Film Room: Ravens' pass-rush trio the key vs. Patriots
You’ve seen the knockouts, the sense of desperation, the late personal fouls. The hate. It’s all familiar, and it encompasses the Baltimore Ravens-New England Patriots rivalry.
The playoff fight between the two on Saturday will begin and end in the trenches, which puts the focus squarely on the Ravens’ pass rush.
It’s anchored by outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, who had 12 sacks this season, but he's not the only pass rusher the Patriots' offensive line will worry about. Linebackers Elvis Dumervil and Pernell McPhee, with 24.5 sacks between them, will also be a threat. But all three do it their own way.
The Patriots' offensive line, meanwhile, has struggled communicating in recent weeks, blowing pass protection duties and leaving quarterback Tom Brady to take shot after shot. Now they face possibly their toughest test yet.
Terrell Suggs
It starts with Suggs. He’s the lead dog in the front seven, a master manipulator and sack artist. He throws different looks at left tackles. He’s smooth, yet strong and sudden - still a malevolent pass rusher even after a dozen years in the league.
He’s not so much rare as he is complete. He tracks runners and rushes passers. He’s physical - popping blockers back with hammers for fists. He has underrated balance, too, bouncing off blocks as he races to quarterbacks.
In Week 14 in the third quarter Suggs fired off the right edge from a four-point stance against the Miami Dolphins’ left tackle.
He exploded forward five steps, all straight outside. He was trying to kick the left tackle out wide, forcing him to stretch the inside gap.
The tackle was afraid to give up the inside until he had to. When Suggs stuck his left arm out to engage, the tackle’s stride widened, then his feet came together, tossing him off balance. Suddenly he had little knee bend.
As Suggs engaged with his left arm, then his right, he kept a distance from the left tackle. He sank his hips and drove off his right foot. The tackle was walked back, his legs straight, his shoulder pads shooting up.
Just when the tackle squared up and anchored down, Suggs swatted his hands down and rushed inside. He had a straight path to the quarterback, who he twisted to the ground for a half-sack.
By the end of the game, Suggs had racked up a sack-and-a-half and three hurries.
In the 2014 season, he had 11 quarterback hits and 32 quarterback hurries. He did it mostly from the right side of the defense, the offense’s left, where the best pass blockers are. That’s where one of the Patriots’ best, Nate Solder, will be, and where Suggs will play mind games like he did against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6.
In the second quarter on second-and-long, Suggs rushed straight ahead from a four-point coil with his shoulders tilted to the inside.
The tackle wasn’t fully out of his kick-slide yet, not fully committed to the outside. Suggs grabbed both of the tackle’s arms and threw them down.
As he turned the corner, he gave up only his inside shoulder (his left). That left little surface area for the tackle to push Suggs wide of the pocket. And when the tackle lifted his arms up, Suggs went further down onto his right leg.
Suggs then hooked his left arm under the tackle’s arm, wheeled around the tackle and flattened his rush out to slap the Buccaneers quarterback down for a sack.
Elvis Dumervil
Dumervil is one of the most ferocious part-timers in the NFL. He’s what critics call a sub-package player - a pure pass rusher that feasts on tackles with unmatched quickness on passing downs. He’s been compared to Dwight Freeney ever since his days at Louisville because of his height and aforementioned quickness. He’s 5-foot-11, 255 pounds.
But don’t let those figures fool you into thinking he’s at a disadvantage.
Dumervil had 17 sacks this season, and, according to Pro Football Focus, 28 quarterback hurries. Of the 12 players with more hurries, only three have played less snaps than his 626. He’s the quickest around the corner in the league - his first three steps arguably unblockable. And when he unloads the rest of his arsenal, he’s nearly untouchable.
On a third-and-7 in Week 10 against the Tennessee Titans he was outside the right tackle in a two-point stance.
At the snap, Dumervil hustled forward three steps and, on his fourth, faked outside and then turned inside. The tackle froze and braced for contact. He bent over at his waist to make up for the five-inch size difference while his hands hung at his hips.
Dumervil punched him in the chest and extended his arms as the tackle popped back. The tackle stepped back despite having all of his weight forward. Dumervil had the leverage advantage.
The tackle tried to anchor, but failed when Dumervil stood on his toes and reached over his shoulder to grab the quarterback’s jersey for one of his two sacks in the game.
Most tackles have trouble with Dumervil’s lack of height. He is naturally the “low man” in the matchup, allowing him to be quick around the corner and powerful through the inside gap. This blend of rush could prove pivotal - and destructive - against Patriots right tackle Sebastian Vollmer, who is 6-foot-8. He could have issues with Dumervil getting under his pads like he did with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ right tackle in the wild-card game.
Late in the first quarter, it was third-and-11. Dumervil took three steps from a two-point stance and shook his shoulders. The tackle kick-slid and straightened up when Dumervil kicked his left leg out to fake a speed rush.
Instantly, the tackle bent over at his waist. Dumervil popped him and grabbed a hold of his right shoulder, then swung his right arm back and uppercut the tackle’s right shoulder to blow by.
Free in the backfield, Dumervil flattened his rush and dragged the quarterback down for one of his two sacks in the game.
Pernell McPhee
If Dumervil and Suggs are the two outside linebackers, then McPhee is everything in between. NFL.com simply lists him as a linebacker, which is accurate.
McPhee is the bouncer, the youngest pass rusher of the three and the most violent. He often rushes straight through the thick of the line. He shoulders, elbows and shoves blockers of all kinds, doing everything he can to get to the quarterback. Proper technique will not suffice. Although he plays with that, too.
In Week 5 against the Indianapolis Colts, on third-and-5, McPhee was three yards off the ball and inched closer and closer to the line.
He took two steps, his second a long right into the A-gap between the center and right guard. It duped the guard into reaching over and helping double team McPhee. He attacked McPhee aggressively and lost his footing upon contact, which allowed him to slide to his left.
When McPhee slid over, he reached back with his left hand and smacked the guard’s right shoulder. The guard fell on his right knee, then reached to slow down McPhee, who bolted into the backfield and speared the quarterback for the sack.
The fourth-year linebacker has played less snaps than both Dumervil and Suggs, but during the regular season, according to Pro Football Focus, he had more pressures than both of them with 35 quarterback hurries. His versatility is the key.
He’s wrestled at nose tackle and rushed from inside linebacker, which could be problematic against the Patriots’ interior offensive line, because he’s quicker than them and equally physical. At times, he’s played on the edge, too, and been equally difficult to block.
Against the Cleveland Browns in Week 17, McPhee beelined for the right tackle from a three-point stance.
At the point of contact, he lowered his hips and shoulders and spiked the tackle’s chest with his left arm. That knocked the tackle back a few steps and rocked him sideways, pushing him back toward the line of scrimmage and opening up an outside rush lane.
Helpless, the tackle made a last-second effort to push McPhee wide of the quarterback. McPhee, however, leaned in and reached with his right arm to hit the quarterback as he threw the ball.
If McPhee, Dumervil and Suggs are able to pressure Patriots quarterback Tom Brady like they have other quarterbacks all season long, they’ll rattle him for an upset win like they have in the past.