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zn
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zn
That means he's both drawing attention which frees up others AND making plays anyway, at a higher rate than anyone else. That's invaluable. (in fact it's kind of freaky.) And we have seen the effects of it too---this is not just an "on paper:" thing. Last year they basically had no one rushing from the outside (especially with Quinn playing subpar most of the season) yet were 4th in the league in sacks and 4th in sack percentage. That was entirely and solely because of Donald. He alone freed up that otherwise mediocre outside rush.
THIS...is what makes AD very different than any defender in the NFL...and one could argue is worth the equivalent of 2 - 12m pass rushing DL.
Which is cheap for very good pass rushers btw. Also, how hard is it to find 2 good DL???
Well, we have a DT in AD that does the above description and may be the best in NFL history due to zn's description above.
An inside pass rush is more valuable than an outside rush. imo
So, in the end instead of paying 10 players 60% of the cap....we'll get only 8 players....but AD will make other DL more successful. I think that's a different way to think about the situation that makes it easier to swallow - if they do sign AD for 24m/yr. Remember, that'd be just TWO ProBowl DL for 12m/yr if we traded AD and drafted & hit on two other DL and then paid them only 12/year which is below the going rate and will be for the next 3yrs.
I dunno, I found zn's statement about seeing it that way more helpful for me personally...and the more they break down what AD does the more astonishing he ends up being...maybe the best all time outside of Watt...but he's a DE/5tech...I've NEVER seen a better DT play from the inside than AD. Never.
Last year they had this (LBs only, no DL).
Ebukam, 2 sacks. He was a rookie, and rookie pass rushers rarely make an impact. Plus he was a rookie who missed a lot of practice early on.
Tree. 2 sacks.
Barron. 1 sack.
Barwin. 5 sacks. He was not up to his previous level of play which is no doubt why they didn't ask him back.
Quinn. 8.5 sacks, though in the first 10 games, it was just 3. He got it back together in the end, but most of the season, he didn't have anything.
Littleton. 1 sack with minimal starts. In fact his sack came in the Tenn game when he replaced Tree. He played starting D for 121 total snaps in the last 2 games, and in the process got a sack and an INT. It's promising.
Longacre. 5.5 sacks. He is what he is, effort guy.
That's 25 sacks from 7 guys.
2018?
* I expect about the same from Longacre and Barron.
* Littleton can provide more but I think at a minimum he equals the 3 from last year from both him and Tree. If he follows his own sack percentage per defensive snaps, actually, he could have between 7-8. IF Wade rushes the ILB.
* Barwin and Quinn are gone. Have to make up for 15.5 sacks (Quinn, Barwin, Ebukam). That has to be a combination of Ebukam, Obo maybe late in the season, and Lawler (perhaps).
Can they get more out of Littleton plus some stuff from Ebukam, Obo, and Lawler?.
With a DL that includes Suh, plus Brockers and Donald, plus Easley, and Westbooks---quite possibly.
IMO the key, like last year, is Donald both attracting AND beating multiple blockers (he faced multiple blockers 83% of the time last year).
....
