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In this week's installment of the NFL's most underrated and overrated players, I will be reviewing pass-rushers. The method I use to grade pass-rushers is based on the different sack types. The major sack types are coverage, garbage, individual, run and scheme. (The full list of sack types can be found in the complete glossary.)
Individual effort sacks are considered the most valuable because they show the pass-rusher can beat one-on-one blocking. Scheme sacks are also valuable because they show the rusher can be utilized in a number of ways.
Coverage, garbage and run sacks do have value, but I don't consider them great indicators of pure pass-rushing ability. Any player tallying a lot of these sacks may not be as good a pass-rusher as his sack total would indicate.
Sacks can also be split between categories. If a defensive ends stunts to the inside and is picked up by the guard, then beats the guard with a bull rush, the sack is listed as being half a scheme sack (for the stunt) and half an individual effort sack (for beating the guard one-on-one).
As has been the case for each of the overrated/underrated articles, players are rated based on their 2006 metrics. Pro Bowl berths are given significant weight in determining the perception of a player.
Overrated pass-rushers
Will Smith
Smith made the Pro Bowl last year in large part due to his 10.5 sacks, but those included three coverage sacks and 1.5 garbage sacks. Smith is still a very good player and probably deserved the Pro Bowl berth based on his overall game, but he is not as good a pass-rusher as his sack total would indicate.
Jared Allen
Allen's sack total (7.5) in 2006 was the lowest of his career, but he actually did even worse than the total indicates. Allen had one run sack and was practically gifted another when his blocker blew an assignment and left Allen completely unblocked. Only three of his sacks were individual effort sacks, and one of those came when Allen was matched up against a running back.
Others:
Robert Geathers: His 10.5 sacks tied for 14th in the league, but four of these were of the coverage/garbage/blown block variety.
Bobby McCray: McCray racked up 10 sacks last year, but 3.5 of these were coverage sacks and another 1.5 were garbage sacks.
Underrated pass-rushers
Trevor Pryce
Pryce did not make the Pro Bowl despite registering 13 sacks last year. His sack total is even more impressive when you consider that 6.5 of Pryce's sacks were of the individual effort variety and only 2.5 were of the garbage/blown block variety. He is a superb pass-rusher in both one-on-one situations and when utilized on the blitz.
Mark Anderson
Anderson posted 13 sacks as a rookie last year, including eight of the individual effort variety, and also didn't make the Pro Bowl. Amazingly, Anderson's individual effort sack total would have ranked 26th in the league on its own.
Others:
Elvis Dumervil: Dumervil was a situational pass-rusher for the Broncos last year and put up 8.5 sacks, 7.5 of which were individual effort sacks.
Kamerion Wimbley: Wimbley's 11 sacks showed he had a very good rookie season, but it was the diversity of the sack types that put him on this list. He had 6.5 individual effort sacks but also had a total of two scheme sacks. The scheme sacks were all split with other sack types, so he actually had sacks on blitzes/stunts on four separate plays. He is just as good at moving around the defense to get past his man as he is at simply beating his man one-on-one.
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July 10 Glossary
Coverage sack: A sack that occurs in the pocket, three seconds or more after the snap.
Garbage sack: When one defensive player gets a sack due to the pass rushing efforts of another defender. One typical example of this is when a defensive end crashes the pocket from the outside and forces the quarterback to step up into a well-blocked defensive tackle. The tackle was only able to get the sack because of the defensive end's pass rush, so he is credited with a garbage sack.
Individual effort sack: This is a sack when a defender beats an offensive blocker in a one-on-one blocking situation.
Run sack: This type of sack is credited when a quarterback starts to run after dropping back to pass the ball. The quarterback must be out of the pocket and pull the ball down, tuck it away and be running towards the line of scrimmage for a play to be noted as a run sack.
Scheme sack: Sacks that come off stunts or blitzes are tracked in this category.
LINK
Individual effort sacks are considered the most valuable because they show the pass-rusher can beat one-on-one blocking. Scheme sacks are also valuable because they show the rusher can be utilized in a number of ways.
Coverage, garbage and run sacks do have value, but I don't consider them great indicators of pure pass-rushing ability. Any player tallying a lot of these sacks may not be as good a pass-rusher as his sack total would indicate.
Sacks can also be split between categories. If a defensive ends stunts to the inside and is picked up by the guard, then beats the guard with a bull rush, the sack is listed as being half a scheme sack (for the stunt) and half an individual effort sack (for beating the guard one-on-one).
As has been the case for each of the overrated/underrated articles, players are rated based on their 2006 metrics. Pro Bowl berths are given significant weight in determining the perception of a player.
Overrated pass-rushers
Will Smith
Smith made the Pro Bowl last year in large part due to his 10.5 sacks, but those included three coverage sacks and 1.5 garbage sacks. Smith is still a very good player and probably deserved the Pro Bowl berth based on his overall game, but he is not as good a pass-rusher as his sack total would indicate.
Jared Allen
Allen's sack total (7.5) in 2006 was the lowest of his career, but he actually did even worse than the total indicates. Allen had one run sack and was practically gifted another when his blocker blew an assignment and left Allen completely unblocked. Only three of his sacks were individual effort sacks, and one of those came when Allen was matched up against a running back.
Others:
Robert Geathers: His 10.5 sacks tied for 14th in the league, but four of these were of the coverage/garbage/blown block variety.
Bobby McCray: McCray racked up 10 sacks last year, but 3.5 of these were coverage sacks and another 1.5 were garbage sacks.
Underrated pass-rushers
Trevor Pryce
Pryce did not make the Pro Bowl despite registering 13 sacks last year. His sack total is even more impressive when you consider that 6.5 of Pryce's sacks were of the individual effort variety and only 2.5 were of the garbage/blown block variety. He is a superb pass-rusher in both one-on-one situations and when utilized on the blitz.
Mark Anderson
Anderson posted 13 sacks as a rookie last year, including eight of the individual effort variety, and also didn't make the Pro Bowl. Amazingly, Anderson's individual effort sack total would have ranked 26th in the league on its own.
Others:
Elvis Dumervil: Dumervil was a situational pass-rusher for the Broncos last year and put up 8.5 sacks, 7.5 of which were individual effort sacks.
Kamerion Wimbley: Wimbley's 11 sacks showed he had a very good rookie season, but it was the diversity of the sack types that put him on this list. He had 6.5 individual effort sacks but also had a total of two scheme sacks. The scheme sacks were all split with other sack types, so he actually had sacks on blitzes/stunts on four separate plays. He is just as good at moving around the defense to get past his man as he is at simply beating his man one-on-one.
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July 10 Glossary
Coverage sack: A sack that occurs in the pocket, three seconds or more after the snap.
Garbage sack: When one defensive player gets a sack due to the pass rushing efforts of another defender. One typical example of this is when a defensive end crashes the pocket from the outside and forces the quarterback to step up into a well-blocked defensive tackle. The tackle was only able to get the sack because of the defensive end's pass rush, so he is credited with a garbage sack.
Individual effort sack: This is a sack when a defender beats an offensive blocker in a one-on-one blocking situation.
Run sack: This type of sack is credited when a quarterback starts to run after dropping back to pass the ball. The quarterback must be out of the pocket and pull the ball down, tuck it away and be running towards the line of scrimmage for a play to be noted as a run sack.
Scheme sack: Sacks that come off stunts or blitzes are tracked in this category.
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