According to ESPN Stats and Info, the Falcons blitzed Indianapolis QB Matt Hasselbeck on 43 percent of dropbacks last Sunday—Atlanta's highest rate of 2015. This added pressure helped on numerous occasions, including Desmond Trufant's fourth-quarter sack.
When viewed at full speed, it's clear that Trufant gets to Matt Hasselbeck quickly. The blitz didn't happen right away, though, because, as Dan Quinn explained Monday, his star CB had man coverage on the tight end, Jack Doyle. So Trufant took a brief moment to let the play develop in front of him. !
Once Dyoel stepped back, Trufant knew no one would be running a route on his side of the field. So he did what the coaches tell DBs to do in this situation: sprint to the backfield. !
At this point, it isn't clear if Hasselbeck is going to pull the ball back or hand it off to Ahmad Bradshaw, but Trufant is in position to disrupt the play regardless. !
Hasselbeck hangs on and drops back to throw. Neither Bradshaw nor Doyle can block Trufant, who bolts through and brings the 40-year-old down.
Corner blitzes are often risky, but thanks to Trufant awareness and burst, he's able to ensure the Falcons don't get burned before making a big tackle for loss.
"I think that's what good players do," Quinn said of Trufant's sack, the first of his NFL career. "These are some alerts that may happen based on this formation, and when you can get your thinking to that level as a player … 'If they do something else, they do it, but if they do this particular thing, I'm going to capitalize.'"
