While the Las Vegas Raiders’ defense had its worst performance as a whole in Week 3, giving up 41 points to the Washington Commanders, defensive tackle Jonah Laulu was one of the unit’s few bright spots
in Washington.
According to Pro Football Focus, Laulu was the Raiders’ second-highest graded defender with a mark of 72.0. A big reason for that is he tied for the second-most ‘defensive stops’ (three) on the team, which also ranked tied for fifth among interior defenders across the league for the week. Additionally, the second-year pro recorded a couple of pressures as a pass-rusher.
So, the outlook for Las Vegas might be down right now, but let’s take a look at how one young player managed to provide a small silver lining.
Laulu had a handful of disruptive plays on Sunday, and the clip above is a good example.
The Commanders are running a read option out of the inverted wishbone, where the two fullbacks lead block for the quarterback while the running back and offensive line execute a counter run. Meanwhile, it looks like the Raiders are having Laulu and Malcolm Koonce run a stunt since the defensive tackle’s first step is wide or lateral while the end looks to loop inside.
That becomes significant because the center releases flat down the line of scrimmage to block Koonce and leave Laulu unblocked as the read man on the option. However, Laulu does a great job of getting off the ball and attacking the center, taking the read man away from the quarterback to influence the handoff. Simultaneously, he pushes the center into the backfield and ends up picking the pulling tackle.
As a result, linebacker Elandon Roberts can come downhill unblocked and meet the running back in the backfield for a tackle for loss. Also, Laulu escapes the center’s block to get involved in the play, and Maxx Crosby does a great job of winning inside to create a pile and more disruption in the backfield.
This time, Las Vegas is backed up on the goal line and faces a simple halfback dive. With the 3-technique defensive tackle, Leki Fotu, getting pushed back into the end zone by the double team from the left guard and tackle, this should be a touchdown since the running back is looking to hit that gap.
However, Laulu wins at the point of attack against the tight end/extra offensive lineman, standing up the lineman and gaining control of the block. He also does a good job of maintaining a wide base and squeezing inside to put himself between the ball carrier and the goal line, factoring into the tackle to prevent the score.
Also, shoutout to Thomas Booker IV and Germaine Pratt for defeating their blocks as well to come up with the stops.
Here’s the best example of Laulu being dominant at the point of attack.
He’s on the weak side of the formation as the Commanders run duo. That puts him on the backside of the play and one-on-one with the right guard. He takes on the block with excellent leverage and hand placement, standing up the guard and gaining control of the block. Additionally, Laulu does a great job of keeping his feet moving through contact to collapse the guard inside, closing the backside A-gap.
So, when the front-side defenders do fulfill their assignments and force the running back to cut back, the inside rushing lane is closed. From there, Laulu is in a perfect position to get off the block and make a tackle for loss in the B-gap. In other words, he managed to take away two backside rushing lanes while showing up on the stat sheet.
Part of what made Laulu’s performance impressive is that he managed to win even after losing at the point of attack on a handful of reps.
In the clip above, Washington runs counter while Las Vegas pinches its defensive line, meaning all of the defensive linemen are moving toward the center to take away an inside run. That puts the defensive tackle in a tough spot because he’s taking on a down block from Laremy Tunsil and is already moving in the direction that Tunsil wants him to go.
However, Laulu recovers by anchoring with his lower body and executing a hump move to use Tunsil’s momentum against Tunsil. That effectively closes the inside gap and puts the defender in a position to get involved in the tackle near the line of scrimmage. Also, Crosby puts a dirty move on the right tackle to get penetration from the backside and make the initial contact on the running back.
Finally, we’ll get another example where Laulu doesn’t win at the point of attack but still manages to win the rep.
The Commanders run duo, which puts him one-on-one with the left guard on the backside of the play. Initially, the guard starts to win and generate some push. However, the Laulu takes on the block with good pad level to help hold his ground just enough initially, and watch his hands. He manages to get his hands inside the guard’s, allowing him to get the guard’s left hand off his chest and escape the block.
As a result, Laulu is in a perfect position to factor into the tackle at the line of scrimmage after Adam Butler wins on the frontside of the play.
