The "Griffen is Charles Haley" Comparison

[Kaiser]

Reading Bob Sturm’s article on signing Griffen, he loves the player and the move. Some of his comments are “Everson Griffen is a fantastic football player. Griffen can win with power or speed. by my standards this is a ridiculous bargain”. Bucky Brooks calls him a “high-end EDGE defender with game-changing ability”

The comparison came to mind of Charles Haley as the player who “put the team over the top”. No one has posted that here - but why not?

Haley was acquired in 1992 and Dallas won the next two Super Bowls. Not guaranteeing rings in 2021 and 2022 obviously but IMO you can make the comparison as the edge rusher who changes the level of the defense – and from that elevates the level of the entire team. Griffen is a game-changer and joins a defense that has five other players who have been to a Pro Bowl (six if you include Clinton-Dix). Griffen will play opposite an elite DE in DLaw and have guys rotating in like Aldon Smith, Anae, Armstrong and potentially Randy Gregory. The secondary is unsettled but there are three LBs behind him that have been to a Pro Bowl. We already knew the offense has elite talent.

Is Griffen young and playing at his previous level? No, but when Charles Haley was acquired in 1992 the team won the next two Super Bowls with Haley posting decent but not great stats. Haley had 6 sacks in 1992 and 4 in 1993, this effect on offenses was as much about accounting for him as his actual sacks. He didn’t make the Pro Bowl either year, but did the following two years when he posted 23 sacks over 94 and 95. Accounting for Griffen is going to give DLaw more sack opportunities and our Nickel DTs opportunities when the QB moves up in the pocket after pressure from Griffen.

Not predicting SB rings, but you can certainly make the comparison as Griffen being the missing piece that moves the overall level of our defense up several notches.

 

[Rockport]

Reading Bob Sturm’s article on signing Griffen, he loves the player and the move. Some of his comments are “Everson Griffen is a fantastic football player. Griffen can win with power or speed. by my standards this is a ridiculous bargain”. Bucky Brooks calls him a “high-end EDGE defender with game-changing ability”

The comparison came to mind of Charles Haley as the player who “put the team over the top”. No one has posted that here - but why not?

Haley was acquired in 1992 and Dallas won the next two Super Bowls. Not guaranteeing rings in 2021 and 2022 obviously but IMO you can make the comparison as the edge rusher who changes the level of the defense – and from that elevates the level of the entire team. Griffen is a game-changer and joins a defense that has five other players who have been to a Pro Bowl (six if you include Clinton-Dix). Griffen will play opposite an elite DE in DLaw and have guys rotating in like Aldon Smith, Anae, Armstrong and potentially Randy Gregory. The secondary is unsettled but there are three LBs behind him that have been to a Pro Bowl. We already knew the offense has elite talent.

Is Griffen young and playing at his previous level? No, but when Charles Haley was acquired in 1992 the team won the next two Super Bowls with Haley posting decent but not great stats. Haley had 6 sacks in 1992 and 4 in 1993, this effect on offenses was as much about accounting for him as his actual sacks. He didn’t make the Pro Bowl either year, but did the following two years when he posted 23 sacks over 94 and 95. Accounting for Griffen is going to give DLaw more sack opportunities and our Nickel DTs opportunities when the QB moves up in the pocket after pressure from Griffen.

Not predicting SB rings, but you can certainly make the comparison as Griffen being the missing piece that moves the overall level of our defense up several notches.

I remember telling myself after we acquired Haley, despite the awesomenous we had on offense, there was no way we won the championship without Haley. It wasn’t the “sack” numbers. It was the pressure and disruption he caused on damn near every play. When the QB is under constant pressure, bad things happen for him. Look at Griffey’s stats on pressure. I think you’re on to something because they are similar.

 

[Hardline]

Griffin is no Haley.
Tap the brakes.

 

[Buzzbait]

Reading Bob Sturm’s article on signing Griffen, he loves the player and the move. Some of his comments are “Everson Griffen is a fantastic football player. Griffen can win with power or speed. by my standards this is a ridiculous bargain”. Bucky Brooks calls him a “high-end EDGE defender with game-changing ability”

The comparison came to mind of Charles Haley as the player who “put the team over the top”. No one has posted that here - but why not?

