League’s best pass rushers credit units for success
DALLAS — DeMarcus Lawrence lost his NFL lead in sacks when he didn’t have one for the first time in eight games this season with the Cowboys.
The Dallas defensive end still said it was his best game of the year.
Such is the art of the sack, a stat so focused on the individual — down to the celebrations the sack stars create along the way — and yet one that pass rushers and their coaches like to think is more about the entire defensive line.
“I use the term ‘four equals one,’ four men working as one,” said Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli, a longtime defensive line coach. “It’s really neat because it’s not just the diagrams. They have to feel it.”
The Jacksonville Jaguars sure felt it in the opener, setting a franchise record with 10 sacks, including four from Calais Campbell. The 10th-year end grabbed the league lead from Lawrence with one sack last week, giving Campbell 11 to Lawrence’s 10½.
The Jaguars matched that franchise mark in Week 7 against Indianapolis. They lead the NFL with 35 sacks. They like to credit what they consider one of the NFL’s best secondaries.
Lawrence gave his first sackless game a high grade in part because tackle David Irving extended his streak to all four games since returning from a four-game suspension for violating the performance-enhancing drug policy.
Despite the absence, Irving leads all tackles with six sacks, according to Sportradar.
Campbell has turned into perhaps the biggest free agent pickup of the season, joining the Jaguars following nine years without a double-digit season with Arizona.
And the Jags (5-3) are tied for the AFC South lead with Tennessee, on their way to ending a six-year streak of double-digit losses.
“Any time you can get production, it usually comes from other people,” Campbell said. “I happened to fall into some good stuff, but it really is because of our secondary. They make the quarterback hold the ball for four seconds. If they hold the ball longer than 2.5, we’re supposed to be there.”
Lawrence emerged from obscurity with 6½ sacks in the first three games, and needed just five games to surpass his previous career high of eight sacks.
Naturally, that led to the concern for all dominant pass rushers — double-team, and sometimes triple-team blocking.
Broncos linebacker Von Miller, who finished in the top 10 in sacks in five of his first six seasons, knows that drill.
“If a team doesn’t want you to get a sack, that’s top on their agenda,” said Miller. “Don’t let Von get a sack. Don’t let him ruin the game. Ninety percent of the time, it’s not going to happen. You have to find other ways to change the game. You have to find other ways to impact the game. That’s what I try to do.”
And the best pass rushers also look to their teammates along the defensive front for help.