Interesting.
J.J. Watt, and Sack Leaders On A Trailing 4-Year Basis
by CHASE STUART on APRIL 18, 2016
in
DATA DUMP,
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS,
STATISTICS

The best player in the AFC South is in this photo.
Good article from
Peter King this morning on
J.J. Watt and the injury struggles he dealt with last year. King also noted that Watt has 69 sacks over the last four seasons, the most in the NFL. In fact, that’s the second most by
any player in
any four-year stretch over at least the last 31 years. FRom 1985 to 1988,
Reggie White had 70 sacks, and he did it in seven fewer games (he missed the first three games of ’85 due to being a member of USFL,
1 and then four games in ’87 due to the players’ strike.) Of course, White did play in a friendlier era for sacks (2.63 sacks per game vs. 2.37 over the last four years), so cross-era comparisons always have their limitations.
But I thought it would be interesting, especially in light of
Jared Allen retiring, to look at the leaders in sacks on a trailing four year basis:
Search:
Years Player Starting Age Sacks
2012--2015
J.J. Watt 23 69
2011--2014
J.J. Watt 22 57
2010--2013
Jared Allen 28 56.5
2009--2012
Jared Allen 27 59.5
2008--2011
DeMarcus Ware 26 66
2007--2010
DeMarcus Ware 25 60.5
2006--2009
DeMarcus Ware 24 56.5
2005--2008
DeMarcus Ware 23 53.5
2004--2007
Jason Taylor 30 46
2003--2006
Jason Taylor 29 48
2002--2005
Simeon Rice 28 56.5
2001--2004
Michael Strahan 30 56
2000--2003
Michael Strahan 29 61.5
1999--2002
Simeon Rice 25 50.5
1998--2001
Michael Strahan 27 52.5
1997--2000
Robert Porcher 28 47
1996--1999
Kevin Greene 34 52
1995--1998
Kevin Greene 33 49
1994--1997
John Randle 27 51
1993--1996
Kevin Greene 31 50
1992--1995
Leslie O'Neal 28 54
1991--1994
Leslie O'Neal 27 50.5
1990--1993
Derrick Thomas 23 56
1989--1992
Derrick Thomas 22 58
1988--1991
Reggie White 27 58
1987--1990
Reggie White 26 64
1986--1989
Reggie White 25 68
1985--1988
Reggie White 24 70
1984--1987
Richard Dent 24 58.5
1983--1986
Dexter Manley 25 58
1982--1985
Mark Gastineau 26 60.5
I’ve
written before about
Simeon Rice and how he has been underrated by the Hall of Fame; consider that when he lead the NFL in sacks from
’02 to ’05, he did so during an era when the Bucs faced the
fewest pass attempts in the entire league! By comparison, Houston has been right at the league average in pass attempts faced over the past four seasons. And, when
Rice recorded 16.5 sacks for the Cardinals in ’99, Arizona saw the 6th fewest pass attempts that season, too.
From ’08 to ’13, Jared Allen had 85.5 sacks,
DeMarcus Ware had 83.5 sacks, and no other player was
over 70 sacks. The Vikings saw about 100 more pass attempts over that span, so if you want to split hairs, you could make the case for Ware over Allen during that period. But Allen has built up an impressive Hall of Fame resume: two seasons where he was the sack king, a third where he ranked second, and another where he ranked fifth.
Of course, Allen is no Watt, but few ever have been. Also remarkable about Watt is his stretch from ’11 to ’14 makes the cut, and he is tied with
Derrick Thomas for the youngest player on the list. Unless Watt does retire early, he has a real shot at breaking the all-time sack record. It’s always risky to project too far in the future, but Watt is 17.0 sacks ahead of where
Bruce Smith was at this stage in his career. Smith had 19 sacks during his age 38 through 40 seasons, though, but also had a 1.5 sack season at age 28 due to injury. It’s a long ways away, but it’s certainly conceivable that Watt could challenge Smith’s 200-sack record.