How many sacks does he have this year?

That’s often how we judge a NFL defensive lineman.

That’s often how we evaluate a defensive lineman’s production during the season. But Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn wanted to ensure on Thursday that the press understood it is not quite that simplistic. There are other aspects coaches stress and look for from their defensive pass rushers.

Advertisement

When responding to a question regarding pass rushing, Quinn stated, “It’s such an important part of (defense). Sometimes it’s not the sack, but it’s the pressure, and can you move a quarterback where he has to get off the first read and get into the next spot? And so that’s often what I look for first.”

The Commanders’ defensive coaches are no doubt going to be preaching to their pass rushers that they must maintain a pass rush lane when facing Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, on Saturday. If Washington’s pass rushers don’t preserve those rush lanes, Hurts will take advantage of those gaping holes and embarrass the Commanders’ defense, picking up numerous first downs.

Quinn continued regarding rushing the passer, “So often in pass force can I beat somebody to the punch, you know, the speed, the disruption to go. Sometimes that’s from a blitz where you can overload a side or a running back with the right matchup, but if it’s a four-man (rush) you got to go win and you got to jump off the ball and beat somebody to the spot even if you’re not sacking them.”

Advertisement

“I think maybe the clearest example of that at the end of the first half [OLB] Von [Miller] had a good pressure. He wasn’t able to sack [New York Giants Quarterback Jaxson] Dart on the play, he got them on the next one, but the scramble was an incomplete, so those are the plays that I look for as well. They don’t show up as much on the stat sheet, but they’re super important.

Indeed, the Commanders will want to see if they can provide a controlled rush that keeps Hurts from getting outside the pocket, keeping him inside of it, and forcing him to beat the Commanders by throwing the ball from the pocket. Who knows, Hurts might still beat them throwing from the pocket, but the coaches know that if they can’t keep Hurts contained in the pocket, they have no chance.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Dan Quinn breaks down the pass rush