How the DEs work

A nice little ‘football 101’ article

The television and radio announcers for Colts games will refer to this phenomenon, mentioning that Dwight Freeney or Robert Mathis “take themselves out of the play.”  The idea behind this statement is that Freeney and Mathis get so far behind the line of scrimmage that running plays, particularly draws (delayed running plays), are allowed to go around the end of the Colts defensive line without even dealing with the pass rushing tandem.  There is no way Freeney or Mathis will make the play, so the running back has two fewer defenders to worry about as he heads downfield.

Over the course of the last two seasons, the Colts have addressed this issue by playing bigger players at defensive end on running downs.  These players still attempt to generate pressure on the quarterback as their first priority but take up more space and remain in the outside running lanes.  This forces running backs to spend more time running laterally before they can make a cut downfield.  While running to the outside and finding a “seam” is desirable, and usually effective against most defenses, lateral runs play to the Colts defensive strength: speed.  The rusher is exposed to the defense for so long that the speedy linebackers, safeties, and cornerbacks are capable of heading upfield, stopping the ball-carrier for no gain or for a loss of yards.