Matt Zemek
| UCLA Wire
NFL teams count on a number of factors breaking their way in order to reach their goals each season. The quarterback has to be good. The coordinators need to create schemes which fit the personnel groupings. The big free-agent pickup has to change the equation. The promising rookie needs to make the second-year leap. It’s this last plot point the Indianapolis Colts are interested in. They need UCLA’s Laiatu Latu to substantially improve in Year 2 of his NFL career. Colts Wire has more:
“A big part of the equation when it comes to the Colts generating more pressure on the quarterback this season is Laiatu Latu making that Year 2 leap that so many successful NFL players have made. On the surface, Latu’s production from his rookie season isn’t going to leap off the page. His 38 pressures–which were the second-most on the Colts–ranked 50th compared to the rest of the defensive ends around the NFL.
“However, perhaps a more accurate portrayal of what’s to come for Latu is that he ranked 27th in PFF’s pass rush win rate metric. When there is consistency from a player when it comes to winning their one-on-one matchups, oftentimes the production will follow.”
Notable in all of this: Indianapolis has a new defensive coordinator, Lou Anarumo, who previously held the same role with the Cincinnati Bengals. Is Anarumo ready to maximize Laiatu Latu’s potential and help the Bruin become a king-size Colt this season?