r/nfl•9 yr. ago

[OC] 2017 Record Watch- Part II: Sacks

As I was sorting through the records, I realized something. If I only did one record watch per week, in all likelihood, I’d never get finished with the series. There’s too many stats out there, and I want to hit them all. So, I’m changing some things up. On Mondays, there will still be Record Watch, but that will strictly be for the offensive side of the ball. On Wednesdays, however, I’m going to have Record Watch for the defensive side of the ball. This is going to focus on the attainable stats for the 2017 season on defense and special teams. So, you’ll see two separate Record Watch posts per week- an offensive oriented one on Mondays, and a defensive oriented one on Wednesdays.

Much like the last Record Watch (all of the offseason posts will be linked at the bottom), this is going to be divided into 2 parts. The first part will focus on the NFL records and those leaderboards, while the second part will focus on the team records and those leaderboards. With that said, let’s take a look at the records that could be broken in 2017 with regards to sacks.

Part I: NFL Records

Julius Peppers is currently in 5th place on the all-time sacks list (143.5). With 7 sacks, he will tie Chris Doleman (150.5) for fourth place on the all-time sacks list. The good news for Peppers? He’s had at least 7 sacks every season since 2008, and had 7.5 sacks last year, so there’s a good chance he gets fourth place this year.
Dwight Freeney is currently a free agent, but he sits in 18th place on the all-time sacks list (122.5). If he finds a team, he’s got a good chance to climb up the leaderboards. He needs just half a sack to tie Robert Mathis (123) for 17th place, 4 sacks to tie Derrick Thomas (126.5) for 16th place, and 5.5 sacks to tie Rickey Jackson (128) for 15th place. He hasn’t had a double-digit sack season since 2010, but if he should somehow find a team and get 10 sacks (unlikely), he will tie Lawrence Taylor and Leslie O’Neal (132.5) for 13th place.
Terrell Suggs is currently in 21st place on the all-time sacks list (114.5). With 5.5 sacks, he will become just the 21st player in NFL history to record 120 career sacks. Excluding 2015, where he played just 1 game before getting hurt, Suggs has recorded 30 sacks over his last 3 seasons dating back to 2013, averaging 10 sacks per season. Assuming he does this in 2017, he’s got a chance to make some history. Here’s how the leaderboard stacks up for Suggs:

Place	Sacks Needed to Tie	Tying
20th	7	Clyde Simmons (121.5)
19th	7.5	Simeon Rice (122)
18th	8	Dwight Freeney (122.5)*
17th	8.5	Robert Mathis (123)
16th	12	Derrick Thomas (126.5)

*- currently still active, but without a team

Elvis Dumervil is currently a free agent, but he sits in 32nd place on the all-time sacks list (99). With 1 sack, he will become one of just 32 players in league history to reach 100 career sacks, and will tie Andre Tippett for 31st place on the all-time list (100). Here’s how the leaderboard stacks up for Dumervil, should he find a team:

Place	Sacks Needed to Tie	Tying
31st	1	Andre Tippett (100)
29th	1.5	Charles Haley & William Fuller (100.5)
28th	3.5	Jim Jeffcoat (102.5)
26th	5.5	Neil Smith & Kevin Carter (104.5)
25th	7	Trace Armstrong (106)
24th	8.5	Pat Swilling (107.5)
23rd	10.5	Gregg Townsend (109.5)

Mario Williams is currently a free agent, but he sits in 34th place on the all-time sacks list (97.5). With 2.5 sacks, he can become one of just 32 players in league history to reach 100 career sacks. If he can find a team, here’s how the leaderboard would stack up for him:

Place	Sacks Needed to Tie	Tying
33rd	0.5	Joey Porter (98)
32nd	1.5	Elvis Dumervil (99)*
31st	2.5	Andre Tippett (100)
29th	3	Charles Haley & William Fuller (100.5)
28th	5	Jim Jeffcoat (102.5)
26th	7	Neil Smith & Kevin Carter (104.5)
25th	8.5	Trace Armstrong (106)
24th	10	Pat Swilling (107.5)

