≡ Menu

Simeon Rice was one of the best pass rushers of his generation. He led all players in sacks from 1996 to 2005, and also from 1999 to 2002. During those four seasons, Rice played on defenses that faced just 2,098 pass plays: every team other than the Bills (2,078 pass plays) faced more pass plays during those years.

In fact, in his average season — weighted for the number of sacks Rice recorded — his defenses faced just 32.78 pass attempts (including sacks) per game. The reason I weight for number of sacks is that if Rice played on defenses that faced 600 pass attempts during his big sack years, and 400 pass attempts during his low sack years, that’s not the same as facing 500 pass attempts every year. A player’s reputation is built off of his big sack years, which generally coincide with his prime; as a result, those years should received more weight. If a 37-year-old Rice played on a team that faced 700 pass attempts and Rice barely played, it wouldn’t make sense to count that equally with a year in his prime.

The table below shows every season of Rice’s career. By way of example, as a rookie, he played for Arizona and recorded 12.5 sacks, which is 10.25% of his career total. His Cardinals faced 548 pass plays (including sacks), or 34.25 per game that season, so when calculating his career grade, 10.25% of it will come from the 34.25 number. The “Prod” column is the product of the “Perc” column and the “TPA/G” column. The far right column shows the average NFL sack rate that season, which is shown only for reference.

I went ahead and did the same analysis for every pass rusher who has at least 50 sacks since 1982. In the table below, I show their average number of pass plays faced per game, which is weighted by the number of sacks they recorded. For reference, I also show the league average sack rate for their career, also weighted for their number of sacks they recorded each year.

