Jurrell Casey proved to be more than two handfuls for opposing offensive linemen in 2013, showing the ability to penetrate the interior of the line to pressure quarterbacks and work to stuff the run.
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| Click Here For Infographic: Jurrell Casey - By The Numbers |
The third-year pro started 14 of the 15 games he played (missing the finale because of a knee injury) and recorded a team-best and career-high 10.5 sacks. Casey also set new career highs with 90 tackles (49 solo, 41 assists on coaches' tally) and 10 quarterback pressures. He had three tackles for loss, three passes defensed, one forced fumble and one recovered fumble.
Casey had two sacks at Pittsburgh, at St. Louis and at Indianapolis and had 1.5 against Arizona, capitalizing when teams opted to block him one-on-one. He also beat double teams from time to time and freed up others to make plays by drawing the extra offensive player.
The sack total placed Casey in a tie for 16th-most in the NFL in 2013 and in a tie for second among the league's defensive tackles.
Of Casey's sacks in 2013, four occurred on first downs, two occurred on second downs and five were on third downs. Good things consistently followed those plays for the Titans, with an opponent having to punt within three plays on seven separate occasions. One included a forced fumble that was recovered by Derrick Morgan in Tennessee's win at St. Louis, and two others occurred on opponents' possessions that both ended when Casey's teammates forced fumbles five plays later (versus the New York Jets and at St. Louis).
His play garnered enough votes for him to be named to the Associated Press 2013 NFL All-Pro Second Team and drew significant support but narrowly missed selection to the Pro Bowl.
Casey said he will use the near miss as motivation going forward along with his desire to break Titans pass rush specialist coach Keith Millard's record of sacks by a defensive tackle. Millard had 18 sacks in 1989 with Minnesota and earned NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors that season.
"I've got to prove myself around the league," Casey said as the season ended. "Obviously it wasn't the respect that I think I deserve, but I've got to go out there and earn it."
Casey hasn't been shy about what he wants to or thinks he can accomplish, and the Titans are encouraged by the way that Casey's stats have increased each season since he was selected in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
