Leonard Williams working to improve his sack total

Discussion in 'New York Jets' started by GasedAndConfused, Jun 21, 2018.

  1. GasedAndConfused

    GasedAndConfused Well-Known Member

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    Jets defensive end Leonard Williams will start simple this summer, accomplishing one thing he has wanted to do for years -- fish for sockeye salmon in the Alaskan wilderness.

    After that, Williams will set about trying to accomplish a harder, new task -- become a truly dominant pass rusher, with the sacks to prove it.

    Through three seasons, Williams has 65 quarterback hits, but just 12 sacks. He has been a productive player for the Jets, a Pro Bowler in 2016, but not a star -- not yet.

    He thinks he has unlocked a technique improvement that could boost his sack total -- replacing his down hand. Which means, what, exactly?

    Say Williams is aligned with his left hand down. That means his left foot would be back in his three-point stance. The ideal key for Williams' first step would be to step forward with his left foot and place it where his left hand was. It is an optimal move for balance and quickness.

    "It's just going to give me more of an advantage toward the quarterback," Williams, the sixth overall draft pick in 2015, told NJ Advance Media. "It just helps you go forward, instead of sometimes, if you step to the left or step under yourself."

    Do that, and a pass rusher usually loses his balance.

    Williams noticed this on film, his lack of replacing his down hand. Plus, Jets defensive line coach Robert Nuun emphasized it extensively during spring practices, as Williams will do when he trains this summer. Ultimately, it's all about being quicker out of that three-point stance.

    "Really just working on my get-off and working on my footwork," Williams said. "It really comes down to that a lot of times. When I'm watching film, sometimes if I just take a false step this way, and then try to pass rush, it takes me that much longer away from the quarterback."

    Even Williams marvels at that 65-to-12 disparity between his quarterback hits and sacks. So many close calls.

    "That's crazy," he said. "I think it shows that I'm still a good pass rusher. I'm getting to the quarterback. I just want to make sure that he still has the ball in his hand when I hit him this time."

    His sack goal for 2018 is simple, albeit undefined: "I just want to get as many as possible."

    He understands why people ask him about his lack of sacks, but he is ready to change that.

    "I mean, it's my position, so I guess that's what people look at," he said. "It makes sense, why people ask about sacks. So I'm used to it."

    The first week of July, Williams will head to King Salmon, Alaska -- a tiny town accessible only by plane, 285 miles southwest of Anchorage. Williams, who loved fishing in Florida with his dad as a kid, is heading up there with Dave Szott, the Jets' director of player development.

    Williams will strap on his waders and walk out into a chilly Alaskan river, relishing his love of nature, ready to bring home some fish.

    "I can't wait," he said.
     
  2. LF911SC

    LF911SC Well-Known Member

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    Great to read that hes not satisfied with his performances and is working hard to improve.

    Tossing Mo already has brought returns to the Jets
     
  3. LV Coach

    LV Coach Well-Known Member

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    He has the potential to improve his sack record. But "potential" never equates into performance. Hope this new technique will work out. We need more QB sacks.
     
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  4. GasedAndConfused

    GasedAndConfused Well-Known Member

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    we run a 3-4 though so hard to blame a lineman for it. sacks in the 3-4 are the responsibility more of the OLBs then any other positions and OLB has been a weak position for us for quite some time
     
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  5. jetophile

    jetophile Bruce Coslet's Daughter

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    Does the sack on Darren Lee on Randalls Island count towards his stats?
     
  6. TwoHeadedMonster

    TwoHeadedMonster Well-Known Member

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    True, but guys like Lee Roy Selmon, Howie Long, and some guy named Bruce Smith put up ridiculous sack numbers as 3-4 DEs.
     
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  7. DefenseWinsChampionships

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    I'm a big believer in Williams. But then again I was also a big believer in Mo. Until Wilk's contract. But as of right now you can see and tell this Williams kid is focused on success. Wouldn't be shocked if he puts up 12+ sacks this coming season.
     
  8. GasedAndConfused

    GasedAndConfused Well-Known Member

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    different era though. QBs nowadays are much better at avoiding sacks. Offense use more quick and timing routes. offensive lineman are better, bigger, stonger. most QBs get rid of the ball in under 3 seconds. The league is a passing league. softer rules against Dbs gives Wrs easier chances to get open and WRs now are ridiculous. before you could mug WRs as a DB with no penalty. now you can't even look at them. no 3-4 DEs in modern day NFL reach the 10 sack total
     
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  9. 101GangGreen101

    101GangGreen101 2018 Thread of the Year Award Winner

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    Wilkerson did, twice and his impact was large. JJ Watt technically is a 3-4 DE. You have to be put in a situation to succeed.
     
