What a ridiculous assumption! Sacks create pressure even when pressure is being created. Sacks lead to possible injuries(not intentionally like bounty gate), and incites the defense to play harder and faster. The d-line becomes like sharks when hey sense blood in the water, everyone wants a piece. It is obvious you never had a sack before, or played next to someone that did.
Obviously you want to get the QB to the ground whenever possible, but that doesn't mean a sack should be the goal on every play. Take for example, a defense facing your team, the Bills. Considering the amount of 3-step drops the Bills have, I doubt any defensive coaches are telling their pass-rushers to do everything they can to beat their man and tackle Fitzpatrick. Instead, they're taught to get a good initial push (shrink the pocket) and then get their hands in the passing lanes and be disruptive that way. Do you want to sack Fitzpatrick in that situation? Of course, but you know the overall defense has a higher chance of being successful if you train your pass-rushers to do things that hurt their chances of getting a sack.
There are also guys you don't really want to pressure a lot, Vick and Tebow just to name two, who are a lot less dangerous throwing than they are running. Sacks are great, but if they don't get there, it leaves fewer defenders up field.
Excellent point. While I wouldn't go so far as to say you don't want to pressure them, containment is as important as anything when facing guys like that.
Sacks throw off a QB's timing, if he knows the rush is coming that makes that timer in his head go off faster and with our secondary thats what we need
With all the emphasis on safety and the flags coming out so easy and often for 'roughing the QB' perhaps collapsing the pocket with hands in the air may be the future. I'll as Mark Gastineau......:rofl2:
well my gig on sacks is they are of utmost importance to a defense - especially on third down. u can get cute and say more effectiveness comes from the rush and not the actual sack but imo they both count and i'll take either - preferably both. remember its the scheme that will generate the rush and individual talent that will sack the QB....the jets have the scheme but the individual talent with resepct to getting the QB has been subpar. if that changes were in good shape.
Then how do you account for the fact that the BEST Jet defense under the Ryan reign recorded the FEWEST sacks (by far) of any of his defenses .
Sacks are always the ultimate goal of a pass rush but consistent pressure leads to false starts, holds, intentional grounding, bad passes, and backs having to stay home for pass protection. I'll take a game with zero sacks if all the other results are there.
