• Featured |
  • Burton DeWitt
  • Vin Diec
  • Trevor Freeman
  • Diane M. Grassi
  • Gabe Kahn
  • Ryan McGowan
  • Kris Pollina
  • Matt Waters
  • Ray Yocke
  • -----------
  • Write for SC
  • Get Featured
  • Nominate
• blog |
• Journals

• NFL
• NBA
• MLB
• NHL
• College
• Other

• forums + |
  • Chat Room
  • Message Boards
  • Philly Message Boards
  • Photo Pool
• Submit |
• Help

Why Don't Teams Blitz Peyton Manning?

By Cellar Dweller, Section NFL
Posted on Wed Nov 30 2005 at 2:05 PM EST
More on: (all tags)

Peyton Manning is a pocket passer. Peyton Manning is purely a pocket passer. He cannot beat a defense with anything except his arm. So, why do defenses hardly ever blitz him?

Last night, I watched another game where a NFL defensive coordinator chose to sit back in zone defense and attempt to fool Peyton Manning with a variety of coverage schemes. It didn't work. Peyton Manning was allowed to pick a defensive secondary apart, while the defensive line rushed only 3 or 4 linemen. His statistics were 15/25 for 245 yards and 2 touchdowns.

What has happened to common sense in the NFL? Why let an immobile quarterback sit comfortably in the pocket all game and pick you apart? Immobile, dropback, pocket passers are vulnerable to the pass rush. They always have been and always will be. Johnny Unitas, Dan Fouts, Dan Marino, Troy Aikman, Drew Bledsoe, and, yes, Peyton Manning were, or, are, least effective when forced out of the comfort zone of the passing pocket. Good pocket passers have to be pressured for a defense to be successful because they are too knowledgeable and too accurate for a defense to solely try coverage trickery.

What's the problem? Why are the Patriots the only team to slow down the Colts in the past 3 seasons? What are coaches afraid of?

It's virtually guaranteed that if you give Peyton Manning time, and, Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne room to run, that your defense will be giving up 30+ points. So, what do you have to lose? I just heard last night's losing coach, Bill Cowher, say that his team's emphasis was to not give up the big play. Fine, the Colts had one big play, and Manning picked you apart with time killing scoring drives the rest of the game. That's not even a Pyrrhic victory.

If you're going to lose, if you're going to cede 30+ points to the Colts offense anyway, why not try to make some big plays on defense instead of hoping, fruitlessly, that Manning doesn't find the holes in your zone. You can create big plays by blitzing; some of them may even benefit the defense. Blitzing can cause errant throws, big hits on the quarterback, happy feet in a secure pocket, and uncertainty in offensive play calling. A quarterback's demeanor can change when he gets bust in the mouth by a blitzing linebacker or safety. A quarterback's pocket confidence can become shaky when he's hit on every throw. A quarterback can become too quick on throws, resulting in interceptions, when he knows his pocket time is short.

As a coach, I'd be willing to give up 14 early points if we can get a quarterback out of his comfort zone for the rest of the game. And, when was the last time we saw Peyton Manning bust in the mouth? When was the last time we saw him unsure of himself in the pocket? When was the last time we saw him blitzed with reckless abandoned? When have we seen him outside of his pocket passing comfort zone?

Late in the third quarter of Monday night's game, with the Colts leading the Pittsburgh Steelers 23-7, and amidst a time consuming 13 play, 7 minute drive, the Steelers decided to blitz. On first and ten at the Pittsburgh 40 yard line, the Steelers sent a cornerback on a blitz. The resulting play was a sack on Peyton Manning. On second and 13 from the Pittsburgh 43, the Steelers blitzed their safety, who plugged the whole, forcing Edgerrin James to the outside for a result of no gain. On third and 13, the Steelers blitzed for the third consecutive down. This time the result was a pressured Peyton Manning wildly missing his intended receiver. Fourth down, bring in the punter.

The only question is why didn't they figure out they had to blitz until a minute was left in the third quarter? And, why hasn't the rest of the league figured it out? It's common sense. You have at least a 50/50 chance if you blitz. If you don't blitz, the Colts will score 30 points on your defense on an AVERAGE day!