Evaluating Kam Curl’s performance against the Colts
Breaking down how Curl performed with the added responsibility of having to call the defensive plays.
Safety Kam Curl has been one of the bright spots in the Commanders’ secondary since he was drafted in the seventh round back in 2020. He’s developed significantly and seen his role increase steadily from big nickel to starting safety. Against the Colts, that role increased again. With Cole Holcomb out injured, the Commanders gave Curl the responsibility of calling the defense. That job is typically reserved for linebackers but because of Curl’s intelligence in understanding a variety of different roles across the defense, he was trusted with making the calls with Holcomb unavailable.
What was noticeable with this added responsibility was that Curl played a lot deeper than he typically does. Curl will typically play up in the box, over the slot or part of a two-deep safety look as part of a quarters coverage. If the defense plays in a single deep safety structure, Bobby McCain or Darrick Forrest would be the safeties to play that role. But against the Colts, Curl ended up as that single deep safety a lot more often than normal. Perhaps this was by design to help him see the whole defense and communicate calls easier, but it did mean that McCain and Forrest had to adjust to different roles too.
Here’s an example of Curl being the deepest defender. He aligns as the weak safety opposite the side from the tight end, which is typically where McCain lines up. McCain instead takes Curl’s spot over the slot receiver in the big nickel package. Forrest takes up the strong safety spot and rotates down over the tight end late. Once the ball is snapped, Forrest attaches to the tight end and McCain covers the slot. Curl rotates back to the deep middle of the field.
This type of look happened on quite a few occasions too.
This time the Colts spread out the defense with an empty formation. They have two detached tight ends, one either side of the formation. Forrest and McCain drop down to cover those two tight ends while Curl works as the deepest defender again. Like before, both McCain and Forrest play solid coverage while Curl sinks back to the deep middle, but unfortunately Rachad Wildgoose gives up a defensive pass interference on a slot fade.
The Commanders showed off just how versatile those three safeties truly are in this game and it’s good to have that flexibility to allow them to show some different looks. However, I’d imagine this was more of a one-off situation that allowed Curl more vision of the entire defense to make calls and adjustments. While he was capable of playing this role, it’s not necessarily the best use of his talents. Curl can be such an impactful player when he plays closer to the line of scrimmage or as part of a two deep safety look.
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