In the fourth installment of Pro Football Focus' Pass-Rush Profile series, Khaled Elsayed looks at a man famed for his ability off the edge to beat defenders: Dwight Freeney. Here, we bring you the result of analysis into how much pressure Freeney was able to generate in 2009 and where he brought it from. Once we got beyond the base statistics, a number of insights emerged to reveal just how good he really was…
When Dwight Freeney sprained his ankle it changed the dynamics of Super Bowl XLIV. Though Freeney was able to generate a decent amount of pressure on a heavily taped ankle (a sack and three pressures), Colts fans must wonder just how much damage he could have done if he was at 100 percent and able to play more than the 38 snaps he courageously managed. Despite being heavily rotated out of the lineup throughout the season — missing two games and effectively missing another two — Freeney's 67 total regular-season pressures only trailed DeMarcus Ware (and Ware was on the field for 148 more regular-season pass-rushing attempts).
It was his pressure per pass rush that was really highlighted in our Pass Rushing Productivity study, where Freeney topped all those who rushed the passer on at least 200 occasions. He may not have ended up with the most sacks or the most total pressure, but given that he was spelled when the Colts had games wrapped up and benched when the Colts didn't want to risk him to injury, it wouldn't be the biggest leap in the world to suggest that he could have led the league in both if he was given more of an opportunity. That said, there is something to be said for preserving Freeney by not keeping him in as much as the more durable players like Jared Allen or Ware.
The most impressive (or interesting) thing about where Freeney gets his pressure from is the variation. Seen primarily as a speed rusher, Freeney is pretty much the complete package as a pass rusher and does a staggering amount of his work inside the offensive tackles. In fact, almost half (49.25 percent) of his pressure came there, with his 33 total pressures inside of blockers ranking him above all others in this category.
Furthermore, Freeney's outside pressure numbers do not suffer as a result of this (as we saw with John Abraham). His 28 total pressures outside were more than respectable, bettered by only five players. The only real area that Freeney wasn't among the league leaders was in bringing unblocked pressure, which is more likely to be seen in a positive than negative light.
When Freeney is on the field teams always account for him, and it's telling that he only notched three unblocked pressures (two of which, remarkably, came against the excellent Jets offensive line, both resulting in sacks). His 4.48 percent of unblocked pressure is the lowest among the league's top pass rushers, and it's a big indicator of just how feared Freeney is compared to his peers (by contrast, Colts teammate Robert Mathis was up at 10.34 percent and the guy just behind Freeney in terms of total pressure, Ray Edwards, was up at 24.24 percent).
When you consider this and how the Colts use Freeney (chiefly when they need him, not every down or when games are decided) it's fair to say that Freeney's numbers are slightly deflated compared to his production on the field in relation to his peers. Also detracting from his base stats is the league-wide respect and attention (in the form of blocking) he gets from offensive coordinators.
What is perhaps most impressive about Freeney is he doesn't discriminate against offensive tackles. While our Abraham and Allen studies showed a tendency to boost stats against lower opposition, Freeney had some of his biggest games against highly rated tackles like Ryan Clady (eight total pressures) and twice against Michael Roos (11 total pressures in two games).
He also took his opportunities to feast on the poorer left tackles — like a debuting Eugene Monroe, whom he abused to the tune of 10 total pressures. But it's Freeney's ability to perform against the top tackles (he also recorded sacks against Jake Long and D'Brickashaw Ferguson) that that puts him at the top of the pass-rushing class.
Fig 1. Graph mapping Dwight Freeney's pressure throughout the season.
Still, just when you think you've broken down all the strengths of Freeney's game to compliment a quite phenomenal pass-rushing seaso,n you then go and look at his work on third down. Only Elvis Dumervil had more sacks (11) than Freeney on third down, and nobody got close to his total pressures (37) when it mattered most. It's a key statistic and adds more weight to the argument that Freeney is the premiere pass rusher in the NFL at the moment.
The only concern you really have with Freeney as a pass rusher is his ability to stay on the field. Fortunately, the brilliance of the Colts allows them to rest Freeney in games and for games. But he is a player susceptible to injury, and it's pretty hard to rush the passer when you're not on the field. His pressure per play is amazing, but durability concerns (he played more than 100 fewer snaps than a player who is regularly rotated, Abraham, and 400 fewer than workhorse Mario Williams) limit his effectiveness.
It would be interesting to see, if the Colts required it, how he would cope with a heavier load. Still, given the talent in key positions the Colts have, maybe we'll never discover whether the efficiency with which the Colts deploy Freeney masks over any potential weakness in his arsenal.
All in all, it's hard not to be impressed with Freeney. He can get pressure inside and outside, he does it against the best tackles and he does it on third down. His '09 performance paints the picture of the prototypical pass rusher who, when healthy, causes offences no end of trouble.
He takes advantage of the Colts' rotation policy to bring maximum effort and maximum efficiency very time he's on the field. Presuming he can remain healthy, there's nothing to suggest he won't be able to carry this on into 2010 and remain the most effective pass rusher in the NFL.
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