Bob Kravitz on Freeney

[HtownColt]

Bob Kravitz article on Dwight Freeney.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20121129/SPORTS15/211300316/1058/SPORTS03

[oldunclemark]

That's what I see.

Mathis and Freeney are still getting double teams

They dont double Jerry Hughes..

[gbrads_rants]

That's what I see.

Mathis and Freeney are still getting double teams

They dont double Jerry Hughes..

Agreed...thing is I'd like to see Freeney stay...he's about to be 33 and the chances of him getting picked up for his current pay is slim to none...like super slim. I hope he agrees to a smaller contract with us.

[JoKeR]

That was a good article, no generalization.

[Coltswarriors]

Yup.

Last week one play in particular stood out. The Bills ran Spiller towards Freeney's side and Freeney drove his double (might have been triple, can't remember) block into the back field forcing Spiller to re-direct and was tackled for a loss by another Colts defender.

Freeney doesn't get the credit on the stat sheet, but he was the sole reason on that play that it was a loss of yards for the Bills.

[Superman]

Yup.

Last week one play in particular stood out. The Bills ran Spiller towards Freeney's side and Freeney drove his double (might have been triple, can't remember) block into the back field forcing Spiller to re-direct and was tackled for a loss by another Colts defender.

Freeney doesn't get the credit on the stat sheet, but he was the sole reason on that play that it was a loss of yards for the Bills.

Yeah, he bull rushed two guys well into the backfield, and should have drawn a holding penalty, and without that, we don't get that play stopped as effectively. I think it was Freeman who came in and did clean up duty on that one.

[lollygagger8]

Good article.

I agree the numbers aren't there, but he's played better as of late. He does probably have the most holding penalites go uncalled in the history of the NFL. lol

His pass coverage is atrocious, and he takes himself out of run defense by strictly rushing the passer. This is nothing new, but he does have only one more tackle than Reggie Wayne. lol, and I still love him as a Colt.

I say if we keep Freeney, his contract has got to be heavily incentive laden. He's had his paydays already, and I don't see Grigson is going to offer anywhere near that kind of money next year.

[21isSuperman]

Freeney has been good, but as the article said, he has been playing sometimes injured and sometimes without Mathis and he is adjusting to a new position. With time, I think he will get more settled into the defense and learn his role. Give him another offseason with the coaches and then let's see what he can do. Plus, I've heard that it can take a team up to 3 years to make a full transition from 4-3 to 3-4, depending on how keen they are in what they do. We saw the Texans do it in one year and go from worst to first, but that is rarely the case. Give him and the team time to adjust to their new roles.

[NewColtsFan]

When Freeney plays I think he's played pretty well. So, even if he's not sacking a QB, at least he's being disruptive to the offense.

Fine.

But.... he's not healthy that much. He can't seem to stay on the field for very long. I don't think we're getting enough bang for our buck. His status next year will be an interesting off-season story line to watch....

[HarassedOffTheSite]

Thanks to Krapitz for stating the obvious.

[CR91]

what would be a reasonable contract to get dwight back 4 years 25 mil

[The Peytonator]

Last week one play in particular stood out. The Bills ran Spiller towards Freeney's side and Freeney drove his double (might have been triple, can't remember) block into the back field forcing Spiller to re-direct and was tackled for a loss by another Colts defender.

That play was ridiculous. He turned Cordy Glenn (340+ lbs) into a ragdoll on that play.

[funktacious2]

I knew there would be somebody who would insult Kravitz before I scrolled to the bottom. I don't always like what the guy writes either, but I liked this article.

[GrizzColt]

Freeney 's conditioning is second to none. Nobody is more of a pro than him. I wish he and Mathis were 5 years younger. We really would be building a beast.

[Tark The Shark]

Freeney has been ok this year. And he has definitely had one of the best careers in the NFL, for a DE.

Unfortunately I don't think we should resign him. With the money we should try for a younger pass rusher. Or keep working with Hughes who has shown he can start opposite of Mathis.

[The Peytonator]

what would be a reasonable contract to get dwight back 4 years 25 mil

I'd probably be okay with something like that.....

I want him to retire a Colt.

[TKnight24]

Gotta love Freeney

[danlhart87]

2 year deal tops or I don't want him

[Superman]

2 year deal tops or I don't want him

I don't too much care how long the deal is. I'm more worried about the guaranteed money.

[braveheartcolt]

Freeney has been ok this year. And he has definitely had one of the best careers in the NFL, for a DE.

