The 2021 True Sack Rate (TSR): Week 11 Update

Welcome back everyone for the Week 11 update to the TSR. A full explanation of this project with a detailed definition of terms can be found here. If you are new to the TSR, here are the final leaderboards from the 2020 season for edge-rusher and interior D-line.

My objective with the TSR is to identify which rushers utilized the highest level of skill against the most difficult set of circumstances to record a sack. We will be able to more accurately evaluate sack and pass-rush production as a whole for the position through this process.

First, a few notes:

• 493 sacks by 117 players have been charted and graded so far.

• All sacks are graded with the end zone and/or sideline copies of the film.

• Half sacks were counted as full sacks if the rusher beat the blocker and was going to likely take down the quarterback without the help of a teammate.

• Sacks were not counted if the QB got back to the line of scrimmage.

• All graphs are made by John Pulice. A special thank you to Justin Scarpaci for building the formulas inside Google sheets to help make this project come alive.

Edge Results through Week 11

Listed below is the current top 20 in ‘sack score’ among edge defenders in the NFL (minimum score of 5).

• Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt still are 1-2 among edge-rushers in sack score since the last update and have been in the same position for severals weeks now.

• Robert Quinn has had four sacks since the last update to move him back up to 3rd place overall. Three of those four were low-quality or cleanup sacks, with one being this nasty high-quality sack against Ravens LT Alejandro Villanueva. Check out the get-off and bend from Quinn using a stab-dip move to turn a tight corner, which at 31-years old somehow continues to be the norm for him this season.

• Haason Reddick has had three sacks since the Week 9 update, two of them being LQ. The one HQ sack came against Cardinals LT D.J. Humphries, using incredible lateral quickness with an inside club-swim move to win clean. Reddick’s elite upfield burst and speed to the corner gets tackles to open their hips prematurely to the sideline, creating a soft inside shoulder for him to cross their face inside. Humphries even had the running back (James Connor) lined up to his side for help outside and he still overset Reddick. This is a beautiful example of how premier speed around the edge can strike fear into tackles and create two-way gos.