pass rushing woes?" NFL GeneralColts AnalysisNFL DraftColts Prospect Film Room: DE Chase Winovich Tyquan Lewis Jersey , MichiganNew,18commentsCould the athletic Winovich be the answer to the Colts’ pass rushing woes?EDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:Colts Prospect Film Room: DE Chase Winovich, MichiganTwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailPhoto by Corey Perrine/Getty ImagesWith the primary surge of Free Agency wrapping up, the focus for the Indianapolis Colts turns to the draft, where GM Chris Ballard looks to hit another home run with the 2019 class. Last draft season, Ballard drafted Quenton Nelson and Darius Leonard who both ended up earning First Team All-Pro honors as rookies. On top of that, he also drafted a handful of contributors in Braden Smith, Tyquan Lewis, Kemoko Turay, Nyheim Hines, and Matthew Adams.This new film room series will attempt to highlight certain prospects that may interest the Colts and go through their film to find their strengths and weaknesses. Today’s prospect is Michigan defensive end Chase Winovich. Winovich is a player that turned a lot of heads at the combine after flying a bit under the radar since his late season injury. We will look through the film and see what Winovich could potentially bring to the Colts if they end up drafting him. Clips in this piece will be from five games that I watched, all fivewere on coach’s film. The full list of games watched were against Michigan State, SMU, Nebraska, Northwestern, and Notre Dame.<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="lxM3eg">BackgroundSize:6’3” 253 pounds with 33 inch armsMeasurables: 40 Time: 4.59 / 10-yard split: 1.57 / Vertical Jump: 30.5 inches / Broad Jump: 117 inches / 3-Cone: 6.94 secondsCareer Stats:166 total tackles, 43 tackles for a loss, 18.5 sacks, 1 pass deflection, and 3 forced fumblesProjection: Late Round 1 / Early Round 2<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="aeZCpR">StrengthsRun DefenseRun defense is vital to receiving playing time on the Colts’ defense. A skilled pass rusher like Kemoko Turay was held off the field by a more dominant run defender in Al-Quadin Muhammad late last season in pivotal games. Winovich won’t have the same issues as Turay though as he’s a solid run defender. He may not be the best in terms of strength at the point of contact but he knows how to find creases and separate from blockers in tight areas. He is very Jabaal Sheard like in his run defense.Winovich is slippery against the run. Blockers struggle to get their hands on him and even when they do engage, he is able to effortlessly disengage with an array of hand moves. In this clip here, he slides off of the block from the right tackle to make the tackle in the backfield. Excellent play to get the immediate penetration and make the tackle for the loss.Again, he is able to slide by with violent hands. He is able to club inside and shoot the gap between the guard and tackle to get the quick penetration into the backfield. His innate ability to slide between creases in the line makes him a valuable piece to run defense.Did I mention how he gets instant penetration? His pursuit in run defense is relentless and his usage of strong hands and a flexible waist make him insanely hard for lineman to block one on one. He may not be consistently powerful and stout at holding the edge but he makes a lot of impact plays for negative yardage. Reminds me a lot of Jabaal Sheard in this regard.<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="DG4BiG">Hand UsageHand usage is a big part of Winovich’s game in both run defense and rushing the passer. We talked about how he uses strong hands to shed run blockers but he also uses this skill when pass rushing. He shows off a strong club move and when he pairs other moves and counters with it Ryan Grant Color Rush Jersey , he is quite difficult to block. Winovich attacks the right tackle’s hands on this first play. He stands the lineman up with a hesitation off of the line. He then swipes the hands of the left tackle which throws the lineman off balance and allows him to slide by for the pressure. The strength to knock the tackle off balance and nuance to swipe away his hands is impressive.Again, Winovich is able to swipe the hands of the tackle and swim underneath for the sack. He sets the move up well by punching inside on the tackle. He then swipes away the hands and moves inside for the sack. Great pursuit to track down the quarterback on the play as well.The last two hand swipes were quick and subtle to knock away lineman hands and slide pas them. This club/swipe however is violent. He clubs the shoulder of the lineman and knocks him off balance completely. He can bring nuance and quickness on the edge along with power and violence. Great combination of finesse and power from him.