The NFL moves fast, even in the off-season. And with rookie mini-camp over, and with organized team activities fast approaching, we're suddenly in the middle of the Indianapolis Colts' 2010 off-season. Before the beginning of OTAs in mid-May, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser will take a look at the Colts' roster now that the draft and collegiate free-agency is over.
As we move closer to organized team activities, and therefore deeper into indy Football Report's pre-OTA look at the Indianapolis Colts' roster, we do so today by examining the defensive ends.
That's a position that got a whole more interesting late last month.
The Colts, after a half-decade with DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis not only as their primary pass-rushers but as two of the better pass-rushers in the NFL, made what Colts President Bill Polian said was a long-considered move, adding potentially a third elite pass-rusher to the position.
They did that by selecting Jerry Hughes in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
First, a word about what pass rush means to the Colts' defense:
Just about everything.
And while that's true to some degree about every NFL team, because you typically don't win if you can't pressure the opposing quarterback, it has been particularly true of Indianapolis. The Colts' defense isn't designed – and hasn't been through the last decade – to be necessarily a dominant run defending team. While they haven't struggled against the run nearly as much as many observers seem to believe, neither are they ever likely to be ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in the area.
Instead, the Colts have built their defense not with oversized, highly paid run run-stuffers in the defensive interior. Rather, they have emphasized pass rushers such as Freeney and Mathis and quick, athletic tackles. Some of that is by necessity – behemoth run-stuffers of any quality are difficult to find outside the Top 10 of the draft. But part of it is by design. Such mammoth run defenders often can't play with the quickness required in the Colts' defensive scheme.
Whatever the reason, the Colts' defense through the last decade typically has been one that will allow 70-100 rushing yards during the course of the game, but rather than focus on such overall statistics, they have focused on stopping the run in crucial situations and often enough to create opportunities for turnovers.
That means putting the opponent in passing situations as often as possible.
But mostly, it means taking advantage of those situations when they occur.
At times in recent seasons, the situations have been strikingly rare. Because of the presence of Freeney and Mathis, Colts opponents for a half-decade often have taken the approach of running not only in obvious running situations and balanced situations, but also in what normally would be passing situations. The approach being two-fold – to not only keep the Colts' offense and four-time National Football League MVP Peyton Manning off the field as much as possible, but to limit the number of pass-rushing opportunity for Freeney and Mathis.
What has made Mathis and Freeney unique – and critical to the Colts' success – is the stunningly high percentage of time they have taken advantage of the situations.
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