Robert Mathis has more sacks than all other Colts combined

by Chase Stuart on November 8, 2013

Mathis takes down Manning.

Good stat courtesy of Bill Barnwell this week: Robert Mathis has 11.5 sacks, while the rest of his Indianapolis teammates have just 10.5 sacks. Jerrell Freeman is second on the team with 3.5 sacks, Cory Redding has a pair of sacks, and no other Colt has more than one sack. That’s obviously very impressive: no other defensive player in 2013 has even 40% of his team’s sacks, with only LaMarr Woodley (5 sacks), Mario Williams (11), and Robert Quinn (10) having more than one-third of their team’s sacks.

Since the sack became an official statistic in 1982, the record for percentage of team sacks by an individual player was set by right outside linebacker Tim Harris on the 1989 Packers. Green Bay ran a 3-4 defense under Hank Bullough, and Harris had 19.5 of the team’s 34 sacks. That means 57.4% of all sacks by Packers players that year came from Harris; no other Green Bay player had more than three sacks.

Aldon Smith had 19.5 sacks, too, playing on the 2012 49ers. Last year, San Francisco recorded 38 team sacks, meaning Smith — playing that same ROLB position in the 3-4 defense — had 51.3% of his team’s sacks. Two other players recorded exactly half of their team’s sacks. In 1984, when Mark Gastineau (playing at left defensive end in New York’s 4-3 defense) set the sack record, he recorded 22 of the Jets 44 total sacks. Fifteen years later, Football Perspective All Underrated star Simeon Rice (who lined up at right defensive end) had 16.5 of the Cardinals 33 sacks.

Mathis was a star 4-3 defensive end, but he’s already matched his single-season career high in sacks. He’s having perhaps his best season playing as rush linebacker in the system devised by Greg Manusky and Chuck Pagano. And his numbers look even better as a percentage of team sacks. Below are the top 50 leaders from 1982 to 2012 in percentage of team sacks, which is a cut-off deep enough to bring in another Robert Mathis season:

