DT’s playing well

Mock says they are under the radar

In terms of push, the tackles have regularly pushed offensive linemen three or four yards behind the line of scrimmage. Considering that most passes have come out very quickly against the Colts, to take advantage of loose coverage schemes and to negate the heavy rush from Freeney and Mathis, this is enough to push quarterbacks from five yards behind the line to seven or eight yards in under three seconds. When speed rushers turn a corner, this deeper position will matter, allow for forced fumbles, sacks, and hits on the quarterback.

Now, the defensive tackles are not outstanding in every game. They have had some bad games, and individual performances have been up and down, but the defensive tackles are not the “problem” in the defense’s struggles stopping the run. They’ve been better getting pressure on the quarterback than they have in years. Expecting the Colts defensive tackles to look like defensive tackles in 3-4 defensive schemes or to play like tackles do in other 4-3 schemes is setting them up for failure to meet expectations.