  10. Jets69

    Jets69 Well-Known Member

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    Hmm must be getting close for a new contract.
     
  11. Walt White

    Walt White Well-Known Member

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    If the team stays healthy the team will get more sacks I predict. The secondary will be better and all the younger guys will be better as a group. It will have to be done as a team with blitzes and coverage.
    If a guy like Donohue or Mauldin can produce in the rotation it will only help.
    They had 28 last year which ranked them 28th in the league. Hopefully they can get at least 40 and be in the middle of the pack.
     
  12. GasedAndConfused

    GasedAndConfused Well-Known Member

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    wilkerson was a beast of a couple of years. had it not been for watt he would have been considered the best DE in the league. it's possible but again you are talking about maybe the top 2-3 player at their position to do it. watt is just on a whole different level and also got plenty of snaps at OLB as well. lots of wilkersons sacks also came in nickel and dime where it was 4 down lineman and we always had a solid d-line. when you have 3 lineman against 5 o-lineman it's hard to get a sack in 3 seconds and leo as of now is facing a ton fo double and triple teams. it's not on him, it's the players around him that need to step up. sacks are overrated
     
  13. Longsuffering88

    Longsuffering88 Well-Known Member

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    Yawn

    Player X has had the best offseason of his life

    Player X is super motivated this year

    Player X changed his workout and meals this offseason and is in the best shape of his life


    Wake me up in Sep
     
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  14. LF911SC

    LF911SC Well-Known Member

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    Howie Long wasn't a sack artist, only had a couple of double digit years and the Raiders played a 4-3. L Selmon also didn't put up huge sack numbers.
     
  15. championjets69

    championjets69 2008/2009 TGG Darksider Award Winner

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    He said exactly the same before the 2017 season & NEVER delivered on his words. Lets hope he produces much more this season:mad:
     
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  16. 101GangGreen101

    101GangGreen101 2018 Thread of the Year Award Winner

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    they were still drafted to be 3-4 DEs. Its how you utilize them
     
  17. TwoHeadedMonster

    TwoHeadedMonster Well-Known Member

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    The Raiders played a 3-4 from the time Tom Flores took over from Madden in 1979 until Gunther Cunningham became DC in 1992, so I'm not sure where you get that.

    Lee Roy Selmon: 78.5 sacks in 121 games (.649 per game)
    Howie Long: 91.5 sacks in 179 games (.511)
    Bruce Smith: 200/279 (.717)

    Compared to:
    Deacon Jones: 173.5/191 (.908)
    Reggie White: 198/232 (.853)
    Mark Gastineau: 107.5/137 (.785)
    John Abraham: 133.5/192 (.695)
    Michael Strahan: 141.5/216 (.655)
    Julius Peppers: 154.5/250 (.618)
    Dwight Freeney: 125.5/218 (.576)
    Jason Pierre-Paul: 58.5/111 (.527)
    Robert Porcher: 95.5/187 (.511)
     
  18. TwoHeadedMonster

    TwoHeadedMonster Well-Known Member

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    Yet Howie Long is at #53 on the all time sack list--if his rookie sacks were official, he'd be at 44. If Selmon's sacks were official, he'd be just behind Clay Matthews over about the same number of games.

    I guess if your standard for a "Sack Artist" DE is exclusive to Bruce Smith, Reggie White, and Deacon Jones, then yeah, they suck.
     
  19. LF911SC

    LF911SC Well-Known Member

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    Long only had a couple of double digit sack seasons. You want to make him into a sack guy, fine. He wasn't though. He was good, overrated to me, hardly a sack monster. Other than Bruce Smith none of those sack totals are high.

    None of which takes into account that some fans, thanks fantasy football, need a stat like sack totals, to judge players. There's a whole more to being a DL, especially in a 3-4, than sack totals.
     
    #19 LF911SC, Jun 22, 2018
    Last edited: Jun 22, 2018
  20. TwoHeadedMonster

    TwoHeadedMonster Well-Known Member

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    I agree that stats never tell the story.
    I'm curious though--how many "sack monsters" have there been in NFL history, by your accounting? And how many of these were DEs? I'm just trying to understand your perspective.

    There are only 176 players since sacks became a stat to get over 50 sacks in a career, regardless of position. Only 67 of those made it to 80 sacks. 32 have 100 or more. Every single eligible player in the top 20 in sacks is in the HOF.

    So who do you consider a "Sack Monster"? If you think there have only ever been 5 in NFL history, that's fine--I can get behind that argument. I can't get behind the idea that 78.5 or 95.5 sacks isn't high, though.
     
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