Kalil looked as if he expected to be blocking defensive tackle Greg Hardy, who was lined up head up on him at the snap, but Hardy fired off to his left, coming across the face of left guard Charlie Johnson which left Kalil blocking air.ĭavis also set up a third unblocked sack for the Panthers, as he ate up two blockers on a fourth-quarter blitz, allowing Mike Mitchell to come untouched for Carolina's final sack of Sunday’s game. Davis ran unblocked by left tackle Matt Kalil’s left shoulder as Kalil blocked no one. Running back Adrian Peterson picked up the other linebacker, but Davis came unblocked for a quick two second sack. On the first, the Panthers dialed up a well-designed blitz that sent Davis and another linebacker on blitzes from outside the tackle box. Davis was never touched by a Vikings blocker on either of his two sacks. No one had an easier two-sack day than Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis. That’s been a problem for the Patriots early this season, to the point where on one of the sacks, Tom Brady just dove to the ground before the Saints Malcolm Jenkins could arrive on his unblocked blitz. In most protection schemes, blitzing defensive backs are the responsibility of the quarterback and wide receivers: the quarterback has to recognize it to get rid of the ball quickly, and the receivers have to recognize it so someone breaks off to the hot route.
#Drive ahead unblocked free#
Four of the five unblocked sacks came when defensive backs came free off the corner. New England's problem has been unblocked defensive backs off the edge. The Bengals have given up six unblocked sacks and the Patriots have given up five. SackerĪt the same time, the Bengals and Patriots are two teams with playoff hopes who have some protection problems to work out. In Matthews' case, one of his unblocked sacks came when a defensive back came unblocked, hit the quarterback initially, and Matthews was able to clean up to record the sack. Hawk and Clay Matthews are tied for the team lead with three sacks, but they each have two unblocked sacks. For the Packers, it’s 41 percent of their sacks. Around the league, 14 percent of all sacks are caused by an unblocked rusher. Sacking TeamĬapers' ability to get free rushers to the quarterback has been an inordinate part of the Packers pass rush this year. It’s more surprising that Rex Ryan’s Jets only have one unblocked sack while Dick LeBeau (the other originator of the zone blitz) has yet to get one unblocked sack for the Steelers. Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan (six unblocked sacks) also brings a reputation of inventing clever blitzes, and Raiders defensive coordinator Jason Tarver (six unblocked sacks) is a lesser-known coach who is doing an excellent job of confusing protection schemes. It’s not all that surprising that Capers, one of the originators of the zone blitz, is still figuring up ways to dial up blitzes where a pass rusher comes completely free. That’s as many sacks as the Steelers have had all year, and two more than the Giants have racked up. The Packers defensive coordinator has gotten Packers defenders free for seven unblocked sacks this year. Whenever a defensive coordinator can get a rusher unblocked with a free run at the quarterback, he’s done his job well.