ProFootballFocus’ Pass-Rush Profile series rolls on with a fifth player going under the microscope — this time Robert Mathis of the Indianapolis Colts. Ben Stockwell takes a look at a player somewhat in the shadow of his linemate, Dwight Freeney, but who is rapidly emerging as one of the most terrifying edge rushers in the league in his own right. Looking beyond the base statistics and into our back catalogue of data, Mathis’ performance paints the picture of the prototypical edge rusher.
The Indianapolis Colts are renowned for having one of the most devastating pass-rushing units in the NFL, with the combination of Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis particularly feared for their speed off of the edge. As our prior article on Freeney showed, his inside threat is as strong (if not stronger) than his speed off of the edge, however on the other side Mathis is a true edge rusher.
No pass rusher got more pressure around the outside than Mathis in 2009. He recorded 42 total pressures (9 sacks, 7 hits, 26 pressures) from the outside last season, six ahead of second-place Trent Cole (6 sacks, 12 hits, 18 pressures) and 14 clear of Freeney (7 sacks, 5 hits, 16 pressures). Mathis was also well clear of the field in terms of his pressure per snap, beating a blocker outside to record pressure once every 9.74 pass rushes, more frequent than the likes of Freeney (once every 14.04 pass rushes) and Cole (once every 15.14 pass rushes).
Mathis clearly benefits from both scheme and the presence of Freeney on the other side but his role was increased in 2009 and his level of play picked up accordingly. His pressure frequency picked up from once every 10.61 pass rushes in ’08 to once every 7.05 snaps in ’09 as he stepped up into his amplified role.
Whereas other top pass rushers that we’ve profiled have shown a degree of balance in beating blockers inside and outside, Mathis is a one-trick pony. That’s not to do him a disservice, however; that trick is an excellent one. Mathis simply gets more outside pressure than any other outside pass rusher in the league. Mathis got 72.41 percent of his pressure outside and 24.14 percent inside, a difference of close to 50percent. Among the league’s top pass rushers, only Tennessee’s William Hayes and New England’s Derrick Burgess joined him at that level.
On top of his total pressure, Mathis also got more sacks outside of blockers than any other pass rusher. In fact, the only area of pass rushing where Mathis didn’t lead the league in terms of outside pressure last season was hits, where he trailed Cole (12 hits), Andre Carter, Kyle Vanden Bosch and Leonard Little (all 8 hits apiece). Mathis was the epitome of an edge rusher and rarely benefited from unblocked pressure either, picking up merely 10 percent of his pressure (3 hits, 3 pressures) when teams failed to account for him.
On top of his edge rushing, Mathis brought the heat on third downs. Only six players picked up more pressure in this situation, including partner in crime Freeney. Considering Mathis’ lowered snap count (largely from sitting out games late in the season), his performance on third down is all the more impressive. Mathis’ six sacks on third down were bettered only by Elvis Dumervil (11), Freeney, Cole and Brian Orakpo (7 sacks each).
Following his trend of playing well predominantly outside of blockers, five of Mathis’ third-down sacks came to the outside. With Freeney applying more pressure than any other defender on third downs and Mathis coming in seventh (second on a per-snap basis), it’s perhaps a surprise to see that, even considering their run defense, the Colts were amongst the league’s worst in terms of getting off the field on third down.
Mathis put forth a great deal of consistency in 2009 as well, showing that being a one-trick pony doesn’t make him easy for an offensive tackle to take away. In only four of his 14 regular-season games was he held to a solitary piece of pressure and in only four (not the same four) of his 14 regular-season games was he unable to take the QB down by either a hit or a sack.
Mathis’ three weakest performances as a pass rusher all came at his customary starting position of DLE and in road trips: a solitary sack in a matchup with Vernon Carey in Miami, a lone pressure in St. Louis against Adam Goldberg and a single pressure up against Michael Oher in Baltimore. Mathis didn’t start that final game in Baltimore, but he played 43 of the Colts’ 68 defensive snaps in that contest, so including it in an analysis seems fair.
Mathis’ first month of the season — aside from his blip in Miami — was extremely strong and set the foundation for his season. It was marked by two outstanding performances against NFC West opponents: in Week 3 (1 sack, 2 hits, 8 pressure in Arizona against Levi Brown) and Week 4 (3 sack, 1 hit, 1 pressure at home against Seattle and Brandon Frye).
Fig 1. Graph mapping Robert Mathis’ pressure throughout the season.
Unlike DeMarcus Ware who profited from some big games against poor offensive tackles, Mathis took part in no stat padding when he found himself in advantageous matchups.
Eben Britton (2 hits, 8 pressures across two games), Levi Brown, Tyler Polumbus (4 pressures), Duane Brown (1 sack, 1 hit, 4 pressures), were all sub-standard pass protectors against whom Mathis brought the heat.
Much like Ware, Mathis was kept quiet by some of the better tackles he faced. But he also showed the versatility to pick up pressure from both right and left sides. With Freeney struggling through injuries in 2009, Mathis started two games on the right side and had spectacular performances against Seattle and Houston. With Freeney showing signs of his body starting to break down, Mathis’ ability to switch sides could be crucial in the continued success of the Colts’ defensive pressure packages.
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