Washington’s move in the off-season to a 3-4 scheme under first year defensive coordinator Jim Haslett brought mostly positive reaction from around the league, as it seemed on paper to benefit the Redskins given their overall team speed.

But three games into the season, the criticism directed at Haslett and head coach Mike Shanahan is getting louder, with Washington falling all the way to the bottom of the league on defense, after finishing last year ranked in the top ten.

The Redskins are currently allowing 423.7 yards per game to opposing offenses, good enough for last place. The biggest part of that is coming via the air, where opponents are averaging 325.7 yards per game, coming in just ahead of Houston at 31st overall.

“It’s definitely shocking,” said cornerback DeAngelo Hall. “You read about teams that give up 500 yards passing, and you like, ‘What the heck were they doing? What were they playing?’ To now be associated with one of those teams, one of the defenses . . . it’s definitely a tough pill to swallow. It’s in our throats and we swallowing it and trying to do what we need to do to get right.”

From www.washingtonpost.com (share this quote)

For the time being, no changes are expected, but if the Redskins continue to fall way short of expectations defensively, there’s little doubt that the team will be forced to reevaluate their game planning, given the talent at their disposal.

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