Unfortunately I don't think we should resign him. With the money we should try for a younger pass rusher. Or keep working with Hughes who has shown he can start opposite of Mathis.

I'd prefer Freeney on one leg (a la 2009 SB) to Hughes. Every day, all day. Hughes remains to be an indiciplined non factor with a little ST talent. If we are going to dump Freeney, we need to draft high.

[bluecolt]

That's what I see.

Mathis and Freeney are still getting double teams

They dont double Jerry Hughes..

Couldn't agree with you any more. They are gameplaning against freeney and mathis and i think its pretty safe to say hughes just cant get to the quarterback. if either of those guys were getting single covered on the line their sack totals would be a lot higher. i just dont see it in hughes

[bluecolt]

I'd prefer Freeney on one leg (a la 2009 SB) to Hughes. Every day, all day. Hughes remains to be an indiciplined non factor with a little ST talent. If we are going to dump Freeney, we need to draft high.

exactly. hughes is a bust. freeney has made this defense for years and is still an amazing talent

[Gavin]

When did this turn into a Jerry Hughes bashing thread? some of you are ridiculous with it, the guy has 4 sacks and 27 tackles in just 6 starts at 24 years old. Now for comparisons sake since every time Freeneys name comes up Hughes seems to work his way into the post as well, Freeney has 2 sacks......2 sacks in 9 starts and 6 total tackles, Does anyone really think Grigson kept Freeney around for that kind of production or because oh he draws double teams? The NFL is a production business and Freeney has not done that, which wouldn't be so bad if he was young and in a new defense, reality is he isn't and Hughes has outproduced (and outplayed) him in a new defense. I'd like for him to retire a Colt but he would only be a situational pass rusher (just like he has always been) on a reasonable contract thats short

[throwing BBZ]

Freeney shouldn`t be starting, just used as a situational pass rusher of which he is no longer very usefull at that.

He is being replaced a lot thankfully, player developement is the right way to go.

[mvbighead]

I say if we keep Freeney, his contract has got to be heavily incentive laden. He's had his paydays already, and I don't see Grigson is going to offer anywhere near that kind of money next year.

You just missed the point of that article... completely.

Take a look at the play mentioned above where, statistically, Freeney did absolutely nothing. But, in reality, he forced a run back, and caused a negative rush on a very explosive back. The moment you start saying that you are going to pay a guy for sacks or tackles, or whatever, is the moment his focus becomes less about making the defensive unit stronger, and making sure he gets his numbers.

I'd be completely satisfied if Freeney ended his career here averaging 3-4 sacks a season for the next 3-4 years, if that meant that he was getting doubled and allowing others to get numbers. The whole gist of that article is statistics don't always tell the whole story.

You know the times when Freeney or Mathis fly through and get to the QB just after he released the ball? If they rushed the QB, and he saw them coming and tried to get something to happen, and threw an interception, NOTHING shows on the stats sheets in their favor. But the reality is, had that QB had 1-2 more seconds to scan the defense, he most likely wouldn't have made the throw.

Point being, looking purely at numbers is NEVER going to give you a full story. So paying for those numbers is just as *ic as using them as a measuring stick for his success.

As to his contract, I'd be willing to bet that if they want him back, they're going to try to sign him to a deal similar to Robert. My only issue is we'd still have a former first rounder in Hughes riding the bench. But, he has been getting some time this season and looking good. Perhaps having three pass rushers isn't all that bad, either.

[lollygagger8]

You just missed the point of that article... completely.

I'd be completely satisfied if Freeney ended his career here averaging 3-4 sacks a season for the next 3-4 years, if that meant that he was getting doubled and allowing others to get numbers. The whole gist of that article is statistics don't always tell the whole story.

Lol, I read the same article you did.

Stats don't tell the whole story, but they make up about 75% of the story, and everyone gets judged on them .

You can say you don't care about numbers, but if he had 16 sacks, you'd be making a huge deal out of it.

Freeney has 6 tackles and 1 sack in 9 games played.

It would be great if he's pulling double coverage all the time and allowing other to get a ton of sacks, but that's not really the case. Plus, he's still being paid more than double what he should be getting. For example:

Mathis gets paid less, has played less games and almost 4 times the production. I love Freeney, but let's be real here. Heck, Jerry Hughes has 4 sacks and everyone makes fun of him constantly because of his stats!

I'm just glad you aren't the GM of this team! lol

[Balzer40]

Bringing Freeney back next season would be a colossal mistake. Thats exactly why they won't bring him back. Freeney will still get a good contract offer from some 4-3 team where he can focus on nothing but rushing the QB, but it certainly won't be here in Indy.

