With many injuries being suffered in their secondary, the Ravens have had to look to their pass rush to help out. After a somewhat slow start, Baltimore are starting to get into gear and are generating pressure up front. A strong pass rush can limit the time a quarterback has in the pocket to wait for receivers to get open. It can also make a quarterback miss open receivers, as we saw against the Saints on Monday night.
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On this play, the Ravens use Elvis Dumervil to jam Saints tight end Jimmy Graham at the line of scrimmage before going onto his rush.
Dumervil gets a great jam on Graham, delaying him from running his route. Dumervil then runs a stunt inside behind Pernell McPhee.
Dumervil comes flying through the A gap unblocked, forcing Drew Brees off his spot.
Dumervil’s pressure causes Brees to scramble to his right, making him miss a potential target running open in the middle of the field. Brees picks up some yards on the scramble, but it’s better to give away a few yards than allow Brees to hit a receiver down the field.
Later in the game, Terrell Suggs had a rush with a similar effect.
Suggs lines up over Saints left tackle Terron Armstead.
Suggs recognises the fullback is coming outside the tackle to chip him. He also notices the tackle over-setting to the outside, so Suggs cuts back inside on his rush.
Suggs inside rush arrives just as Brees was looking to throw. He had a receiver running free up the seam too, but Suggs stops him from making the throw.
Brees attempts to scramble to his left, but is tripped up and tackled by Suggs for the sack.
It’s not just Dumervil and Suggs either, all of the Ravens pass rushers are contributing. Courtney Upshaw played a bit part in the Will Hill pick-six.
Here, the Ravens send a zone blitz, with defensive back Brynden Trawick blitzing from the cornerback position and Suggs rushing from an inside linebacker spot. Upshaw rushes off the edge against the right tackle.
Upshaw gets a great jump and beats the right tackle around the corner. He arrives with quick pressure, forcing Brees to step up into the pocket when he’d rather be throwing to Graham on the crossing route.
Brees can’t get the throw off to Graham at the top of his drop because of Upshaw’s quick pressure. He takes a few hitch steps up into the pocket, where he’s greeted by Suggs, who lands a hit as Brees is throwing the ball. Graham has a step on Hill as the ball is coming out.
The hit from Suggs causes the pass from Brees to lack accuracy and velocity. Hill is able to undercut the throw and intercept it before taking it all the way back for a touchdown.
The Ravens pass rush has really picked up over the last few weeks and it’s paying off in more than just sacks, although Dumervil is currently joint second in sacks with 12.5 so far this season. A strong pass rush doesn’t always result in sacks, sometimes it makes quarterbacks miss open receivers or forces errant throws as we’ve seen here. With the Ravens looking to make a charge to the playoffs in a close division, they’ll need there pass rush to continue playing well.
Mark is an NFL follower from across the pond. He began analyzing Redskins football for SBNation’s HogsHaven.com, before moving on to The Washington Post. He also helps with NFL Draft coverage on FanSpeak.com. Mark was born and still lives in England, often battling the time difference to watch every minute of football he can.