*- currently still active, but without a team

Trent Cole is currently a free agent, but he sits in 43rd place on the all-time sacks list (90.5). Seeing as he’s had just 5 sacks in the last 2 seasons combined, he’s unlikely to do much; however, should he find a team, he needs 4.5 sacks to tie Steve McMichael (95) and enter the top 40 in NFL history in sacks
Tamba Hali had just 3.5 sacks last season, the second-lowest total of his career (only ahead of the 2008 season, when he had 3 and the Chiefs had just 10 combined). He currently sits tied for 44th place on the all-time sacks list alongside Bryant Young (89.5). With 5.5 sacks, he enters the top 40 all-time and ties Steve McMichael (95).
There are 43 players in NFL history to reach 90 career sacks. Cameron Wake (81.5) and James Harrison (81.5) need 8.5 sacks to reach this mark, while JJ Watt (76) needs 14 sacks to reach this mark, and Von Miller (73.5) needs 16.5 sacks to reach this mark
There are 65 players in NFL history to reach 80 career sacks. JJ Watt (76) needs 4 sacks to reach this mark, while Von Miller (73.5) needs 6.5 sacks to get there. Cliff Avril (73) needs 7 sacks, and Clay Matthews (72.5) needs 7.5 sacks
And finally, there are 84 players in NFL history to reach 70 career sacks. Charles Johnson (67.5) needs 2.5 sacks to reach this mark, while Justin Houston (60) needs 10 sacks. A dark horse candidate to reach this mark in 2017 is Ryan Kerrigan, who has averaged over 11 sacks per season over the last 3 years. Sitting at 58.5 sacks right now, he needs 11.5 sacks to get to the 70-sack mark. Brian Orakpo (57.5) is a bit of a longshot to do it, but he needs 12.5 sacks (his career high for a season is 11). Additionally, Carlos Dunlap (57) has a chance; even though he needs 13 sacks to get to the 70-sack milestone, he had 13.5 back in 2015, so it’s possible.

