Thanks, as always, for taking part in the mailbag, and keep the questions coming! E-mail me at mike.jones@washpost.com with the subject, “Mailbag question,” and we’ll do it all over again next week.

Why are the skins not signing Terrance Knighton to help stop the run? Players are advocating for the front office to sign him, he knows the defense, and we are getting gashed up the middle by every team. This makes too much sense unless there is something behind the scenes going on! Our offense can hang with anyone but our defense can’t stop anyone!



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– Brian Benz, Norfolk, Va.

It sounds so simple: Bring back Pot Roast! But Redskins weren’t thrilled about the production they got out of the big defensive lineman, which is why they opted not to re-sign him. However, now, with the defense struggling against the run after four games, and with none of the additions – Ziggy Hood, Cullen Jenkins, Kendall Reyes and Matt Ioannidis – helping make a difference here, it seems possible that team officials could re-evaluate their stance on Knighton. I’m not saying they will, but I get the sense that some discussions could at least take place. With the unit struggling like it is, all options draw discussion.

But, even if the Redskins do decide to give Knighton another shot, there’s no guarantee he will solve anything. Remember, Washington ranked among the worst in the league against the run with Knighton. They allowed 4.8 yards a carry last year, and are right around there (4.9) this season.

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The biggest question involves what kind of shape Knighton’s in. He’s still quite a big man. He was listed at 355 pounds last year, but I heard that he actually played at closer to 400 last year, and has lost significant weight in the last two months. But team officials would have to figure out if he has better stamina now than he did at times last year, where he wore down late in games, and if his presence – even if it’s in a limited capacity – can help nudge the defense toward improvement. Joe Barry does like to rotate his defensive linemen to keep them fresh, so maybe Knighton could make a difference on a shared workload. But it’s unclear how many supporters Knighton still has in the building, or if those who didn’t want to re-sign him are now desperate enough to change their minds.

One thing’s for sure, the Redskins find themselves in a desperate situation and should evaluate all of their options.

I know Joe Barry takes a lot of flak from the fans for the defense as a whole (which may or may not be deserved) but something has got to give. What changes on defense could be made to try and shore up this group? Free agents or guys from the bench?

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– Jay Rotell, Cheshire, Conn.

The biggest problem I see involves execution. Look at Washington’s defensive linemen play, and then look at another line. The biggest difference you’ll see: the Redskins’ linemen don’t get off of blocks and swarm to the ball. Other defensive linemen do. Far too often, offensive linemen are able to move the Redskins to the side, or off the line. There’s not a great push from the Redskins. The offense establishes the line of scrimmage far too often.

So, while you could fault Barry for his use of the defensive backs, or the lack of blitzes he called earlier in the season, I don’t think you can blame him as much for these run struggles. He’s gone with more four-man fronts. He’s put seven and eight guys in the box in the past two weeks, as opposed to the previous weeks, when he went with more six-man boxes and dropped more into coverage. But players aren’t making plays.

Can someone off the streets help? Eh, I guess at this point, they should try anything. But they need more than one additional big, powerful body. And anyone un-signed at this point remains out of a job for a reason. Guys on the bench? Anthony Lanier II is the only guy that hasn’t played, but he’s a little smaller and needs to get stronger to make a real impact against the run. The guys on the field have to do a better job of executing, and if they can’t, then you’re stuck with the same old results. Most likely, the run defense won’t get any better until next year, once the front office decides to seriously invest in the line, whether through free agency, the draft, or both.

Isn’t it time to give up on the Joe Barry Experiment? It’s clear he is incompetent and we, as Redskins fans, can’t be given the BS excuse that “the talent level isn’t good enough.” Barry hasn’t been able to devise a game plan to stop either the run or the pass.



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– Alsane Soumah

I don’t think there’s a simple answer to this. You fire Joe Barry, and replace him with who? Perry Fewell? He’s probably the one qualified guy on staff. But even so, that doesn’t make the defensive linemen suddenly stop getting shoved back off the line. It doesn’t make the linebackers fly up in holes and drop running backs instead of whiffing. I see these guys do tackling drills in practice, they spend hours on it, and in the film room, breaking down mistakes and talking about how to correct it. The stuff isn’t translating into games, however, and part of that has to do with physical limitations, unfortunately.

The Redskins don’t have a lot of young, explosive defensive linemen on their roster. And their pass-rushers have been solid, but not dominant. You can’t go years and years without making the proper investments in a defensive front and expect a coordinator to come in, wave a magic wand and fix it all.

