NFL POINDEXTER: ART IS EVERYWHERE

Is the work of Dali somewhere inside a good pass rush?

by Alan Grant

A few minutes into the second quarter in their win over Pittsburgh, the Philadelphia Eagles defense raised the level of their game. On first down, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took five steps into the pocket. On his fifth step he was dropped by Eagles DE Juqua Parker. Two plays later, Roethlisberger tried it again, only to find Eagles DT Broderick Bunkley in his grill. Again Roethlisberger went down. The next play Roethlisberger managed to get the ball into the flat for a few yards. But on the play after that, Parker once again came unimpeded into the backfield and stripped the ball. As you know, Roethlisberger is a big, strong, surprisingly nimble young man. But each time the Eagles caught hold of him, they rag-dolled him.

While I watched this, an image came to mind. There's this painting called Cannibalism in Autumn. It's a typical Salvador Dali work—a sepia-toned landscape with gnarled hands gripping knives, forks and spoons. There's something that resembles a slab of meat rotating on a wooden spit. It's both captivating and grotesque. That's the way I view a 15-6 game where one quarterback is sacked nine times.

Maybe I was overthinking things. I tend to do that.

Then I recalled a conversation with a guy named Bob Karmelowicz, or "Karm." These days he's the special assistant to Gary Kubiak in Houston. But before that, he spent 14 years with the Bengals, Chiefs and Redskins, coaching the defensive line. He says that rushing the passer is more than corporeal pursuit. "You don't just line up and run into people," says Karmelowicz. "Rushing the passer is an art form."

"You don't just line up and run into people," says Karmelowicz. "Rushing the passer is an art form."

Eagles DE Trent Cole agrees. Cole led the Eagles with 12.5 sacks last year and finished the season in Hawaii. He says it's art inspired by a simple emotion. "You need a will to do it," says Cole. "You have to adapt to the offensive line you're playing. They'll tell you what move to make and when to make it. It takes years to learn that."

The defensive line is predicated on inventive movement. There's the Swim Move, which involves getting the offensive lineman to move forward, then using his momentum against him by swimming an arm over him and proceeding up field. It's like football's interpretation of the main principle of Jiu Jitsu.

There's the Speed Rush—a simple technique that's most effective when the practitioner possesses frightening speed on his first step. Colts fans know that when he's at his best, Dwight Freeney has no peer on this particular method.

Then there's The Club, which was essentially copy written by the late, great Reggie White. You remember what White used to do. He would start up field, gathering speed towards the quarterback, getting the offensive lineman back on his heels. When the unsuspecting lineman was standing fully erect, White would apply his powerful right arm to the o-lineman's deltoid. The force would send any offensive tackle reeling towards toward the center, giving White a free path to the prize.

There's also the Spin Move (Freeney again) and good, old fashioned bull rush. But Cole says the real art of pass rushing lay in the interpretation of all the techniques. Cole's method is a combination of speed and leverage. "My best move is leaning into the quarterback," says Cole. "You get off the ball and stay low enough to get underneath the lineman. You turn the corner and then you just lean into the quarterback."

People always ask me about what it takes to play cornerback. What's the most important skill? Speed? Strength? Knowledge of the game? Those are all good. But any corner will tell you that he's nothing without a pass rush. In fact if I were starting a team, I'd start with a front four. Look at the Giants' Super Bowl run. Tom Brady, perhaps this decade's best player, was rendered helpless under the Giants] withering attack. Strahan, Umenyiora, Tuck and crew proved that any quarterback, without time to set up, read and throw, is just a guy who takes the snap from center.

Cole says that it's likely everyone will pay more attention to their pass rush. Defensive ends aren't all built like legends White and Bruce Smith. "We're not the biggest line," Cole says. "We're the scrappiest. These days defensive ends are smaller, faster guys who are athletic." Cole is 270 pounds and Parker weighs in at just 250. The Eagles' bulk is inside, where tackles Bunkley and Mike Patterson are 300 and 292 pounds. The balance of quickness and power is potentially awesome.

I don't know if the Eagles are as good as they were on Sunday, or if the Steelers protection is that dreadful. But I do know that cannibalism in the fall is particularly compelling in a defensive football sense. And I'll bet Dali would have been down with a good blitz package.

Yes, well crafted, sincerely choreographed disorder is a thing of beauty.

Alan Grant played for five years in the NFL. Now he writes for us. Check out more, here.

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