Part II: Team-Specific Records

Rob Ninkovich currently sits in 5th place on the all-time sacks list in Patriots history (46). He needs 2 sacks to tie Mike Vrabel (48) for 4th place, and needs 5 sacks to tie Chris Slade (51) for 3rd place
Kyle Williams currently sits in 6th place on the all-time sacks list in Bills history (40.5). He needs 2.5 sacks to tie Mario Williams (43) and enter the top 5 in franchise history. If he should somehow repeat his 2013 performance where he had 10.5 sacks, he has a chance to enter the top 4; it’s not likely, but if he gets 12 sacks, he would tie Cornelius Bennett (52.5) for 4th place in franchise history
Jerry Hughes currently sits in 12th place on the all-time sacks list in Bills history (31). With just 1.5 sacks, he will not only tie Chris Kelsay (32.5), but will be in the top 10 all-time in franchise history in sacks. Hughes can also pass Darryl Talley (38.5) with a good season and enter the top 7, assuming Marcell Dareus doesn’t get more than 4 sacks this season.
Speaking of Marcell Dareus, he currently sits in 8th place on the all-time sacks list in Bills history (34). He needs 4.5 sacks to tie Darryl Talley (38.5) for 7th in franchise history, and can realistically climb as high as 5th on the list this year, tying Mario Williams (43)
Muhammad Wilkerson currently sits in 6th place on the all-time sacks list in Jets history (41). He needs 5 sacks to tie Calvin Pace (46) for 5th place in franchise history. Wilkerson’s record for sacks in a season is 12, which he had back in 2015; if he has 11.5 this season, he will tie Mo Lewis (52.5) for 4th place, and if he has 12.5, he will tie John Abraham (53.5) for 3rd place.
Staying with the Jets, David Harris currently sits in 8th place on the all-time sacks list (35). He needs 2.5 sacks to tie Marvin Washington (37.5) for 7th place. His career high is 5.5 sacks, and seeing as 6th place right now is Muhammad Wilkerson (who is active and will likely get a good sack total in 2017), that’s about as high as he can possibly climb up the leaderboard this year.
It’s tough to gauge the leaderboard for the Texans (since 3 of their top 4 players in sacks all-time are still on the team), but if Jadeveon Clowney gets 1 sack this year, he will enter the top 10 all-time in franchise history in sacks (11.5). He currently has 10.5 career sacks
Derrick Morgan currently sits in 6th place on the all-time sacks list in Titans history (36.5), including their days as the Oilers. He needs 2.5 sacks to tie Kyle Vanden Bosch (38.5) and enter the top 5 in franchise history in sacks
Jurrell Casey currently sits in 8th place on the all-time sacks list in Titans history (33). He needs 1 sack to tie Jesse Baker (34) for 7th place in franchise history, and could guarantee himself a top 6 spot in team history if he gets 5.5 sacks, which would tie Kyle Vanden Bosch’s number (38.5).
Another notable name for the Titans to keep an eye out on is Karl Klug. If he gets 4 sacks this season, he enters the top 10 in franchise history, tying Henry Ford (24) and Albert Haynesworth (24) for 9th place in franchise history. Brian Orakpo can reach the top 10 with 6.5 sacks; he is currently in 19th place at 17.5 sacks
Carlos Dunlap is currently 1st in franchise history for the Bengals in sacks with 57, while Geno Atkins is 2nd with 52 sacks. If Atkins can get 5 more sacks than Dunlap this season, then Atkins will have first place on the all-time sacks list for the team. These 2 Bengals are the only players to reach 50+ sacks with the team
Michael Johnson currently sits in 6th place on the all-time sacks list in Bengals history (35). He needs 6 sacks to tie Reggie Williams (41) for 5th place in franchise history, and needs 8.5 sacks to tie Justin Smith (43.5) for 4th place
Cameron Heyward currently sits in 17th place on the all-time sacks list in Steelers history (25). To enter the top 10, he would need to tie his career high in sacks (7.5), which he did in 2014. This would tie him for 10th place alongside Clark Haggans (32.5)
Von Miller currently sits in 3rd place on the all-time sacks list in Broncos history (73.5). He needs 5.5 sacks to tie Karl Mecklenburg (79) for 2nd place in franchise history. For those wondering when he’ll get the franchise record, it could come as early as 2018; Simon Fletcher currently holds the record, as he got 97.5 sacks between 1985-1995
Derek Wolfe currently sits in a tie for 11th place on the all-time sacks list in Broncos history (22.5), but looks poised to enter the top 10 this year. He needs just half of a sack to tie Barney Chavous (23) and Bill Romanowski (23) for 9th place in franchise history, and needs 6 sacks to tie Alfred Williams (28.5) for 8th place.
Derrick Johnson currently sits in a tie for 11th place on the all-time sacks list in Chiefs history (27.5) alongside John Browning. He needs just half of a sack to tie Dan Saleaumua (28) and enter the top 10 in franchise history
Melvin Ingram currently sits in 10th place on the all-time sacks list in Chargers history (24.5), tied with John Parrella. He needs 2 sacks to tie Billy Ray Smith (26.5) for 9th place in franchise history. As for Joey Bosa, to enter the top 10 as it stands right now, he needs 14 sacks; based off of how he played in 2016, this is not impossible.
Staying with the Chargers, Corey Liuget currently sits in 15th place on the all-time sacks list in Chargers history (21). To tie the top 10 as it currently is, he needs 3.5 sacks; to guarantee himself a spot in the top 10, he needs to tie Billy Ray Smith’s mark of 26.5 sacks, meaning that he would need 5.5 sacks
Khalil Mack currently sits in 11th place on the all-time sacks list in Raiders history (30), as he’s one of 11 players in franchise history to reach this mark. However, there are only 4 players in the history of the Raiders to reach 40 career sacks, meaning that he has a chance to climb up the leaderboard a lot this season. Here’s what’s at stake for Mack on the sacks list:

