The Indianapolis Colts’ defense is coming off a season in which they produced a franchise record 51 sacks, but if you ask DeForest Buckner, there is one key area in which the defensive front can improve.
“The thing is, we left a lot of sacks out there,” said Buckner on Wednesday, “and you know, we got to continue as a group to just have that constant pressure on the quarterback throughout the entire game.”
While the Colts’ 51 sacks from a season ago were the fifth-most in the NFL, relatively speaking, they didn’t get after the quarterback all that regularly, ranking 23rd in total pressures and 22nd in pressure rate, according to Pro Football Reference.
In terms of being able to replicate that level of sack production this season, realistically, the Colts are going to need generate pressures at a much higher rate. Producing a sack rate that ranked as the eighth-best while being 22nd in pressure rate likely isn’t all that sustainable.
“That was one of the things, was our pressure rate as a unit throughout this season,” added Buckner. “It wasn’t as high as–you put the sacks and the pressure rate, I mean, it was great, sacks are great and all but we got to continue to have an outcome on the game and threaten the quarterback a little bit more, especially in the fourth quarter and in crunch time and those are the things that we can accomplish as a group.”
The Colts are certainly positioned well to make this improvement this season. Along an already stout defensive front, the team added Laiatu Latu in the draft and signed Raekwon Davis in free agency, who the team believes has untapped pass rush production playing in Gus Bradley’s defense.
General manager Chris Ballard has built a very deep rotation that can rely on eight or nine different defenders throughout the course of a game.
That kind of depth will help keep the defenders fresh, it can wear down the offensive line, and can create more one-on-one opportunities.
This also really allows Bradley to mix and match his rotations based on what the game-plan calls for, along with having the luxury of putting players in specific situations where they can succeed.
Buckner would add that the addition of Charlie Partridge as the defensive line coach will play a key role in all of this as well.
“Having Charlie, the new addition to our group,” said Buckner, “I think he’s going to help us take our game to that next level.”
As we all know the name of the game in the NFL is getting after the quarterback. If a defensive front is able to do that regularly, it leads to mistakes from the offense and the rest of the defense benefits greatly.
“I think it’ll just be a big problem for other teams,” said Kwity Paye earlier this offseason. “You know, like you see teams that make it far in the playoffs, the Chiefs, the 49ers, the Eagles, teams like that where they just have a second D-line that could be a first D-line anywhere else.
“So that’s kind of like, I feel like that’s what we’re trying to build here. There’s no dropoff. As soon as the second D-line coming, the O-line doesn’t have rest, like the O-line doesn’t have the chance to regroup for the first team coming in.”