Silent but deadly

Mathis and Freeney can change games without stats

Mark Simon of ESPN Stats & Information tells me in the five games this season when Mathis and Freeney didn’t have a sack, discounting the Buffalo finale when the Colts really didn’t play to win from the start, the Colts gave up an average of 236 passing yards and 1.4 passing touchdowns a game. With a sack from them, those numbers were 213 and 0.9.

I asked Ken Moll of Scouts Inc. and a coach who has game-planned against the Colts this year for their thoughts on what it means if the Saints can keep Freeney and Mathis quiet.

Moll: “The Colts have only generated one sack (Gary Brackett) in the postseason after racking up 34 during 2009. Freeney and Mathis are arguably two of the best pass-rushing tandems in the league, racking up 23 sacks between them (during the season) but have been held at bay thus far. There are a couple of reasons why this has been the case. The first being both teams are heavy run-first offenses with short controlled passing games and the other being extra blockers (tight end or backs) chipping on one or both of these edge rushers. Yes, Freeney and Mathis still had a huge impact in those postseason contests as offensive coordinators have to limit what they do (especially in the passing game) and the attention given to them frees up other defenders to make plays.”

The coach: “The way we look at it, they can influence a game even if they are not getting sacks. You’re accounting for them usually with two guys on each of them. So if you’re accounting four for those two, it should free some of those other guys up to make plays. And either you’re getting one or two guys less into the route, three-man routes instead of five man routes, or they are freeing up one of those other guys to get pressure.”