Rank	Player	Year	Team	Pos	Scheme	DC	Sacks	Tm Sk	Perc
1	Tim Harris	1989	GNB	ROLB	3-4	Hank Bullough	19.5	34	57.4%
2	Aldon Smith	2012	SFO	ROLB	3-4	Vic Fangio	19.5	38	51.3%
3	Mark Gastineau	1984	NYJ	LDE	4-3	Joe Gardi	22	44	50%
4	Simeon Rice	1999	ARI	RDE	4-3	Dave McGinnis	16.5	33	50%
5	Michael Strahan	2001	NYG	LDE	4-3	John Fox	22.5	46	48.9%
6	John Abraham	2008	ATL	RDE	4-3	Brian VanGorder	16.5	34	48.5%
7	Ken Harvey	1994	WAS	LLB	4-3	Ron Lynn	13.5	28	48.2%
8	Mario Williams	2008	HOU	RDE	4-3	Richard Smith	12	25	48%
9	J.J. Watt	2012	HOU	LDE	3-4	Wade Phillips	20.5	44	46.6%
10	DeMarcus Ware	2011	DAL	ROLB	3-4	Rob Ryan	19.5	42	46.4%
11	Mario Williams	2007	HOU	RDE	4-3	Richard Smith	14	31	45.2%
12	Tim Harris	1988	GNB	ROLB	3-4	Hank Bullough	13.5	30	45%
13	Simeon Rice	1996	ARI	RDE	4-3	Dave McGinnis	12.5	28	44.6%
14	Derrick Burgess	2005	OAK	RDE	3-4	Rob Ryan	16	36	44.4%
15	DeMarcus Ware	2010	DAL	ROLB	3-4	Paul Pasqualoni	15.5	35	44.3%
16	Bruce Smith	1990	BUF	RDE	3-4	Walt Corey	19	43	44.2%
17	Jared Allen	2011	MIN	RDE	4-3	Fred Pagac	22	50	44%
18	Joey Porter	2008	MIA	ROLB	3-4	Paul Pasqualoni	17.5	40	43.8%
19	Elvis Dumervil	2009	DEN	ROLB	3-4	Mike Nolan	17	39	43.6%
20	Kevin Greene	1990	RAM	LOLB	3-4	Fritz Shurmur	13	30	43.3%
21	Reggie White	1988	PHI	LDE	4-3	Wade Phillips	18	42	42.9%
22	Neil Smith	1993	KAN	LDE	3-4	Dave Adolph	15	35	42.9%
23	John Abraham	2010	ATL	LDE	4-3	Brian VanGorder	13	31	41.9%
24	Derrick Thomas	1996	KAN	LOLB	4-3	Gunther Cunningham	13	31	41.9%
25	Jared Allen	2007	KAN	RDE	4-3	Gunther Cunningham	15.5	37	41.9%
26	Simeon Rice	2003	TAM	RDE	4-3	Monte Kiffin	15	36	41.7%
27	Bruce Smith	1986	BUF	RDE	3-4	Herb Paterra	15	36	41.7%
28	Tim Harris	1992	SFO	LOLB	3-4	Bill McPherson	17	41	41.5%
29	Tamba Hali	2011	KAN	ROLB	3-4	Romeo Crennel	12	29	41.4%
30	Michael Strahan	2003	NYG	LDE	4-3	Johnnie Lynn	18.5	45	41.1%
31	Terrell Suggs	2010	BAL	LOLB	3-4	Greg Mattison	11	27	40.7%
32	Kevin Greene	1998	CAR	LOLB	3-4	Vic Fangio	15	37	40.5%
33	Bruce Smith	1994	BUF	RDE	3-4	Walt Corey	10	25	40%
34	John Abraham	2007	ATL	RDE	4-3	Mike Zimmer	10	25	40%
35	Dwight Freeney	2009	IND	RDE	4-3	Larry Coyer	13.5	34	39.7%
36	Tony Bennett	1992	GNB	ROLB	3-4	Ray Rhodes	13.5	34	39.7%
37	Jim Jeffcoat	1989	DAL	RDE	4-3	Dave Wannstedt	11.5	29	39.7%
38	Mark Gastineau	1983	NYJ	LDE	4-3	Joe Gardi	19	48	39.6%
39	John Abraham	2001	NYJ	RDE	4-3	Ted Cottrell	13	33	39.4%
40	Jason Taylor	2002	MIA	RDE	4-3	Jim Bates	18.5	47	39.4%
41	Kevin Greene	1989	RAM	LOLB	3-4	Fritz Shurmur	16.5	42	39.3%
42	Kamerion Wimbley	2006	CLE	ROLB	3-4	Todd Grantham	11	28	39.3%
43	Julius Peppers	2008	CAR	RDE	4-3	Mike Trgovac	14.5	37	39.2%
44	Andre Carter	2002	SFO	LDE	4-3	Jim Mora	12.5	32	39.1%
45	Bryan Cox	1992	MIA	ROLB	3-4	Tom Olivadotti	14	36	38.9%
46	Simeon Rice	2005	TAM	RDE	4-3	Monte Kiffin	14	36	38.9%
47	Tamba Hali	2009	KAN	ROLB	3-4	Clancy Pendergast	8.5	22	38.6%
48	Lawrence Taylor	1989	NYG	ROLB	3-4	Bill Belichick	15	39	38.5%
49	Doug Martin	1982	MIN	LDE	3-4	Bob Hollway	11.5	30	38.3%
50	Robert Mathis	2008	IND	DE	4-3	Ron Meeks	11.5	30	38.3%

Rice and John Abraham are the only players who made the top-50 four times; that may be a good argument to bolster the resumes of two borderline Hall of Fame players. Harris was no one-year wonder, either: he’s on the list two other times. The only other players to appear three times are Bruce Smith and Kevin Greene. Other than Smith, only four other times did a 3-4 defensive end make the list, while other than Greene, just twice did a 3-4 left outside linebacker appear.

Tagged as: Bruce Smith, John Abraham, Kevin Greene, Sacks, Simeon Rice

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