Place	Sacks Needed to Tie	Tying
9th	1	Lance Johnstone (31) & Sean Jones (31)
8th	3.5	Rod Martin (33.5)
7th	4.5	Tommy Kelly (34.5)
6th	8.5	Derrick Burgess (38.5)
5th	9.5	Chester McGlockton (39.5)

Brandon Graham currently sits in 17th place on the all-time sacks list in Eagles history (29). However, based on his averages over the past 3 seasons (roughly 6 sacks per year), he has a chance to enter the top 10 this year. He needs 4 sacks to tie William Thomas (33) for 10th place, needs 5 sacks to tie Dennis Harrison (34) for 9th place, and needs 6.5 sacks to tie William Fuller (35.5) for 8th place. If he has a great year, he can tie Seth Joyner (37) for 7th place if he gets 8 sacks. In the unlikely event that he gets a double-digit sack season and gets 10.5 sacks, he would tie Andy Harmon (39.5) for 6th place on the franchise history list in the sacks category.
Jason Pierre-Paul currently sits in 7th place on the all-time sacks list in Giants history (50). He needs 10.5 sacks to tie Justin Tuck (60.5) for 6th place, and in the unlikely event that he repeats his 2011 form (where he had 16.5 sacks), he needs 13 sacks to tie Keith Hamilton (63) for 5th place. There’s a strong chance that he enters the top 5 in this category sometime by the end of the 2010s.
Trent Murphy has 15 career sacks for Washington, and is sitting in 25th place. However, last season was a solid one for Murphy, as he had 9 sacks. If he improves on that and gets 12 sacks, he would tie Darryl Grant (27) for 10th place in franchise history on the all-time sacks list. If he really improves and gets 14 sacks, that would tie Bruce Smith (29) for 9th place
Jonathan Babineaux did not record a sack last season, and has recorded just 4.5 sacks over the past 4 seasons combined. However, he sits in 9th place in Atlanta franchise history in sacks. With 2 sacks, he would tie Rick Bryan (29) for 8th place; 3 sacks ties him with Roderick Coleman (30) for 7th, 4 sacks ties him with Lester Archambeau (31) for 6th, and 5 sacks ties him with Brady Smith (32) for 5th
However, the more interesting candidate for the Falcons on the sacks leaderboard is Vic Beasley, who currently has 19.5 career sacks. To get into the top 10, he needs 5.5 sacks to tie Mike Pitts (25) for 10th place. A 10.5 sack season would make him one of just 7 players in franchise history to reach the 30-sack mark
Mario Addison and Thomas Davis are tied for 6th place on the all-time sacks list in Panthers history (25.5). If one of them gets 8.5 sacks, it would tie them with Greg Hardy (34) for 5th place in franchise history.
Kawann Short currently sits in 9th place in franchise history for the Panthers with 22 sacks. If he gets 1.5 sacks this season, he would tie Lamar Lathon (23.5) for 8th place in franchise history. If he gets 3.5 sacks more than Addison or Davis, he would also surpass them on the leaderboard
Cameron Jordan currently sits in 9th place on the all-time sacks list in Saints history (46.5). He needs just half of a sack to tie Charles Grant (47) for 8th place in franchise history. Beyond that, he needs 3.5 sacks to tie La’Roi Glover (50) for 7th place, 4 sacks to tie Joe Johnson (50.5) for 6th place, and 6 sacks to tie Frank Warren (52.5) for 5th place. If Jordan gets 6 sacks this season, he would enter the top 5 in franchise history in this category
Lavonte David currently sits in 18th place on the all-time sacks list in Bucs history (18). If he gets 6 sacks, he would enter the top 10, tying Marcus Jones (24) and Stylez G. White for 10th place. Should he set a career high in sacks and get 8, he would tie Greg Spires (26) for 9th place, and an 8.5 sack season would tie Broderick Thomas (26.5) for 8th place
