I'm not looking for any scapegoats. Nor do i have any interest in putting down Smith. I am simply evaluating his play as I saw it. You focus a lot on the first half of my statement. Are you saying you don't agree with the second half of my statement? (Its been pretty easy to see the difference between him at his prime where he is 3\4 yards from the QB & his guy is on the ground or has given up versus him grasping to get a hand on a guy to push him past the QB or committing the penalty.) or was it the "drum" reference that is the root of what you take exception with?
I understand that Smith is dealing with a QB that led the league in sacks taken, as in, it wasn't on the O-Line - it was on the QB. He's dealing with a QB holding the ball too long, and even the best of the best tackles can only hold off a professional defensive player for so long. PFF most likely takes this into account....
So yes, I am not surprised by the sack and pressure total because there is context with each time a QB has a defender in his face or is hit. Wilson, Rodgers, and Prescott are 3 players known to make their offensive lines look worse than they actually are due to holding the ball too long. Rodgers and Wilson for different reasons, Rodgers looks to put the knife into a defense with big plays, Wilson often tries to extend plays with his legs, while Prescott struggles to get through his reads quick enough.
The game I remember Smith getting beat often came in the first Commanders game - but guess what? Not the first time that happened to Smith or our O-Line. It happened in 2014 as well, the Commanders always seem to confuse us with blitz packages.
A banged up Tyron Smith was still a top 10 tackle this season. We have much bigger problems to deal with - and while PFF has me scratching my head at times, I think what they are saying about Smith is probably pretty accurate because I can't remember any other game where Smith was "beat like a drum".
