McNair Beware: Colts’ Defensive Line Looks for Its Next Victim in Tennessee
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Name an injury and you can bet it has afflicted Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair. Last season, he injured his sternum and ankle. The year before it was his ankle, calf, knee, and finger. Past injuries have included his thumb, ribs, back, toe, shoulder, neck, and elbow.
McNair missed practice on Wednesday because of a sore foot, but that could be the least of his problems Sunday when the Indianapolis Colts come to Nashville. In three games, Colts defensive linemen have injured two quarterbacks – Baltimore’s Kyle Boller and Jacksonville’s Byron Leftwich – and sacked Cleveland’s Trent Dilfer four times. It’s just another season at the office for Indianapolis defensive line coach John Teerlinck, the assistant coach NFL quarterbacks hate.
Teerlinck’s sour relationship with opposing quarterbacks dates at least to 1996, when Commissioner Paul Tagliabue summoned Teerlinck, then with the Detroit Lions, to the league office. There, Tagliabue reviewed film with Teerlinck, detailing what he saw as dirty play by Detroit linemen. The following year, Sports Illustrated asked 150 NFL players to name the dirtiest player in the league. First among defensive linemen was the Minnesota’s John Randle, and several players mentioned that Teerlinck was Randle’s mentor.
Teerlinck calls his tactics rough but legal, and judging by the penalties called on his players, he has a point. In Teerlinck’s four seasons in Indianapolis, Colts linemen have been flagged for only four roughing the passer penalties – Dwight Freeney, Raheem Brock, Montae Reagor, and Robert Mathis have had one apiece. Those four players have given the Colts 80 sacks in that time.
His players might not break the rules, but that doesn’t mean Teerlinck shows any concern for opposing quarterbacks’ health. He once told the coaching magazine American Football Monthly that one of his commandments to defensive linemen is: “Run through the quarterback. Use his body as a cushion to break your fall.”
Many quarterbacks despise Teerlinck’s tactics – sometimes even including his own tea’s quarterbacks. Defensive linemen know that hitting the quarterback in practice is verboten, but with the Lions, quarterback Scott Mitchell accused Teerlinck’s linemen of ignoring that protocol. (It’s fair to say, however, that Teerlinck knows better than to let any of his linemen hit Peyton Manning.)
As unpopular as Teerlinck is with quarterbacks, head coaches want him on their staff, because his tactics work. He’s a master of getting the most out of his linemen’s skills, often by having them change positions. Last season, Brock recorded a career-high 6.5 sacks after being switched from end to tackle. The threat of Brock on the inside allowed Freeney and Mathis to get more one-on-one blocks on the outside, leading both to career highs totals in sacks.
Teerlinck teaches his players that a defensive lineman can gain a huge advantage over an offensive lineman by taking an effective stance. The Colts’ linemen line up like sprinters in the starting blocks and take a hard first step up the field on every play. Teerlinck dislikes 350-pounders who take up space but lack quickness, and he doesn’t teach his linemen to read and react. He wants them on the attack the instant the ball is snapped, which is why he gladly substitutes speed for size. Freeney weighs 268 pounds and Mathis weighs 235, which makes them the smallest pair of ends in football.
Opposing defenses have sacked McNair only six times in three games this year. Limiting the Colts to two sacks on Sunday would be a major accomplishment for the Titans. But it seems more likely the Colts will get to McNair, and Teerlinck’s line will claim another victim.
Mr. Smith writes for FootballOutsiders.com.