Whether he's trying to split multiple
blockers or has a chance to exploit those rare one-on-one matchups with
his spin moves, Freeney's goal never changes and his motor never stops.
His job: Put opposing quarterbacks on their backs, something he does with more efficiency than just about anyone in the NFL.
"You want to get that sack because
that's our bonus," Freeney said with a smile Wednesday. "I guess in a
perfect world, starting the game, it would go first play, sack, second
play, sack, third play, sack, and then you could go to the locker
room."
If only it were that easy for opponents to get Freeney out of their backfields.
His 9 1/2 sacks rank third in the
league this season and on Sunday night, against bitter rival New
England (6-2), Freeney has a chance to run down NFL history. If he can
take three-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady to the ground, Freeney will
tie the record for most consecutive games with a sack (10). Denver's
Simon Fletcher and Dallas' DeMarcus Ware are the only other players to
do it.
Clearly, it's a concern for Brady.
"He's the best pass-rusher in the
league and he's been that way since he came into the league," Brady
said. "Any time you're playing them (the Colts) you don't have as much
time to throw so you've got to make those decisions quicker."
Indy fans are not surprised.
They've watched Freeney fine-tune a
rare blend of speed and power to confound opponents, and just when
linemen think they've figured out the dizzying spins, the 6-foot-1,
268-pound end throws them off with a powerful bull rush.
Most analysts thought Freeney was
too small to hold up in the NFL when the Colts took him with the 11th
pick in the 2002 draft out of Syracuse.
Indy (8-0) knew better and Freeney has been proving the doubters wrong ever since.
Freeney has recorded more sacks (80)
over the past eight seasons than anyone except Miami's Jason Taylor and
forced more fumbles (36) than anyone in the NFL. The Colts expected
nothing less.
"In that system, Dwight is the key,"
former coach Tony Dungy said. "You have to have pressure and force
people to block you. That's why Bill [Polian] took Dwight with the
first pick after I got there. We thought Dwight was the best player to
do that, and it turned out to be a great marriage between a great
player and a great system."
And Freeney, now 29, isn't slowing down.
He is on pace to break the
franchise's single-season record for sacks (16), which he set in 2004,
and could finish with a career-high in tackles. He needs one more sack
to match last season's total (10 1/2), and Freeney has fit into Indy's
revamped defense perfectly, even when he's asked to drop into coverage.
Freeney missed the last seven games
in 2007 after having surgery on his left foot, an injury that still
bothered him early last season. This year, he has played through a
strained right quadriceps that was supposed to keep him out four weeks
and cartilage that broke loose in his right knee a couple weeks ago.
But he hasn't missed a game.
"Dwight is a great football player,
who prides himself on coming in and getting better," said linebacker
Gary Brackett, the defensive captain. "Last year, he was coming off of
an injury. This year, I think, has been one of his better years."
Numbers are not the measuring stick Freeney prefers.
He steers the discussion away from
Indy's unbeaten season or the fact Indy needs one more win to match New
England's 18-game winning streak, second-longest in league history. The
Patriots also hold the NFL record of 21 straight from 2006-08.
He doesn't want to talk about the sacks record, either.
Instead the Hartford, Conn., native would rather focus on doing his job even better.
"I've never been a big records guy.
You know, I like to think if he had held onto the ball just one more
second, I might have three more sacks," Freeney said, referring to no
quarterback in particular. "It has been fun. There is a new energy
around here because we have a new coach and new things. But you measure
the year at the end."