If Aaron Rodgers continues his current sack pace, hell hold a prominent place in a club he doesnt want to join.[img_r]http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/4/7/c/1/18.JPG?adImageId=4469041&imageId=2531803[/img_r]
The Green Bay Packers quarterback has been sacked 31 times in the first seven games, which puts him on pace for 71 for the season. That would rank as the third-most sacks a quarterback has taken in NFL history, behind only Houstons David Carr (76 in 2002) and Philadelphias Randall Cunningham (72 in 05).
There are obvious reasons Rodgers doesnt want to rank high on that list: Sacks kill drives and expose quarterbacks to injuries.
But theres another reason. There are few good quarterbacks high on the list, and the first Pro Football Hall of Famer doesnt pop until John Elway in a tie for No. 72 overall (46 sacks in 1994).
Several factors go into sacks: pass protection, scheme and the quarterbacks ability to make quick decisions and throws. But in a nutshell, you can make a good argument that the best NFL quarterbacks generally compensate for bad offensive lines and can keep even relatively high sack numbers from getting out of hand.
Were talking about an athletic quarterback that makes a lot of plays with his feet, coach Mike McCarthy said this week when asked about Rodgers sacks. He ultimately also acknowledged: Thats the one area that has a red line under it, theres no question about it.
The biggest reason Rodgers leads the league in sacks Kansas Citys Matt Cassell is second (24) and Oaklands JaMarcus Russell is third (23) is the offensive line. Anyone who has watched the Packers knows its been a borderline disaster.
That said, according to the study of game replays by the Green Bay Press-Gazettes Tom Pelissero, Rodgers bears at least partial responsibility for 12 of those 31 sacks, and its hard to believe, as bad as this line has been, that it ranks among the handful of the worst since the NFL started keeping track of sacks in 1963 (the league didnt begin tracking sacks by individual defenders until 1982).
So while the protection problems probably will persist as the season goes on, its in Rodgers hands to mitigate the damage.
Another way to look at it is: How many of the 50 most-sacked quarterbacks in a season would the Packers be happy to have Rodgers be as good as?
Only a few.
Among that group, the best probably is the New York Giants Phil Simms, who is on it twice (55 sacks in 1984, 53 in 1988). Simms was an 11-year starter who finished his career with a 95-64 record and won a Super Bowl.
After him, its probably Cunningham, who is the surprise of the group because he rates along with Michael Vick as the best running quarterbacks in the modern NFL. Cunningham, who along with Reggie White revived the Eagles franchise in the mid-80s through early 90s, shows up four times in the top 50. His highest total came as a 23-year-old in 1986, when he shared the quarterback job with Ron Jaworski. The Eagles finished that season 5-10-1. In Cunninghams other three seasons among the top 50 all-time sack totals (1987, 92 and 90), the Eagles were a combined 27-16 in games he started. He also never went to a Super Bowl.
Following them are Mark Brunell (tied for No. 11 with 57 sacks in 01), Ron Jaworski (No. 23 with 53 in 1983) and Rich Gannon (tied for No. 41 with 49 in 1999), who was the ultimate late bloomer.
The rest of the list consists of quarterbacks who, while good enough to start in the league, are a mix of one-hit wonders and journeymen. Which in turn suggests their inability to avoid sacks was indication they lacked a key ingredient to succeed in the NFL.
The top 50 of the group, which is quarterbacks sacked at least 49 times, includes Carr, Ken OBrien, Neil Lomax, Tony Eason, Tim Couch, Jeff George, Jon Kitna, Steve Beuerlein, Tony Eason, Drew Bledsoe, Dave Krieg, Hugh Millen, Paul McDonald, Steve Bartkowski, Jake Plummer, Trent Green, Marc Bulger, Eric Hipple, Aaron Brooks and Rob Johnson.
If Rodgers finishes the season with at least 49 sacks, it doesnt mean his career is doomed. Simms, after all, is in the top 50 twice, and Cunningham is No. 2 overall. But it would raise a red flag.
Rodgers will need his sack rate to drop a little more than half in the last nine games to keep him under the 50-sack mark. Thats attainable. Sacks werent a problem in his first season as a starter (34 in 16 games last year), and hes mobile and a quick-twitch athlete. The Packers dont play Minnesota again the Vikings have 14 of Rodgers 31 sacks. And perhaps the return of Chad Clifton at left tackle and Mark Tauscher at right tackle will make a difference.
However, the Packers also have four games remaining against teams that rush the passer well and rank in the top half of the league in sacks percentage: Dallas (No. 16), Baltimore (No. 13), Pittsburgh (No. 9) and Seattle (No. 11). Dallas (DeMarcus Ware), Baltimore (Terrell Suggs) and Pittsburgh (James Harrison) all feature premier pass rushers.
When shown the list of single-season sack leaders, Rodgers said he didnt make much of it without knowing the teams records in those seasons, the quarterbacks passer ratings and interceptions.
Were they bad teams or protection issues? Rodgers said. Or were they Randall Cunningham, where hes an athletic guy, the second all-time single-season rushing yards for a quarterback? Was he trying to make plays, or was it schematic? We dont want to get sacked. Im trying to make a conscious effort, but trying to play at the same time the way Ive always played.
Rodgers also argued that sacks are better than interceptions, so quarterbacks who reduce sacks at the cost of more interceptions hurt their team. He has a point. Hes thrown only two interceptions, so hes not giving away points. In 2005, Brett Favre took only 24 sacks playing behind the Packers declining offensive line but also threw 29 interceptions.
And Rodgers argues there are times a sack has minimal cost, namely, on third downs if it doesnt take the team out of field-goal range. Last week against Minnesota, two of his sacks came on third downs, one before a made field goal, the other before a punt from five yards further back than if hed thrown the ball away.
You dont want to take sacks, Rodgers said. But do those hurt you in those situations? Id say no.
The one active quarterback who completely defies the numbers and is a consistent winner despite getting sacked frequently is Pittsburghs Ben Roethlisberger. In the past three seasons, hes been sacked 46, 47 and 46 times, yet the Steelers are 30-18 with one Super Bowl win over that time. Roethlisberger is notorious for holding the ball a long time, but at 6-foot-5 and 241 pounds his ability to shrug off potential sacks and make key plays compensates for the times hes unable to escape.
For the most part, the best NFL quarterbacks find a way to stay under 50 sacks, and the elite quarterbacks all have done it. Favres career-high in sacks was 40 in 1996, the year the Packers won the Super Bowl; Tom Brady, 41 in 2001; Elway, 46 in 1994; Steve Young, 48 in 1998; Troy Aikman, 39 in 1990; Joe Montana, 35 in 1985; and Peyton Manning, 23 in 2002.
So the balls in Rodgers hands, though McCarthy will be a factor as well.
Jim Hanifan, who was an assistant or head coach in the NFL for 41 years, was St. Louis head coach when his quarterback, Lomax, was sacked 61 times, which is good for seventh-most in league history. He was an offensive line coach by trade and says there are ways a play caller can help a quarterback even if there isnt much of a run game to help.
What you try to do is move the pocket for one thing, just dont be sitting back there, Hanifan said. Youre going to have some three-step drops and some five-step drops. I wouldnt even think about seven-step drops. Then Id do any way to get Aaron out of the pocket, that means sprint outs, bootlegs, all that stuff, get those screen passes going. Try to take the pressure off him.