[IndyTrav]

And no mention of the play where the 2nd string TE blocked Freeney into the ground with no help what so ever.....

[chad72]

what would be a reasonable contract to get dwight back 4 years 25 mil

I think he wont take anything less than $8 mil. a year and if we feel strongly about him, 3 yrs. $25 mil. is not out of the realm of possibility, given the inflated free agency market. Not all guys are going to be like Reggie Wayne, IMO. In the long run, going for younger legs will do us good.

We might be able to get equivalent production with guys like Anthony Spencer and Manny Lawson if we sign them to free agent contracts if Freeney's price is too high.

A primarily 4-3 team like the Falcons or Saints would easily shell out $10 mil. per year for him, so we cannot shortchange him because he will have options for a higher average, if his best option would be a 3 yr. contract with another team.

[GusBus24]

^{Cassius Vaughn needs to go! This guy has to the worst CB in the NFL. I got to watch him when he played here in my hometown for the Broncos and he sucked that is why they got rid of him. He falls for every fake or juke and leaves receivers wide open just look at last week against the Bills. I no longer want to see this guy on the field for us. Please let Davis come back and stay healthy. The colts need help at CB bad. Butler has done a nice job but still isn't a starter in my book. I would hate to see what Manning would do to our secondary.}

[chad72]

^{I would hate to see what Manning would do to our secondary.}

^{Exactly what Brady did.}

[CR91]

I think he wont take anything less than $8 mil. a year and if we feel strongly about him, 3 yrs. $25 mil. is not out of the realm of possibility, given the inflated free agency market. Not all guys are going to be like Reggie Wayne, IMO. In the long run, going for younger legs will do us good.

We might be able to get equivalent production with guys like Anthony Spencer and Manny Lawson if we sign them to free agent contracts if Freeney's price is too high.

A primarily 4-3 team like the Falcons or Saints would easily shell out $10 mil. per year for him, so we cannot shortchange him because he will have options for a higher average, if his best option would be a 3 yr. contract with another team.

do you really see the colts coughing up 8 mil a year

[Superman]

And no mention of the play where the 2nd string TE blocked Freeney into the ground with no help what so ever.....

Does that undo all the good?

[ColtsBlueFL]

I don't too much care how long the deal is. I'm more worried about the guaranteed money.

^ ^ This. And make it cap friendly whether he plays it out, or leaves/get cut. ^ ^

[GusBus24]

^{Exactly what Brady did.}

Heard that! And that is the scary thing cause the way things are going we could play them in the wildcard game here in Denver and I would love nothing more than to see the Colts take them out but we can't have Vaughn on the field he needs to ride the bench. I am glad that we are getting Davis back and he needs to pick it up as well and show why we used a 2nd round pick on him!

[chad72]

do you really see the colts coughing up 8 mil a year

Not if they can get Anthony Spencer from the Cowboys for the same amount of money, he is more of a natural fit there and is a better run stopper, IMO.

I think we should sign key secondary guys in free agency before offering contracts to OLBs/DLs/OLs. That might also tell us how the money should be spent. We may be able to afford him based on how things transpire.

[CR91]

Not if they can get Anthony Spencer from the Cowboys for the same amount of money, he is more of a natural fit there and is a better run stopper, IMO.

I think we should sign key secondary guys in free agency before offering contracts to OLBs/DLs/OLs. That might also tell us how the money should be spent. We may be able to afford him based on how things transpire.

i would like us to sign o-lineman instead of drafting them because drafting o-lineman dont benefit the time until 2-3 years down the road. id like us to go safety in the draft prerferbly eric reid.

[chad72]

i would like us to sign o-lineman instead of drafting them because drafting o-lineman dont benefit the time until 2-3 years down the road. id like us to go safety in the draft prerferbly eric reid.

I agree but there are considerable deficiencies in the secondary that I think a combination of free agency and drafting will be necessary to rectify it. OLs - 1 or 2 good free agent pickups should do.

Rest can be drafted.

[CR91]

I agree but there are considerable deficiencies in the secondary that I think a combination of free agency and drafting will be necessary to rectify it. OLs - 1 or 2 good free agent pickups should do.

Rest can be drafted.

well with 40 mil to work with you know grigs will be signing like crazy lol

[IndyTrav]

Does that undo all the good?

Nope.

But how long have people been harping on his constant double teams? 5-7years?