Kam Curl continues to prove value in multiple roles for Commanders
Breaking down Curl’s impressive performance against the Falcons
Commanders safety Kam Curl continues to fly under the radar because he doesn’t produce many interceptions, fumbles or sacks. But his latest performance against the Falcons this past Sunday was yet another example of just how good of a player he’s developed into and how much of a fundamental piece of the defense that he has become. He plays so many different roles, often changing between them within the same drive but is still consistently able to play to a high level.
Against the Falcons, Curl stood out in a number of ways.
The first play that stands out came midway through the second quarter. Near midfield and down by three, the Falcons opt to go for it on fourth down to try and keep their drive alive. They need just three yards to convert, so look to try and get a quick pass off to running back Bijan Robinson in the flat. However, how they get to that pass is quite creative. Instead of lining up in the backfield like a normal running back, Robinson aligns outside to the right as part of an empty formation. Before the snap, Robinson then motions inside into a stacked set in an attempt to grant him a free release off the snap.
Kam Curl starts the play over the slot at about eight yards off the line of scrimmage, but when Robinson motions into the stacked set, he runs up to the line to play press. Curl is the flat defender in a Cover-3 defense here, so he is responsible for Robinson in the flat, but the other receiver that Robinson stacks behind makes things difficult for him. That receiver deliberately runs his route right at Curl, trying to force him wide and deep to create space for Robinson underneath. Curl initially looks to get his hands on that receiver to jam him, but keeps his eyes inside on both Robinson and the quarterback.
By playing with that vision, Curl is able to see the quarterback beginning his throwing motion and he knows the ball is going to Robinson underneath. He reacts by peeling off the other receiver and breaking down quickly to Robinson’s route. He dives at the ball in order to contest the catch and ends up breaking up the pass to prevent Robinson from converting. It might not have been an interception or a fumble, but it was a key play on fourth down that got the offense the ball back with a short field, which the offense proceeded to take advantage of and extend their lead.
That was a big play from Curl but it was far from the only good play he had in this game. The Commanders clearly had a big emphasis on stopping the run and to do that, they often used a five defensive lineman package. Occasionally though, the Falcons caught them in a favorable run look where the Commanders didn’t have that fifth defensive lineman on the field. To make up for that, linebacker Jamin Davis would shift to the edge and act as the fifth defensive lineman and Curl would be tasked to rotate down to the box and replace Davis at linebacker.
Here we can see that exact look playing out with Davis down on the line of scrimmage as the edge defender while Curl steps up from deep to effectively become an extra linebacker. This is something Curl does a lot and in fact he often plays the dime linebacker role when the Commanders use dime packages with six defensive backs on the field. Being able to step into the box and pretend to be a linebacker is one thing, but actually being able to read and diagnose runs and then understanding where to fit them is another.
Curl shows just how good he is against the run here. The Falcons run a crack toss scheme designed to try and pin the defense inside and get the running back to the edge with blockers out in front. You can see Davis as the makeshift edge defender getting pinned inside by the scheme while the right tackle pulls to the edge as the lead blocker. Curl does an excellent job reading his keys and working outside to the edge where he meets the running back in the hole and makes the tackle.
We’ve seen Curl playing in the flat and in the box as a run defender, but he also made some plays from deep too.
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