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Remember, everyone was calling for Jim Haslett’s head when he was here. “Not enough blitzes, not enough stops against the run!” But the run game has actually gotten worse, and the players brought in haven’t been true upgrades over guys like Barry Cofield and Stephen Bowen. Chris Baker is a nice piece, but it’s too easy to double up on him when you don’t have anyone else that scares you.

I’m not saying Barry is or isn’t the guy. He’s certainly knowledgeable. But it’s not like he’s working with young, up-and-coming difference-makers. If Washington had drafted several high-level defensive linemen, signed a stud in free agency, and they were getting gashed still, it’d be easier to crush the coach. But, really, is it as simple as that? Is it all coaching? Is it all talent? No, to both. Is it part talent, part coaching? Possibly.

Is Joe Barry just not a good defensive coordinator or is it the defensive talent? Why hasn’t Jay Gruden criticized Joe Barry and his defense like he does QBs? The Redskins defense was horrible against Cleveland as they missed tackle after tackle.

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Do you think it’s true football teams take on the attitude of their coaches? Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh is a perfect example as the team plays with his personality. If this is the case, you can see why Washington’s defense is as bad as it is. Why no one is talking about Joe Barry’s job? He was a questionable hire from the start. I read last week that Joe Barry is a coach known for barking at adjustments. Why hasn’t Joe Barry taken as much heat this year as Kirk Cousins?

– Larry Grant, Woodbridge

Um, every week I have about a dozen e-mails and dozens of tweets calling for Joe Barry’s head. He got grilled pretty intensely for his use of Josh Norman against Antonio Brown – or the lack there of. And the struggles of his unit against the run are well-documented. So, I’m not sure why you feel like nobody is talking about Barry, or why anyone is giving him a pass. And of course, Jay Gruden might chew Barry out behind close doors, but he’s not going to publicly criticize him and prompt players to start undermining their coordinator’s authority. As far as your question about whether Barry is the problem, or is it his players, see above.

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A few observations I would like your opinion on:

● Brandon Scherff is becoming a stud offensive lineman. His downfield blocking on the Chris Thompson run was fantastic.

● Spencer Long has found a home. Looked much better than I thought he would. So much better than Josh LeRibeus and possibly Kory Lichtensteiger.

● We are all excited about running game from Sunday, however Matt Jones left a lot yards on the field. Matt tends to think of himself as 190 lbs. instead of 230+. Why all the shake and bake and stutter stepping prior to hitting the hole? He needs to explode through the line … shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

● Why is the defense consistently playing in prevent on first? Two defensive tackles and two outside linebackers as our four down linemen is a major reason we are getting gashed by the running game.

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– Bowen Carpenter, Raleigh, N.C.

Okay, speed round. Here we go …

● Yes, Brandon Scherff is certainly off to a good start. He had a solid rookie season, but he seems to be blocking with more authority and aggression this year. He made some downfield blocks last season that impressed (remember Matt Jones on the 78-yard screen pass? Scherff got out in front). He wasn’t the flashy top-five pick that fans wanted, but Scherff certainly is a keeper.

● Long had a good first game. We’ll see how he does against a more-vaunted defense. But, team officials remain hopeful that he can lock down this job. They like his size and strength. They had seen him as a potential long-term upgrade over Lichtensteiger. But, he lacks experience and could take some lumps still.

● Jones talked about his running style on Sunday. He admitted that he still is working to do a better job of finishing runs and attacking with more aggression, which involves using his size and strength to his advantage. He’s studying tape of Marshawn Lynch and Adrian Peterson regularly now in hopes of developing into a more punishing back.

● Barry can’t win with his defensive alignments. Everyone says “Scrap the 3-4 and make Kerrigan and Smith ends in a 4-3!” Now it’s “Why are they in a four-man front!?” Okay, a little exaggeration. But someone did ask a very similar question to the first there, and you’re kind of asking the second.

But, anyway, that’s what they do in their nickel packages, when lining up against teams with three receivers. You have to eliminate one of the three down linemen and put an extra defensive back on the field. You don’t want one of your linebackers covering a slot receiver every play. The Redskins aren’t the only team to do this. The problem isn’t a three-man front with Kerrigan and Smith on the edges versus a four-man front that features two bigger bodies in the middle and Kerrigan and Smith (or Murphy) as down linemen. The problem is the linemen struggle to get off blocks and clog running lanes no matter where they’re lined up.

Email a Redskins question to mike.jones@washpost.com, with the subject “Mailbag question,” and it might be answered next Tuesday.