Published: October 04, 2008 08:04 pm            

What — if anything — is holding back Freeney?

TERRE HAUTE — Some contend that Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney is in a major slump when it comes to racking up quarterback sacks.

After all, the naysayers contend, Freeney’s sack totals have dropped steadily since he recorded a franchise-record 16 in 2004. He has recorded just nine sacks over the last two seasons, including 51/2 during the Colts’ run to the Super Bowl XLI title in 2006.

To be fair, the former Syracuse standout missed the final seven games a year ago after suffering a season-ending Lisfranc (foot) injury against San Diego. Through the first three games of the current season, Freeney appears to be healthy once again. He has two of the team’s four sacks so far this year.

Still, the perception remains. After seven years in the NFL, has Freeney started to lose a step or two? Most observers would say no. Have opposing offensive linemen figured out a way to counteract all of his patented spin moves? Maybe, but probably not.

So what’s the answer? Why have his sack totals dropped so much over the last three seasons? One possible reason could be a change in the way that holding penalties have been called, or rather not called. Where once offensive tackles would get flagged for simply putting their hands on an opposing defensive lineman, now practically anything goes.

A grab and hold of the jersey is now common place, no matter the opponent. But it doesn’t stop there. Freeney has had offensive tackles literally tackle him from behind as he rushed the passer and no penalty was called. So far this year, there’s been such plays as the arm around the neck and being ridden to the ground against Minnesota three weeks ago or the hip grab and takedown in the loss to Jacksonville two weeks ago.

All that being said, complaining about the lack of holding calls doesn’t count for much anymore. The way that the game is being played in the NFL now, holding and grabbing on both sides of the ball have become the norm rather than the exception.

“You have to adjust to how the officials call the game. Some crews call it differently than others. There is a movement afoot in the league given voice by [Dallas Cowboys owner] Jerry Jones when he said – and he was speaking about [referee] Ed Hochuli, although I’m not — ‘the fewer fouls the better.’ People repeat that mantra. The problem with that philosophy — and I’ll be the first to tell you I have great respect for Jerry Jones, incredible respect for himm he’s not only terrific owner, but a good person and I enjoyed serving with him on the Competition Committee and he, unlike some other people who speak on this subject, knows what he’s talking about — but the problem with the let-everything-go-philosophy is that players then take the game into their own hands,” Colts team president Bill Polian said recently.

“Two things happen. No. 1, the players take the game into their own hands. Because no one likes to be held. No one likes to be grabbed by the jersey. No one likes to be grabbed by the face mask or hauled down by the jersey. None of those things are pleasant for the people who are the victims. If the officials sit by and just let that go, then the people who are fouled are going to retaliate.

“I think you’re seeing more of that throughout the league and that’s not good. That is not good for the game. We all know policemen are on the beat to prevent the wrongdoers, the small minority of wrongdoers, from doing harm and damage to those who abide by the law. That’s what officials are out there to do. They’re out there to create a level playing field, to make sure people who abide by the rules have a fair chance to win and that people who don’t abide by the rules are penalized for it. If you don’t do that, then you empower those that don’t abide by the rules and you tilt the playing field. In some cases, that has happened and that’s the problem with that philosophy of let everything go.”

As for Freeney, he admits that he has seen it all. He doesn’t like it, but he has gotten used to it.

“I’ve actually had a ref tell me that he’s not going to call the holding unless he thinks I’m going to make the play. He said that potentially, technically, I guess you could call holding on every single play. They don’t want to slow down the game, so they say. If they feel like [the hold] really influenced my chances to get [to the quarterback], then — this is what one guy told me — then he’ll throw the flag,” he said late last week.

“If he feels as though that I didn’t have a chance to get there, then they’re not going to call it. That’s horrible because how do you know that the quarterback is not going to pump the ball one time. You don’t know what the hell is going to happen. The ball could slip out of his hand all of a sudden. It’s bad.”

In his first four years with the Colts, the three-time Pro Bowl selection had 13, 11, 16 and 11 sacks. Those numbers have dropped considerably since then. Coincidence? Freeney says no.

“It feels a lot different. I used to see a lot more holding calls [when he was a rookie]. Now they just don’t call anything. I don’t know what it is. I think there is one particular [spin] move I do that they’re not going to call holding around the neck. Maybe they figure the height differential [he is a 6-foot-1 defensive end often going up against taller offensive tackles]. Maybe it’s unfair to call holding on the offensive tackle. I have no idea. Really don’t know. I think it’s ridiculous,” he said.

“I couldn’t even tell you how many times that I’ve been held. And not even like little holds. I don’t get the calls. I don’t understand what it is. But you can’t play hoping that they call it. I almost have to take it and consider it my fault because I let them touch me. I wish somebody would do something about it, but what are you going to do?”

Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy has said in the past that he has a hard time now understanding what exactly a hold is. After several conversations with the league’s officiating office over the last couple of seasons, he says that he’s still not sure how it’s called.

“[Officials] are told, from what I understand and I probably don’t have a great understanding of it, that there has to be a material restriction. Something that really impacts a play before they want it called. Holding was way down last year in terms of number of calls. So I assuming we [NFL coaches] coached so much better that we eliminated a lot of those holding penalties,” Dungy said.

“[League director of officials] Mike [Pereira] says that holding calls are up this year. I don’t know. They don’t want to call it unless it really has an impact on the play. That’s the problem with stating it that way. My impression of what ‘materially effecting a play’ is different than yours maybe. I had a conversation with Mike about a non-call in the Jacksonville game and that was their contention. That it didn’t materially effect the play. But everybody has a different opinion on that.”

With all that being said, even if a pass rusher like Freeney doesn’t get to the quarterback, their presence can still make a big difference.

“I remember [former Boston Celtics center] Bill Russell saying, ‘You don’t have to block every shot. But if they think you can block every shot, it’s a problem.’ It’s the same thing with that pass rusher. If you get there enough, obviously, those are big plays,” the Colts coach explained.

“But even when you don’t get there, if the quarterback thinks you might, that makes a difference. With the great ones, that’s always the case. You’re back there and you’re always worried about them. I wouldn’t say that a sack is overrated, but what’s underrated is the effect that guys have even when they don’t get a sack.”

        

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