Dware sacks - consider this..

[Risen Star]

I might be wrong, but I think career stats are for regular season only. Playoff games aren't included and if they are, it would say(for example) player z has 108 sacks and 119 total including post-season.

I know baseball is completely regular season and I am almost positive it is the same for football.

Yes, it's regular season only.

 

[Lonestar94]

Avg. Team Sack Totals
2012 36.5
2011 37.1
2010 35.3
2009 34.4
2008 32.4
2003-07 35.8
1998-02 39.1
1993-97 37.1
1988-92 38.1

Cowboys are on pace for 69.3. Chiefs on pace for 80.

Last year the Broncos and Rams led the league with 52

All time record is the 1984 bears with 72.

 

[Risen Star]

Hard to compare differing eras. There are a lot more passes being thrown nowadays, thus a lot more opportunities to sack the QB. Regardless of era, I don't see anyone better than Reggie White.

Agreed. White may be the best defensive player ever to play the game. Heck, he might be the best player period.

 

[percyhoward]

Cowboys are on pace for 69.3. Chiefs on pace for 80.

Last year the Broncos and Rams led the league with 52.

Point is, you don't have to guess about whether sacks are harder to come by in today's game. From 2000-2010, it was true. Since then, not so much.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

Dware, we all agree, has put up monster numbers for sacks and is a sure fire HOF'r.... and he has done this in an era where all the emphasis has been on protecting the quarterback. He has done this when quarterbacks can take 2 steps left or right and fire the ball in the stands without fear of penalty. He has done this when cornerbacks can barely touch wr's and they come open much quicker than in the past. He has done this when you can hardly touch the qb's and starting qb's are playing more and 2nd stringers are never seeing the field.

It's hard to legitimately argue this player in that era but just for funsie's, I propose that if DWare had played in Reggie White's time even to the time when Micheal Strahan set the record. DWare would be chasing both of those fine pass rusher's records instead of just being great. Oh... and he has never really had any help in this regard. Don't give me almost Anthony either. He is(was) a good run stopper but offenses never had to fear his pass rush like they did Osi, Tuck, Strahan or Smith and Smith or any of the other great pass rushing D's.

compare the number off pass attempts in White/Smith's era vs now

 

[Sarge]

Agreed. White may be the best defensive player ever to play the game. Heck, he might be the best player period.

Yep - RW was one of the best ever on that side of the ball. Lawrence Taylor might disagree with that however.

 

[percyhoward]

compare the number off pass attempts in White/Smith's era vs now

Despite fewer pass attempts, there were more sacks in the 80's and 90's than there were in Ware's first six seasons.

 

[sillycon]

Agreed. White may be the best defensive player ever to play the game. Heck, he might be the best player period.

I still shake my head thinking what Erik Williams was before his accident...

 

[Risen Star]

I still shake my head thinking what Erik Williams was before his accident...

He might have been better than Larry Allen, as ridiculous as that might be to say.

To this day if you asked which OL I would least like to face it would be Erik Williams pre-accident. He would literally beat you up during the game.

 

[EMMITTnROY]

Another thing to consider is that Ware doesn't rush the passer every down like White, Smith, Allen, etc.. At least when he was playing OLB prior to this year, he'd drop back in coverage. DE's never have to do that.

 

[AdamJT13]

Passing hasn't increased by nearly as much as a lot of people seem to think, and it hardly increased at all until about 2010. Even still, there were several seasons in the 1980s and 1990s when teams passed just as much as they have in the past two or three seasons.

In the average season during Reggie White's career (1985-2000), NFL teams averaged 34.8 pass plays (attempts plus sacks) per game.

In the average season during the first eight years of Ware's career (2005-2012), NFL teams averaged 35.4 pass plays per game. The increase of 0.6 pass plays per game is because of the past three seasons -- during Ware's first five seasons, it was at 34.8, the same as the average during White's career.