Dan Campbell: Sacks aren't that big a deal if you are getting pressure

[kskboys]

You really can't separate them. Sacks are a part of pressure.

 

[quickccc]

Last play of a game vs opponents' ... would you rather have a " pressure" where we've seen countless plays and times
where QBs escapes pressure and improvises a way to throw for a go ahead TD ..? ..

.. or " a sack " ..whereas once that QB gets the ground, official's whistle blown.. that very last play play is now dead .. no chance for a heroic scramble break for a TD ?

No Doug Flutie miracle Hail Mary ....
Forget the 'cliches . - Hurries & pressures will never be as good as a sack .

 

[beware_d-ware]

You really can't separate them. Sacks are a part of pressure.

This. No defense has gone "let's try to pressure the QB but not sack him!" Every pressure is an attempted sack, and every sack starts with a pressure. The difference is if the QB can get rid of the ball.

 

[buybuydandavis]

1 tackle against Green Bay.

1 sack and 8 tackles total in 4 playoff games. That 1 sack and 4 of the tackles came against a team with a losing record.

So, 0 sacks and 4 tackles in 3 playoff games against teams with a winning record.

Back up the Brinks truck for this man.

Pass rush stats always looks worse when you lose. Opposing offense isn't forced into passing as much.

The more obvious tell is how the pass rush always seems to wind down in December. Micah is an edge player playing too many run downs with his hand down at DE. That's gonna grind him down.

With DLaw, after two playoff sacks in 2014 when he didn't even start, he has had 1 sack in 7 playoff games. He was at least pretty active with tackles the last couple of playoff games, and got that 1 sack in the last loss to SF. He had a good game there. I haven't been a DLaw fan, and have noticed him disappearing in the back half of the season for years, but he really showed up in that game.

 

[kskboys]

Last play of a game vs opponents' ... would you rather have a " pressure" where we've seen countless plays and times
where QBs escapes pressure and improvises a way to throw for a go ahead TD ..? ..

.. or " a sack " ..whereas once that QB gets the ground, official's whistle blown.. that very last play play is now dead .. no chance for a heroic scramble break for a TD ?

No Doug Flutie miracle Hail Mary ....
Forget the 'cliches . - Hurries & pressures will never be as good as a sack .

Would you rather have the opposing QB throwing all over you and you're losing 37-6 but get a sack on the last series or would you rather pressure him all game and lead 28-10 late in the 4th?

Pressure is absolutely necessary to beat good QB's.

 

[SackMaster]

Defense is a team effort. The DE can get pressure and the CB can blow his coverage... if the quarterback finds the open man, that's a first down.

QBs complete passes under pressure all the time, they just complete less of them than they do from clean pockets. It's one piece of the puzzle.

Generally speaking, you are correct. Yet I still say not all QB Pressures are the same.

Just look at the time Romo got away from a nearly unblocked JJ Watt. Obviously Watt is one of the best passrushers in NFL history, but his "pressure" on Romo ended up being a TD. And that is even though Williams had very little separation from his man, and it looks like the ONLY defender on the Texans that failed at their job was Watt by allowing Romo to break containment after Watt completely blew by Tyron Smith.

I'm not saying that QBs got away from Watt as consitantely they did Spencer. I mean, what made that play so special was the fact that Watt RARELY allowed QBs to get away like that.

In fact, I believe Watt himself said that the missed sack against Romo was the one play he wishes he could do over because instead of just going for the sack, we was trying to "kill" Romo.

Yet Watt pressuring and losing containment on Romo is what allowed Romo the time to throw, what was ultimaly, the game winning TD. Therefore ...

Just because someone pressured the QB does not mean they did a good job.

That's all.

 

[kskboys]

Generally speaking, you are correct. Yet I still say not all QB Pressures are the same.

Just look at the time Romo got away from a nearly unblocked JJ Watt. Obviously Watt is one of the best passrushers in NFL history, but his "pressure" on Romo ended up being a TD. And that is even though Williams had very little separation from his man, and it looks like the ONLY defender on the Texans that failed at their job was Watt by allowing Romo to break containment after Watt completely blew by Tyron Smith.

I'm not saying that QBs got away from Watt as consitantely they did Spencer. I mean, what made that play so special was the fact that Watt RARELY allowed QBs to get away like that.

In fact, I believe Watt himself said that the missed sack against Romo was the one play he wishes he could do over because instead of just going for the sack, we was trying to "kill" Romo.

Yet Watt pressuring and losing containment on Romo is what allowed Romo the time to throw, what was ultimaly, the game winning TD. Therefore ...

Just because someone pressured the QB does not mean they did a good job.

That's all.

And that's why it's special, because it's rare.

And you are incorrect, if someone pressures the QB, they are doing their job. Since a high number of sacks is 15-20, what you're claiming is that edge rushers only do a good job one time per game. Doesn't make sense.

 

[Proof]

Yeah, that first game he wasn't same after the hit to his head. Probably shouldn't have been playing after that.

feel like it gets overlooked and lumped in with other performances. second game the defense was bullying the niners until pollard went down, imo.

 

[SackMaster]

And that's why it's special, because it's rare.

And you are incorrect, if someone pressures the QB, they are doing their job. Since a high number of sacks is 15-20, what you're claiming is that edge rushers only do a good job one time per game. Doesn't make sense.

For some players, it is rare. For others, not so much.

And there are several ways an edge rusher can do a good job on a play:

1. Create pressure WITHOUT losing containment
2. Hold the edge on running plays
3. When unblocked, make the play on the offensive player with the ball
4. If they fail to get pressure, get their hands up in the throwing lanes
5. Chase running plays down from behind when the offense runs away from them
6. ect...

I just don't consider a play where the defender created pressure (good), but fails to contain (bad), is a good play by the defender. More times then not, all they did was create a huge opening for the QB or RB to make a huge play.

I equate it to when a QB misses a throw to a wide open receiver. The QB did their job at finding the open WR (good), but then missed the throw (bad).

Or a CB who looks to be in great position for the INT (good), but then lets the ball go right through his hands (bad). What's even worse is when they tip it to an offensive player.

Or when a RB makes a great read and is in the open field for a big running play (good), but when tackled ends up fumbling the ball 20+ yards down the field (bad).

Or when a LB reads and fills the whole on a running play (good), but then completely misses the tackle due to poor technique or getting trucked (bad).

Or when a TE runs an excellent route to be open (good), but then allows the ball to bounce off his hands to a defender for the INT (bad).

I can keep going as all of these were just examples of Cowboys football the last few years, but I hope you get the point.

In each case, the player initially did a good job, but ultimately they did not.

If you disagree, cool. I guess I'm just a jerk like that.

 

[gtb1943]

Sacks are a big thing for morale and energy for the D. Depending on the situation, the whole team.
Turnovers are of course the best thing no doubt; but to be blunt turnovers do not happen that often. Maybe two or three a game on a good day
As was mentioned about Watt and Romo on that play, Watt certainly got pressure but in the end it meant nothing. The play still resulted in a TD.
That is another reason pressures will never matter as much as sacks. A sack ENDS a play. A pressure all too often does not.

 

[mattjames2010]

Sacks are a guaranteed loss of yards Pressure isn't a guarantee of anything - it COULD lead to an over/underthrow, ball hitting the ground, or an INT. But some QBs play well under pressure and still hit their target. No QB can overcome the loss of yards.

Both pressure and sacks matter.