Haley was acquired in 1992 and Dallas won the next two Super Bowls. Not guaranteeing rings in 2021 and 2022 obviously but IMO you can make the comparison as the edge rusher who changes the level of the defense – and from that elevates the level of the entire team. Griffen is a game-changer and joins a defense that has five other players who have been to a Pro Bowl (six if you include Clinton-Dix). Griffen will play opposite an elite DE in DLaw and have guys rotating in like Aldon Smith, Anae, Armstrong and potentially Randy Gregory. The secondary is unsettled but there are three LBs behind him that have been to a Pro Bowl. We already knew the offense has elite talent.

Is Griffen young and playing at his previous level? No, but when Charles Haley was acquired in 1992 the team won the next two Super Bowls with Haley posting decent but not great stats. Haley had 6 sacks in 1992 and 4 in 1993, this effect on offenses was as much about accounting for him as his actual sacks. He didn’t make the Pro Bowl either year, but did the following two years when he posted 23 sacks over 94 and 95. Accounting for Griffen is going to give DLaw more sack opportunities and our Nickel DTs opportunities when the QB moves up in the pocket after pressure from Griffen.

Not predicting SB rings, but you can certainly make the comparison as Griffen being the missing piece that moves the overall level of our defense up several notches.

He's part of a very good DL this year. Can't wait to see this DL in action this year.

 

[Kaiser]

Griffin is no Haley.
Tap the brakes.

Why not? Griffen can't post 6 sacks this year like Haley did in 1992?

Adjusted for the new rules that is about 9 sacks in 2020.

 

[Kaiser]

BTW, the other starters on that 1992 DL were Tony Tolbert, Russell Maryland and Tony Casillas. All excellent players but none of them were elite guys that overshadowed Haley. The key to that SB was the Triplets.

 

[ItzKelz]

Haley had a number of problems that prevented him from being as elite as his talent should have made him. That is why the Niners let him go and why most at that time considered obtaining Haley as a risk by Jerry.

No one considers Griffen elite and no one ever considered him a risk to acquire him by the Cowboys. We may very well win the next 2 SBs but the acquiring of Griffen will never be a rightful comparison to Haley as a reason why.

 

[Tangle_Foot]

I'm not comparing the two but I am hoping for similar success. That level of disruption would be huge for the Cowboys. And I do love me some good fortune when it comes to the Cowboys

Let's not forget that we've made a few acquisitions when it comes to the defensive line, the disruption is the key even with shared credit

 

[johneric8]

I witnessed what Haley did for our defense, and he rounded out our team and encouraged more aggression from our defense as a whole. If Griffen plays lights out, this could happen again for our current cowboys no doubt.

 

[Buzzbait]

Griffin is no Haley.
Tap the brakes.

Doesn't have to be Haley to be good. Signing Griffen was the icing on the cake for our DL. Compared to our DL last year, we're going to have a very solid DL.
I'm looking forward to watching this defense.

 

[JoeKing]

I witnessed what Haley did for our defense, and he rounded out our team and encouraged more aggression from our defense as a whole. If Griffen plays lights out, this could happen again for our current cowboys no doubt.

Correct, Charles Haley was a force multiplier. When he was on the field he made the whole DL better. That's not Griffen, although Griffen is an excellent player in his own right. He's a great addition to this team.

 

[Kaiser]

Haley had a number of problems that prevented him from being as elite as his talent should have made him. That is why the Niners let him go and why most at that time considered obtaining Haley as a risk by Jerry.

No one considers Griffen elite and no one ever considered him a risk to acquire him by the Cowboys. We may very well win the next 2 SBs but the acquiring of Griffen will never be a rightful comparison to Haley as a reason why.

Griffen isn't elite but I posted the quotes of Sturm and Brooks saying "fantastic and high end". That isn't far from elite and Haley had Tony Tolbert opposite him, while Griffen will have DLaw (who is elite).

Also Griffen was only available because he opted out of a Vikings contract that averaged 14.5 Million a season, then misjudged the market. If he didn't opt out and you had to trade for him, you would have paid a lot to have him on your roster.

