24 / November 15, 2014
SPORTS
The Recorder, Amsterdam, N.Y.
Sacks in NFL down 108 so far from last season
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Sack
dances have gotten more aggressive this
year, with mock selfies from J.J. Watt, and
two players getting so excited that they
injured themselves celebrating taking
down the quarterback.
Maybe it’s because sacks are getting rarer.
Teams are passing more than ever, but
that hasn’t led to more sacks. Through
Week 10, the league has 670 sacks, a drop
of 108 from the same point last season,
according to STATS.
Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator
Ray Horton says he’s sure every team is trying to figure out where the sacks have gone.
“I don’t know what the reason is, but
that’s a dramatic number of sacks to be
down for the year,” Horton said. “You’ve
got to find a way to get pressure on the
“Because of the tightening of the defensive holding and illegal contacts, guys can
break open faster,” Schwartz said. “And if
you’re a quarterback and you’re trying to
throw quick and you’re not waiting for a
guy that’s getting tugged and pulled, then
you’re not susceptible to sacks more often.”
Teams still are piling up sacks in bunches,
helping disguise this season’s sudden drop.
Philadelphia got to Cam Newton nine times
Monday night, and St. Louis sacked San
Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick
eight times on Nov. 2 after the Rams had only
six combined through seven games. Buffalo
got six last week against Kansas City.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid joked they didn’t help the sack totals, and he credits
quarterbacks getting the ball out quicker.
“And it’s tough, it’s tough,” Reid said.
quarterback.”
Blame offenses designed so quarterbacks
get rid of the ball even faster. That certainly helps Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and
Drew Brees avoid defenders who are faster
than ever. The NFL also has cracked down
on illegal contact and holding, freeing up
receivers from grabby defensive backs
away from the line of scrimmage.
The drop caught Buffalo defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz by surprise. His Bills
added five sacks to their NFL-best 34 in
Thursday night’s loss at Miami with
Marcell Dareus leading defensive linemen
with a career-best 10 by himself. Schwartz
sees quarterbacks getting better every year.
The three-step drop allowing quarterbacks
to quickly throw the ball cutting the time for
defensive players to even touch the passer.
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“If you can force a quarterback into hitches because of the coverage on the outside,
it gives the defensive linemen a better
chance of getting home. On three-step
drops, guys are getting it out. You saw
Kyle (Orton). If he didn’t have it, he was
throwing it out of bounds. So he wasn’t
going to hang onto the ball.”
Throwing the ball away doesn’t always
work. Eagles quarterback Nick Foles was
sacked five times in the season opener
only to be sacked just twice over the next
six games before breaking his collarbone.
But the quarterback intercepted only twice
all of 2013 already had been picked off 10
times this season.
Only nine NFL teams had more sacks
through the first eight games this season
compared to the same point in 2013.
Time to give dynamic
wide receivers their due
By BARRY WILNER
The Associated Press
In this quarterback-driven league, someone has to catch the ball.
Dynamic receivers are making their mark this season — and not just
for their creative (some might say over-the-top) celebrations. The
passers get the pub much of the time, so here’s some love for the guys
grabbing those throws.
Most notable for the likes of Antonio Brown, Jordy Nelson, Dez
Bryant, Jeremy Maclin, Julian Edelman and the other eye-catching
receivers is their breakaway skill.
Jerry Rice, the greatest wideout in NFL history, was not known for
his sheer speed as much as for his separation skills and acceleration in
his routes. These players share that talent.
Ask Mike Tomlin about Brown, who leads the league in receptions
by a wide margin — 13 over Golden Tate of Detroit — and yards
through the air, 1,070, 68 more than Denver’s Demaryius Thomas.
“He’s one of the best in the world at what he does,” Tomlin says.
“He’s physically and mentally on top of his game and when you have
somebody that’s playing like that, when you step into a stadium he’s
a known issue, but still he performs.”
Brown has become a known issue since the beginning of last season.
Same thing for New England’s Edelman, ostensibly the replacement
in the slot for Wes Welker. Instead, Edelman has become as dangerous as any receiver anywhere — and, again like Brown, as good as
any punt returner.
He even has earned a nickname from Tom Brady.
“Minitron, he can do all the different things,” Brady says. “He’s so
quick, and what he did on the (84-yard) punt return (against Denver)
was just incredible. And then he comes out there at receiver and
makes a bunch of plays.”
What also separates Brown, Edelman, Maclin and Bryant in particular is they don’t have a lot of established support at their position.
The Steelers have an emerging target in rookie Martavis Bryant, who
has six TD catches in his first four games, an NFL mark. So do the
Eagles to help Maclin in rookie Jordan Matthews, and Bryant gets aid
from second-year man Terrance Williams.
And there are some standout tight ends such as the Patriots’ Rob
Gronkowski and the Cowboys’ Jason Witten to offer help.
Most of them benefit from playing with outstanding QBs — Brady,
Aaron Rodgers, Tony Romo, Ben Roethlisberger — or, in Maclin’s
case, in a system where his skill set fits perfectly.
Maclin is considered a prime contender for Comeback Player of the
Year after missing 2013 with his second torn ACL. He’s really come
on in recent weeks.
“I was so disappointed for Jeremy a year ago when he got hurt
because I thought in terms of what we do, what a real outstanding
player he could be in this system, and we’re starting to continue to see
that,” Eagles coach Chip Kelly said.
“But I think he’s a difficult one-on-one matchup. He’s got good size,
he’s got good speed. I think he can stretch it from a vertical standpoint, but he can also run after the catch.”
As can Nelson, whose variety of TDs range from breaking away
with short passes, often with diagonal cuts, to racing deep and snaring
Rodgers’ passes.
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