<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="RnUqo4">BendThe most important trait to have as a pass rusher, according to some scouts and evaluators, is bend on the edge. Bend separates good pass rushers from great pass rushers. It is the natural ability to put a player’s skillset over the top and make them truly dominant. Winovich is not near the top of this class in terms of bend but he does have good hip flexibility to turn the corner.Look at the how he turns the corner on this first clip. Is it elite bend and flexibility? No. He does, however, showcase the ability to turn the turn his hips in space and collapse on the passer. A player without bend or hip flexibility would easily be run out of this play and be forced to circle back around the pocket. Winovich is able to turn the corner here.Again he shows the ability to bend on the corner. Is it up there with guys like Brian Burns or Jachai Polite? Not at all. He can still turn the corner at a better than average rate though and that will really help him find success when he uses that along with his violent hands in the NFL. <hr class="p-entry-hr" id="CTuyjv">WeaknessesThere are quite a few weaknesses in Winovich’s game. The main issue that we will highlight is that his play strength is not consistent and there are plenty of times where he looks over matched by bigger blockers. Other issues though are his tendency to over pursue when left unblocked and occasional missed tackles. On top of that, he will be a 25 year old rookie and has had injury issues in his career. The main issue we are going to look at is his play strength issue. He is a strong run defender when he can shoot gaps and sift through creases but he does struggle with blindside blocks and staying on his feet. Here he gets crushed by Notre Dame’s tight end. For a defensive end who is expected to hold the edge, he can’t be getting knocked down like this.When rushing the passer, this issue isn’t as prevalent but it is still an issue. Here he allows the guard to get inside his chest plate and drive him to the ground. Winovich will likely need to get a bit stronger or fix up some leverage issues at the next level so he can get stronger at the point of attack. <hr class="p-entry-hr" id="DBIceA">Bonus: Go-To Pass Rush MovePush-Pull moveEvery NFL pass rusher has a go-to rush move. Julius Peppers has his hump move, Khalil Mack has the long arm, and Von Miller has his dip and bend. Chase Winovich has his push-pull. He is excellent at this move and uses it whenever he has the chance. Here are a couple clips of his go-to move and how effective it really is.Punches inside on the tackle and then tosses him aside with a nasty pull. Results in a quarterback hit on the play.Yet again, Winovich’s push-pull has an offensive tackle flailing as he records the sack on the play.Last but not least, he is able to toss another left tackle en route to another quarterback hit.<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="KBSPPd">Bonus Part 2: Ballard MoldEffort PlaysEffort plays are the biggest part of Winovich’s game. He is relentless in his pursuit and will sometimes make plays 20 yards down the field even. As a backside defender, his motor does not stop until the ball carrier is on the ground. This is a trait that GM Chris Ballard loves in his defenders and will certainly be something that catches his eye on tape.A motor that never runs out. Winovich will relentlessly pursue running backs from the backside of the play until they are on the ground.These plays are why you can live with his issues. A skilled player who plays with fiery hot motor is an asset for any team.<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="xvdGj5">ConclusionChase Winovich checks off a ton of boxes for the Colts in this draft. He is a high motor player who wins with excellent hand usage, a solid plan of attack featuring a go-to move, and above average bend around the corner. He is also a savvy run defender that is difficult to block one on one and knows how to find creases in the offensive line. A lot of his game reminds me of Jabaal Sheard for the Colts.There are some concerns, but the main ones revolve around his recent injuries and the fact that he will be a 25 year old rookie. How high does a player with those concerns go in the draft? It’s tough to gauge.I do know this. His film is excellent and off the field he should also wow some folks. He was a team leader at Michigan and was a tireless worker for his team. Add in that he is very skilled and I have no problem with Ballard taking him even in the first round of this draft. Ideally though, he ends up on the Colts with the 34th pick and the team ends up with a team leader who can improve their pass rush. HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Texans are in a much different place now than the first time they faced the Indianapolis Colts this season when they were 0-3 and desperate for a win.Ka’imi Fairbairn made a field goal as time expired in overtime to lead the Texans to a 37-34 victory in that game and they haven’t lost since, reeling off a franchise-record nine straight wins entering Sunday’s rematch.Houston (9-3) led 28-10 in the third quarter in that first meeting before Andrew Luck threw three second-half touchdowns to rally the Colts (6-6) and set up the wild finish.The Colts failed to convert a fourth-and-4 with 24 seconds left in overtime to give Fairbairn a chance to win it.