Dwight Freeney’s career has been stellar over the past 14 seasons in the NFL collecting 115.5 sacks. Ever since the Indianapolis Colts drafted him with the 11th overall pick in 2002, the Syracuse product has been a star in this league consistently putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks and offensive linemen. In his 14 seasons, Dwight Freeney has relied and perfected one specific pass rushing move that has become his calling card. This move is the “Spin”. In this breakdown, we will take a look at the technical aspects of his spin and how he has been using it to become one of the NFL’s top 20 sack leaders of all-time.
Two weeks ago after analyzing the Cardinals’ blitz packages versus the Cincinnati Bengals, I purposely left out their first sack in the game on Andy Dalton and it was none other than Dwight Freeney using his signature spin move. Let’s break down this play.
First, Freeney lines up in a Wide-9 alignment well outside the Bengals’ tight end #85 Tyler Eifert. Freeney drives up the field attacking the outside shoulder of his intended blocker: left tackle #77 Andrew Whitworth. This outside speed rush pushes the blocker backwards and outside at a faster rate than he could handle opening the door for the spin.… Article continues here