 

[Kaiser]

Correct, Charles Haley was a force multiplier. When he was on the field he made the whole DL better. That's not Griffen, although Griffen is an excellent player in his own right. He's a great addition to this team.

I do think he elevates the defense, Quinn was an excellent pass rusher but weak against the run so opponents could just run delays at the RDE spot.

Quinn was a lot more one dimensional as an outside rusher while Griffen can rush outside or inside.

Griffen gives you the same or better pass rush but eliminates that hole on rushing defense. So more passing attempts and better pass rush from your DTs McCoy, Poe, Crawford, etc than Woods and Collins.

 

[PAPPYDOG]

Reading Bob Sturm’s article on signing Griffen, he loves the player and the move. Some of his comments are “Everson Griffen is a fantastic football player. Griffen can win with power or speed. by my standards this is a ridiculous bargain”. Bucky Brooks calls him a “high-end EDGE defender with game-changing ability”

The comparison came to mind of Charles Haley as the player who “put the team over the top”. No one has posted that here - but why not?

Haley was acquired in 1992 and Dallas won the next two Super Bowls. Not guaranteeing rings in 2021 and 2022 obviously but IMO you can make the comparison as the edge rusher who changes the level of the defense – and from that elevates the level of the entire team. Griffen is a game-changer and joins a defense that has five other players who have been to a Pro Bowl (six if you include Clinton-Dix). Griffen will play opposite an elite DE in DLaw and have guys rotating in like Aldon Smith, Anae, Armstrong and potentially Randy Gregory. The secondary is unsettled but there are three LBs behind him that have been to a Pro Bowl. We already knew the offense has elite talent.

Is Griffen young and playing at his previous level? No, but when Charles Haley was acquired in 1992 the team won the next two Super Bowls with Haley posting decent but not great stats. Haley had 6 sacks in 1992 and 4 in 1993, this effect on offenses was as much about accounting for him as his actual sacks. He didn’t make the Pro Bowl either year, but did the following two years when he posted 23 sacks over 94 and 95. Accounting for Griffen is going to give DLaw more sack opportunities and our Nickel DTs opportunities when the QB moves up in the pocket after pressure from Griffen.

Not predicting SB rings, but you can certainly make the comparison as Griffen being the missing piece that moves the overall level of our defense up several notches.

Close but no cigar.....

 

[fivetwos]

Griffen is no Haley but it's possible he has the impact on this team that Haley did in 92.

Granted the rest of the roster was more balanced and younger and hungrier back then, but it's also a different time.

Its very possible Griffens presence pushes this team to where it at least has a shot to win a big game vs someone in January whereas maybe not so much before.

 

[Kaiser]

Griffen is no Haley but it's possible he has the impact on this team that Haley did in 92.

 

[aria]

I’ve been sniffin’ a Super Bowl since we signed him. We were always one player away, the Super Bowl is a lock. I don’t even want to play the regular season, let’s just fast forward to February.

 

[ClappingCarrot]

I like the Griffen signing, but this can be a little pre-mature. The Cowboys were the 17th ranked defense before Haley came to town, and after his arrival they were #1. 6 sacks or not in 1992, he was a two time DPOY and a HOF'er.

If Griffen can manage a 16 game season without issue, and a few sacks, I'd call it a brilliant signing.

 

[Kaiser]

I like the Griffen signing, but this can be a little pre-mature. The Cowboys were the 17th ranked defense before Haley came to town, and after his arrival they were #1. 6 sacks or not in 1992, he was a two time DPOY and a HOF'er.

But that's the point, Haley didn't have elite seasons in those first two years as a Cowboy when they won Super Bowls both years. His Player of the Year seasons were two years before and two years after.

 

[fivetwos]

I’ve been sniffin’ a Super Bowl since we signed him. We were always one player away, the Super Bowl is a lock. I don’t even want to play the regular season, let’s just fast forward to February.

Know what this is actually a time when they at least tried.

I feel a hell of a lot better trying to win a divisional game in New Orleans this January with Griffen than getting our butts kicked and saying we will get em next year when Bradlee Anae is ready.