“Being up 28-10 … and then letting them come back and being down in overtime and pulling through the adversity it kind of slingshot us to where we are now,” Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson said.“That was one game where we went through all types of phases and situations that put us through this nine-game win streak. It was the start of everything.”Defensive end J.J. Watt said that Sept. 30 game seems as if it was a long time ago and noted how difficult it has been for the Texans to win in Indy, a place where they’re just 3-14 all time.“We needed one to get started. That was the one to get us started on this streak,” Watt said. “Bit of an unorthodox way to get it, but we got it. So https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Marshall-Faulk-Jersey , here we are.”The Texans are coming off a 29-13 win over the Cleveland Browns while the Colts were shut out 6-0 by the Jaguars last week to end a five-game winning streak.“The Jacksonville game was tough,” Luck said. “They outplayed us. There’s not much else to say about it. As a defense against our offense, they just flat outplayed us … we took a good look at it and we’ll improve. I know we will.”Some things to know about Sunday’s game between the Colts and Texans.TOUCHDOWN THOMASHouston rookie tight end Jordan Thomas has a knack for scoring with four touchdown catches despite having just 14 receptions this season. His four touchdown receptions are tied with Andre Johnson for second-most TD receptions by a rookie in franchise history. The 6-foot-6, 277-pound Thomas has been a favorite target of Watson’s in the red zone with all his scores coming on catches of 13 yards or less.NEW BALANCECoach Frank Reich has stressed the need to find balance since he took the Colts’ job in February.When these teams met previously, Luck set single-game franchise records with 40 completions and 62 attempts and became the 11th player in league history to throw for 450 yards and four TDs. He wound up with 464 yards, second in franchise history, and four scores.Since then, an improved ground game helped lessen the burden on Luck’s arm — until last week when he threw 52 passes, including 14 straight during one stretch, in the loss to Jacksonville. Don’t expect the Colts to be so one-dimensional in Houston.“You never want to have to drop back and pass it 52 times,” offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni said. “We always want to run it more. Just in that scenario, the way we were running it, we had some plays on our call sheet that we felt were going to be good to hit, some chunks in the pass game and that’s the way we went.”THE BIG DHouston also will see a different defense.After allowing an average of 30 points over their first six games, the Colts cut that number to 16.8 points over the past six. Indy is the only team to have forced at least one turnover in every game this season, is second in the league in tackles for loss (71.0) and rookie linebacker Darius Leonard leads the league in tackles (122) and is tied for fourth in forced fumbles (four).First-year defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus sees it as a good start.“We feel we have set the standard of how we want to play in terms of the style. Now we just need to execute on a consistent basis and just keep doing that week in and week out,” he said. “There are a lot of things that we have to improve on, but we have come a long way.”DEANDRE’S ARTOn a TV show this week, Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis said the way DeAndre Hopkins catches a football “is an art” and the Houston star agrees.“There’s more to it than just going out and catching a football,” he said. “There’s a lot of factors that go on before that. It’s for sure an art and repetition makes perfect.”Hopkins routinely makes nearly impossible catches look run of the mill and Watson has said that he believes Hopkins will catch anything he throws his way. His latest nifty catch came last week against the Browns on a 24-yard reception near the sideline that came after T.J. Carrie grabbed his dreadlocks to try and slow him down.Hopkins knows that he makes it look easy, but wanted to make clear that it is not.“It’s harder than people think,” he said. “Especially like me I usually have a defender on me or close to me so catching the football isn’t easy for me like it is for some people who are wide open. It’s a challenge for me to play through that and still catch it.”