Colts CB JuJu Brents has suffered seven different injuries, his time is running out<\/a><\/p>\nHe wants much more in his second NFL season.<\/p>\n
Latu, who racked up 23.5 sacks in 25 games at UCLA, has set a lofty goal.<\/p>\n
He wants a sack a game, a pace that would give him 17 overall and almost certainly earn him a Pro Bowl berth. Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen set the bar a little lower, saying this spring the team wants Latu to get to double-digit sacks.<\/p>\n
The expectations are still there.<\/p>\n
But everything else around Latu has changed. Indianapolis replaced former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley with Lou Anarumo, who has a lengthy history of moving his best pass rushers all over the formation, a practice that should take advantage of Latu\u2019s versatility.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see the God-given athletic ability as soon as you watch him,\u201d Anarumo said. \u201cAnybody can see that. Now, it\u2019s just going to be the recognition of how he\u2019s about to get blocked, both in the run game and the pass game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anarumo\u2019s creativity will help.<\/p>\n
The rest is up to Latu, who has spent the offseason trying to improve his power. Latu\u2019s slender frame is an asset, making it easier for him to bend the corner and dip around blocks, but he has an arsenal that is varied enough that he must be stronger to be more effective at the NFL level.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuilding my strength in my upper body,\u201d Latu said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I focused on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Latu\u2019s other focus is finishing rushes.<\/p>\n
There were a handful of plays last season that featured Latu beating an offensive tackle, only to miss the quarterback at the point of attack or get there a split-second late, after the ball was already on its way to a receiver.<\/p>\n
The little things will help.<\/p>\n
Young pass rushers often struggle to live up to their reputations at first in the NFL. Offensive linemen are much better, and the shift in strategy from college to the pros is a little bit like going from checkers to chess.<\/p>\n
Latu\u2019s always been a natural rusher, the sort of player with the right instincts for the job. He needs to recalibrate his instincts to the NFL level.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy IQ on the field,\u201d Latu said when asked what he wants to improve on next season. \u201cBeing able to read certain keys within the offense to get off the ball better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Latu, like a lot of second-year players, feels like it\u2019s easier to focus on the learning this season.\u2028There are no rookie symposiums. No snacks to bring for the rest of the defensive line group. None of the extra stuff that comes with being a first-year player in the NFL.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I know what\u2019s coming,\u201d Latu said. \u201cI don\u2019t have any stressors.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Colts are counting heavily on Latu to take the next step this season.<\/p>\n
Anarumo had Trey Hendrickson, one of the best edge rushers in the NFL, in Cincinnati, and Latu seems to be the player best suited to that role. The rest of the Colts defensive ends\u2014Kwity Paye, Samson Ebukam, Tyquan Lewis and second-rounder J.T. Tuimoloau\u2014are a different mold of rusher, players who can stonewall blockers in the run game and typically win with power against the pass.<\/p>\n
Latu\u2019s rookie numbers were underwhelming.<\/p>\n
The Colts have reason to believe they will rise in his second season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was close many times,\u201d Anarumo said. \u201cThis year, we feel like he\u2019ll seal the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Get IndyStar’s Colts coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Colts Insider newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo on Laitu Latu and JuJu Brents Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo on Laitu…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":157002,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2059],"tags":[247,265,2005,7,2004,392,2381,6657,667,6658,248,267,246,88,6,245,264,9,266],"class_list":{"0":"post-157001","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-indianapolis-colts","8":"tag-american","9":"tag-american-football","10":"tag-colts","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-indianapolis","13":"tag-indianapolis-colts","14":"tag-indianapoliscolts","15":"tag-laiatu","16":"tag-laiatu-latu","17":"tag-latu","18":"tag-national","19":"tag-national-sports","20":"tag-neutral","21":"tag-news","22":"tag-nfl","23":"tag-overall","24":"tag-overall-neutral","25":"tag-sports","26":"tag-sports-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114743291700235681","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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