INDIANAPOLIS -- For all the genius some believe prevails among NFL coaches, and indeed there are many smart men in the profession, they sometimes have a tendency to play the copycat game.
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| Teams are jumping to get DEs like Chris Long. (US Presswire) |
So get ready for an even bigger push to find pass rushers, guys who can disrupt the game with their up-field burst. Gold continues to rise in value but it has nothing on the market price of defensive ends after what the New York Giants and their three pass-rushing ends did to the New England Patriots and their high-flying pass offense in the Super Bowl
Every time the Giants hit Tom Brady, sack or not, the price for defensive ends on the free-agent market went up and the draft status rose for college ends.
"Those guys have always had value, but now even more so," one NFC personnel director said. "You can't have enough of them. The problem is finding one of them."
The Giants disrupted the Pats with three speed rushers. They had Mike Strahan and Osi Umenyiora on the ends and put regular end Justin Tuck inside. The result was five sacks of Brady, many other hits on him and the Patriots scoring a season-low 14 points.
It would seem to be so simple to duplicate. Just turn those fast, big men loose to attack the passer. Only it's much harder. Why?
"It's such a unique position," San Francisco 49ers general manager Scott McCloughan said. "They're so hard to find."
That's why those few starting ends on the free-agent market are about to cash in big time. Players like Justin Smith of the Cincinnati Bengals, Antwan Odom of the Tennessee Titans and Travis LaBoy of the Titans are about to find out how good it is to be a wanted commodity on the open market.
Even though none of those players have ever had double-digit sacks, they will all be quickly scooped up when the free-agent period begins at the end of February.
"It's going to be mad," an NFC head coach said. "Everybody wants what the Giants had. But who's lucky enough to have three of those guys? With three, you can double two, but one is singled. That's why they had so much success."
Luckily, this is a pretty good draft year for defensive ends.
The best of the group is Virginia's Chris Long, the son of former NFL great Howie Long. Chris Long plays with a relentless style, but there are some scouts and coaches who worry if he will be a pure pass rusher. Long played end in Virginia's 3-4 scheme, but some teams view him as a 4-3 end.
