DMN Blog: Cowboys-Eagles: LB DeMarcus Ware vs. NFL history

[WoodysGirl]

12:00 PM Sat, Dec 27, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Brian Davis http://www.***BANNED-URL***/blogs/images/email-icon.jpg E-mail http://www.***BANNED-URL***/blogs/images/email-icon.jpg News tips

In retrospect, Mark Gastineau's accomplishment looks bigger with each passing day. Gastineau had 22 sacks in 1984, which was then an NFL record. He'd still be holding that record if Brett Favre hadn't laid down for Michael Strahan in 2001.

Strahan broke Gastineau's record with 22.5 sacks that season. DeMarcus Ware heads into the regular-season finale with 20 sacks. Only this time, Ware shouldn't expect Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb to do him any favors.

"What do I need? Three? So there won't be any question, right?," Ware said. "He's not going to lay down. That's pointless. He's a good quarterback, and whatever it is, I'm going to try my best to get to him."

If Ware can get three sacks, it would be a major accomplishment whether he got the record or not.


McNabb is one of the toughest quarterbacks in the league to bring down. He's 240 pounds and can escape pressure. The Cowboys sacked McNabb four times in Week 2, but he also escaped Ware twice.

Ware disappeared after a ferocious start against the Ravens. He blew past Adam Terry, hammered Joe Flacco and forced a fumble for a turnover. The Ravens spent the rest of the game dedicating an extra offensive tackle, usually Terry, to block Ware instead of lining up a tight end.

The Cowboys dropped Ware into pass coverage a lot against the Ravens. He'll do what's required, but make no mistake that Ware wants to pin his ears back this week.

EDGE: NFL history

 

[Future]

I think its weird that I've never heard of Gastineau until now. I never even knew whose record Strahan broke. Was the guy that good or did he just have one awesome year?

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I think its weird that I've never heard of Gastineau until now. I never even knew whose record Strahan broke. Was the guy that good or did he just have one awesome year?

Man, I feel old.

 

[WoodysGirl]

I think its weird that I've never heard of Gastineau until now. I never even knew whose record Strahan broke. Was the guy that good or did he just have one awesome year?

Tip: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Gastineau

NFL career
In New York, Gastineau was a key part of the famed New York Sack Exchange, the Jets defensive line that also included Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons and Abdul Salaam. Gastineau made the Pro Bowl five straight seasons (1981-85) and finished his 10-year career with 107.5 sacks, the Jets all-time record.
Gastineau was among the most talented and honored defensive linemen of his era. He was 2nd Team All-Pro in 1981 as well as being consensus All-AFC. He was a First Team All-Pro in 1982, 83, 84, and 85 and was consensus All-AFC in each of those years.
In 1982 he was voted the NFL Defensive Player of the Year by NEA (and awarded the George S. Halas Trophy). In 1983 he totaled 19 sacks to lead the NFL for the first time. (In 1981 sacks were unofficial, but Gastineau's 20 sacks trailed Klecko by only 1/2 a sack)
In 1984 he was voted the UPI AFC Defensive Player of the Year. That was his best individual season, with an NFL record 22 sacks (leading the NFL for the second year in a row), 69 tackles and one fumble recovery for a touchdown. He was also selected the MVP of that season's Pro Bowl. Gastineau's record was broken in 2001 by New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan's 22.5 sacks.

The 1985 season was one of transition. New defensive coordinator Bud Carson installed a 3-4 defense and moved Gastineau from left defensive end to right defensive end, although he did move him around to allow for mismatches. Gastineau broke his hand early in that season but still totaled 13-1/2 sacks and was voted All-pro by the NEA. In 1986 he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated alongside fellow star Lawrence Taylor.

During the 1986 season, Gastineau was slowed by groin and abdominal muscle ailments and then by a damaged left knee that required arthroscopic surgery and forced him to miss the last five games of the regular season. He finished with only 2 sacks in 10 games, his lowest total since his rookie season. Gastineau rebounded in the postseason, recording 1 sack in the Jets wild-card round victory over the Kansas City Chiefs and 2 1/2 more in the Divisional Round Playoff game against the Cleveland Browns. However, late in the fourth quarter of that game, with the Jets leading 20-10 and the Browns facing a 2nd down and 24 from their own 18-yard line, Gastineau was called for a roughing the passer penalty. The play had originally resulted in an incomplete pass by Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar so instead of having a 3rd-and-24 situation, the 15-yard penalty on Gastineau gave the Browns a first down at their own 33. From there, the Browns drove the remaining 67 yards to a touchdown which cut the Jets' lead to 20-17. The Browns would later tie the game with 7 seconds remaining in regulation on a 22-yard field goal by Mark Moseley and win it on a 27-yard field goal by Moseley 2 minutes and 2 seconds into the second overtime period. After the game, Gastineau said that he hadn't been guilty of roughing and that he was "just following through." Teammate Marty Lyons, the Jets' other starting defensive end, defended Gastineau saying, "(Ben Dreith) is a referee who's known to take care of the quarterback." Joe Walton, the Jets' head coach would say only, "It was a very key play, Mark was just trying to do the best he could do.

In 1987, Gastineau was the only New York Jet regular to immediately cross the picket line in that year's players' stike, citing his need to pay alimony. Teammate Dave Jennings said of this understandably unpopular move: "We expected it from Mark. He's always put himself in front of the team. He's a very selfish individual." [3] Gastineau got into a fight with backup center Guy Bingham when he drove into the Jets complex early in the strike. Gastineau wound up having the last laugh of a sort when teammates Marty Lyons and Joe Klecko joined him later that season in breaking the players' strike.

Gastineau was nationally famous for doing his signature "Sack Dance" after sacking an opposing quarterback. However, he had to stop when the NFL declared it "unsportsman like taunting" in March 1984 and began fining players for it. The ban on the Sack Dance stemmed from a 1983 game against the Los Angeles Rams, when Gastineau and Rams Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jackie Slater got into a fight following a Gastineau sack of Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo.

Man, I feel old.

You and me both and I'm actually quite young in football history, tho.