Charting a Drive: Defense Atones

Kasey is back with his weekly piece

Jacksonville’s second drive of this game is fascinating for a number of reasons.  On one hand, it is the drive that most resembled what the Jags wanted to accomplish this game.  They drove it 15 plays and held the ball for 8 minutes and 41 seconds.  They showed good balance between run & pass, running the ball 8 times and passing it 7.  On the other hand, it was also a microcosm of the good things Indy’s D brought to the table.  The D Line was impressive, and Gary Brackett had a monster drive that mimicked the rest of his play.  The D hadn’t started their secondary collapse which would characterize the later stages of the game.  Also, this drive had a horrendous call by the officials, just one of many we would see on the day.  Finally, writing about this drive gives me an opportunity to apologize to the young man that occasionally sits in front of me at the games.  I’m sorry I yelled “In American football there are 4 downs” in your ear.  I was a little fired up at the refs and you were an innocent bystander.