Ziggy Ansah currently sits in 8th place on the all-time sacks list in Lions history (32). He needs 1 sack to tie James Hall (33) for 7th place in franchise history. Beyond that, he needs 4 sacks to tie Ndamukong Suh (36) for 6th place, 7.5 sacks to tie Cliff Avril (39.5) for 5th place, and 12.5 sacks to tie William Gay (44.5) for 4th place. There’s a solid chance that Ansah cracks the top 5 in sacks in franchise history this season
The biggest team record here is the one that Clay Matthews will likely set this year. He currently sits in 2nd place on the all-time sacks list in Packers history (72.5). If he gets 2.5 sacks, he will tie Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (74.5) for 1st place in the history of the Green Bay Packers in sacks. If he gets 3 sacks, that puts him in sole possession of first place.
Staying with the Packers, Nick Perry had a breakout year last year, recording 11 sacks. He currently has 23.5 career sacks, which is 15th in Green Bay history. If he gets 5.5 sacks, he enters the top 10, and ties Cullen Jenkins (29) for 10th place. Perry needs 8.5 sacks to tie Vonnie Holliday (32) for 9th place, 9 sacks to tie Bryce Paup (32.5) for 8th place, and 12.5 sacks to tie Tony Bennett (36) for 7th place
Mike Daniels has never had more than 6.5 sacks in a season; however, if he finds a way to get 7 sacks this year for the Packers, he will enter the top 10 in franchise history. Daniels currently sits in 16th place at 22 sacks, and needs 7 sacks to tie Cullen Jenkins (29) for 10th place, assuming Perry does not get more sacks
Brian Robison currently sits in 5th place on the all-time sacks list in Vikings history (56). He needs 4 sacks to tie Kevin Williams (60) for 4th place in team history, and become one of just 5 players to reach the 60-sack mark.
Staying with the Vikings, Everson Griffen currently sits in 9th place on the all-time sacks list (48). He needs 2.5 sacks to tie Doug Martin (50.5) for 8th place, 5 sacks to tie Keith Millard (53) for 7th place, and 8 sacks to tie Henry Thomas (56) for 6th place
Robert Quinn currently sits in 5th place on the all-time sacks list in Rams history (54). He needs just half a sack to tie Chris Long (54.5) for 4th place in team history, and needs 8.5 sacks to tie Kevin Carter (62.5) for 3rd place
Aaron Donald currently sits in 11th place on the all-time sacks list in Rams history (28). He needs 2 sacks to enter the top 10 and tie James Hall (30) for 10th place in team history. Donald has recorded at least 8 sacks every season; if he gets 8.5 sacks this year, he would tie D’Marco Farr (36.5) for 9th place in team history, and with 10.5 sacks, he would tie Mike Wilcher (38.5) for 8th place. Should he get 13.5 sacks (not impossible with his skill set), it would tie Grant Wistrom (41.5) for 7th place
William Hayes currently sits in 12th place on the all-time sacks list in Rams history (26.5). It’s unlikely that he will enter the top 10 due to Donald sitting ahead of him; however, Hayes needs 3.5 sacks to become one of just 12 players in franchise history to reach the 30-sack mark
Cliff Avril currently sits in 9th place on the all-time sacks list in Seahawks history (33.5). He needs 4 sacks to tie Rufus Porter (37.5) for 8th place in franchise history, and needs 4.5 sacks to tie Chris Clemons (38) for 7th place in franchise history. If he gets 6.5 sacks, he would become one of just 7 players in Seahawks history to reach the 40-sack mark
And finally, Michael Bennett currently sits in 10th place on the all-time sacks list in Seahawks history (30.5). If he gets 8 sacks, he would be guaranteed to pass Rufus Porter and Chris Clemons on the list, and if he gets 9.5 sacks, he would reach the 40-sack mark

NOTE: Sacks were not counted as an official stat until 1982

Lost Leagues (Sundays)	Record Watch- Offense (Mondays)	Draft Scratchers (Tuesday)	Record Watch- Defense (Wednesdays)
Part I: United Football League	Part I: Passing Yards	Part I: Roger Vick (NY Jets, 1987)	Part II: Sacks

Posted May 10, 2017, 1:33 PM UTC · edited

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