-21, Suisham is on pace to miss only 10. Suisham also sits two field goals shy of fourth place in team history even though he has been with the Redskins less than two full seasons.
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