MMQB talks about the impact of 93
I surveyed the AFC locker room last night after the Pro Bowl to see how much of a factor the loss of Freeney would be. The answers were predictable. “This is huge for the Saints if he can’t play,” Ray Lewis said. “Freeney’s one of the biggest difference-makers in the league.”
Maurice Jones-Drew, the Jacksonville running back, had the most insightful explanation about what the loss of Freeney would mean. Jones-Drew has often had to stay in to chip-block either Freeney or his bookend impact defensive end, Robert Mathis. “The difference with both Mathis and Freeney playing,” Jones-Drew said, “is that the Saints will almost always have to keep an extra guy in to block. That means one less guy in the passing game for Drew Brees. You know how much they like to send multiple receivers out.”
Jones-Drew is right: Losing Freeney would probably allow the Saints to not help left tackle Jermon Bushrod with an extra blocker as much.
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