PlayerSacksLg Avg Sack RtTPA
Derrick Burgess526.5%31.6
Freddie Joe Nunn67.57.2%32.2
Simeon Rice1226.7%32.8
Ken Harvey896.8%32.8
Ray Childress76.57.2%33.2
Leonard Little87.56.5%33.2
Clay Matthews69.57.5%33.2
Keith Millard587.4%33.4
Tim Harris817.2%33.5
Greg Brown52.58.1%33.6
Greg Townsend109.57.4%33.7
Duane Bickett537.4%33.7
Kenard Lang506.7%33.7
Al Baker65.57.7%33.7
Anthony Smith57.56.9%33.7
Tony Tolbert596.8%33.8
Aaron Schobel786.5%33.9
Mark Gastineau748%34.0
Shaun Ellis73.56.4%34.0
Keith Willis597.6%34.0
Jeff Bryant637.8%34.0
Danny Stubbs51.57%34.0
Doug Martin50.57.8%34.1
Andre Tippett1007.7%34.1
Simon Fletcher97.57%34.1
La'Roi Glover83.56.8%34.2
Mike Cofer62.57.5%34.2
Jason Taylor139.56.6%34.2
Michael Dean Perry616.9%34.2
Jacob Green97.57.7%34.3
Ellis Johnson516.7%34.3
Cornelius Bennett71.57%34.4
William Fuller100.56.8%34.4
Derrick Thomas126.56.9%34.4
Aaron Kampman586.3%34.4
James Hall636.4%34.4
Joe Johnson52.56.9%34.5
Dwight Freeney125.56.3%34.5
Neil Smith104.56.9%34.6
Curtis Greer50.58.1%34.6
Greg Ellis846.5%34.6
Bruce Smith2007%34.6
Trace Armstrong1066.9%34.7
Lee Williams82.57.5%34.7
Robert Mathis1236.3%34.7
Cortez Kennedy586.9%34.8
Warren Sapp96.56.8%34.8
Bertrand Berry656.5%34.8
Howie Long847.7%34.9
Steve McMichael957.5%34.9
Richard Dent137.57.5%34.9
Hugh Douglas806.7%34.9
Jeff Cross59.56.8%35.0
Rickey Jackson1287.4%35.0
Mike Rucker55.56.6%35.1
Kamerion Wimbley53.56.3%35.1
Clyde Simmons121.57%35.1
Tony Brackens556.9%35.1
Jason Gildon806.8%35.1
Mo Lewis52.56.9%35.1
Adalius Thomas536.5%35.1
Bill Pickel567.9%35.1
Will Smith67.56.4%35.1
Wayne Martin82.56.8%35.2
Jim Jeffcoat102.57.4%35.2
Bryan Cox51.57%35.2
Chester McGlockton516.6%35.2
Tamba Hali89.56.3%35.2
Greg Lloyd54.56.8%35.2
Lance Johnstone726.8%35.2
Joey Porter986.4%35.2
Alfred Williams59.56.8%35.3
Dan Hampton577.8%35.3
Leslie O'Neal132.57%35.3
Henry Thomas93.56.9%35.4
Darren Howard676.5%35.4
Tony Bennett64.56.8%35.4
Chuck Smith58.56.8%35.4
Robert Porcher95.56.8%35.4
Chad Bratzke56.56.9%35.5
Tracy Scroggins60.56.9%35.5
Leonard Marshall83.57.5%35.5
Ezra Johnson55.57.8%35.5
Richard Seymour57.56.3%35.5
Lawrence Taylor132.57.5%35.6
John Abraham133.56.4%35.6
Sean Jones1137.1%35.6
Marco Coleman65.56.8%35.6
Patrick Kerney82.56.5%35.6
Chris Doleman150.57%35.7
Seth Joyner527%35.7
Karl Mecklenburg797.5%35.7
Pat Swilling107.57%35.7
Dan Wilkinson54.56.7%35.7
Roderick Coleman58.56.6%35.8
Keith Hamilton636.9%35.8
Charles Mann837.5%35.9
Chris Long63.56.2%35.9
Dexter Manley97.57.7%35.9
Frank Warren52.57.4%35.9
Charles Haley100.56.9%35.9
Justin Smith876.4%36.0
Trevor Pryce916.7%36.0
Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila74.56.5%36.0
Elvis Dumervil105.56.3%36.0
Mike Vrabel576.4%36.0
Cliff Avril746.2%36.0
Phil Hansen61.56.8%36.0
Kevin Greene1606.9%36.1
Jason Babin64.56.4%36.1
Julian Peterson51.56.4%36.1
Jevon Kearse746.7%36.1
Grant Wistrom536.8%36.2
Mario Williams97.56.2%36.2
Chris Clemons696.3%36.2
Anthony Pleasant586.7%36.2
Chike Okeafor536.5%36.2
Calvin Pace606.3%36.2
Kyle Vanden Bosch586.3%36.3
Michael Strahan141.56.7%36.3
Osi Umenyiora856.4%36.3
Vonnie Holliday62.56.6%36.3
Michael Bennett546.3%36.3
Kevin Carter104.56.7%36.4
Justin Tuck66.56.2%36.4
Jumpy Geathers627.1%36.4
Gary Jeter527.6%36.4
Rob Burnett736.8%36.4
Adewale Ogunleye676.3%36.5
Too Tall Jones57.57.8%36.5
Michael Sinclair73.56.9%36.5
Julius Peppers154.56.3%36.6
Reggie White1987.2%36.6
Charles Johnson67.56.2%36.6
Jared Allen1366.3%36.6
Justin Houston69.56.3%36.6
Junior Seau56.56.7%36.6
Chad Brown796.6%36.6
Terrell Suggs125.56.3%36.6
Andre Carter80.56.3%36.7
Robert Quinn62.56.4%36.7
Chris Slade53.56.7%36.7
Willie McGinest866.6%36.7
Randy White528%36.8
Ryan Kerrigan71.56.3%36.8
Brian Orakpo64.56.2%36.9
Bryant Young89.56.7%36.9
Cameron Jordan59.56.3%36.9
DeMarcus Ware138.56.2%36.9
Cameron Wake926.2%37.0
Rosevelt Colvin52.56.6%37.0
Phillip Daniels626.8%37.0
John Randle137.56.8%37.0
LaMarr Woodley586.2%37.1
Michael McCrary716.9%37.1
Bryce Paup756.7%37.1
Dana Stubblefield53.56.8%37.1
Kevin Williams636.4%37.1
Rulon Jones52.57.9%37.1
Trent Cole90.56.3%37.1
Ndamukong Suh51.56.2%37.1
Clay Matthews806.2%37.2
Ahmad Brooks556.2%37.3
Peter Boulware706.9%37.3
James Harrison84.56.1%37.3
Shaun Phillips81.56.3%37.3
Calais Campbell716.3%37.5
Everson Griffen616.2%38.0
Jason Pierre-Paul58.56.3%38.0
J.J. Watt766.3%38.0
Von Miller83.56.2%38.1
Brian Robison606.2%38.7
Chandler Jones646.2%38.7
Carlos Dunlap64.56.2%38.9
Connor Barwin55.56.3%39.0
Geno Atkins616.2%39.0

As you can see, Rice is a pretty big outlier: The graph below shows the same data as above: on the X-Axis, career sacks; on the Y-Axis, average pass attempts faced per game. Rice’s bubble is in red.

Rice was consistently facing about 10% fewer pass attempts than the average player. And he did it in a slightly less sack-friendly environment, too (of the top 25 players in career sacks, his league average sack rate of 6.7% ranks 16th; Lawrence Taylor, at 7.5%, ranks 1st; DeMarcus Ware, at 6.2%, ranks 25th). During his prime, Rice was a devastating pass rusher, and his raw sack totals understimate that. Another reason his career totals are slightly less impressive than you think? He basically was all prime: Rice recorded 119 sacks from ages 22 to 31, the 4th-most by any player during those years. But that was it for Rice: unlike most great pass rushers, he was basically done by 31, and didn’t have a bunch of 5 and 6 sack seasons to boost his career totals. For example, Dwight Freeney also entered the league at 22 and also stopped being a difference maker at age 31; Freeney had 102.5 sacks from ages 22 to 31, but also recorded 23 sacks in 69 games in the six years from ages 32 to 37.

What do you think?

{ 1 comment }