DeMarcus Ware is one of the premier sack artists in the NFL. He has amassed 99.5 sacks over his seven-year career, and his career-high is 20, which is 2.5 sacks shy of Michael Strahan’s single-season record.
Jared Allen had 22 sacks for the Vikings last season and recently said he thinks 25 sacks is possible. He even cited Ware as a player who could do it.
“With that coming from Jared Allen, who had 22 last year, the sky’s the limit,” Ware told Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News in response. “I’ll also flip it back on him, and say, he can do the same thing, and also, Jason Babin. They’re playing really well. But it’s all about how the season goes. If it’s more of a passing season, we’re probably going to have more sacks.”
More passing plays in the NFL has created more opportunities for sacks, but I still think 25 is going to be really difficult to reach unless the NFL goes to an 18-game season. Both Ware and Allen were on pace to break Strahan’s record midway through last season, but they each slowed down and finished short of the mark. As soon as a player starts tearing it up with a lot of sacks, opposing teams take notice and gameplan to stop that player more than before. That makes it more difficult to break the mark, even for a guy with skills like Lawrence Taylor.
