Heyward vs Watt. Who breaks the All Time Steeler sack record first?

I would assume Watt ends the season as the all time Sack leader for the Steelers, but right now Cam is 1 sack up on TJ, with only 2 sacks to go to tie Harrison's 80.5 sack record.

https://www.statmuse.com/nfl/ask/pittsburgh-steelers-sack-leaders-career

 

Watt should cruise past Cam and quickly

 

Ok Brice you didn’t even vote in your own poll

 

OK, now I did.

Also, I was a little shocked to learn that 80.5 is the Steelers record, considering the NFL record is 200 held by Bruce Smith. And I know it is the whole "When did they start counting Sacks" thing that disqualifies players like Mean Joe from topping this list.

 

What's crazy is look at games played. If Watt stays, and remains Healthy He will wreck this stat.

 

What is crazy is that Watt is .10% off from having a 1 Sack per game average for his career.

 

I'd like them to both break the Steeler record simultaneously with a shared sack. Then Watt can keep it going, health permitting.

 

If last season was the start of a trend to re-establish the dominance in the trenches I think we will see Cam taking a more traditional 34 DE role while Highsmith and Watt along with the other new faces bring pressure from multiple angles.

 

Watt had a crappy season last year. He played rather subdued.
I could see him playing more angry this season and the rotation should keep him fresh.
He's a beast when he's at 100%.... He might break that in game 1.

Heyward is the guy you'd like to see get it.
But his role is different from TJ's seek and destroy role.

This is a good problem to have.

 

Pro Football Reference went through old game film and game logs and determined that LC Greenwood had 78 sacks and Mean Joe had 77.5

 

And it was not a pass happy league back then

 

Was going to say, back then 20 passes in a game was a lot. Now, 40 and 50 pass games are commonplace.

 

Although this is true, most pass attempts back then were longer than they are now. A passer can get rid of the ball a lot quicker on a 3 yard pass than the 20-40 yard passes that were more common back then. Although they pass twice as much now as they did back in the 70s, rushers had more time to get to the passer on those long passes.

 

It has raised, but the really big jump came around about 2010.
Actually in the 70s the average amount of passes was about 26 - 27.

Really the whole 70s averaged about 27 passes a game. The Steelers just didn't. Hell there are teams still today that don't average that much , or much more. Bears,and Ravens....just to name a few.....but yes I think the whole NFL average is around 32(I believe I read), but just in 2020 it was only a little over 27.

 

Really they don't....the whole 70s averaged about 26- 27 passes a game. People think it was a lot less because the Steelers didn't. I think last year was a new high(I think), but just in 2020 the average was just over 27. Hell some teams today don't average much more....look at Bears, and Ravens.

 

The top five passers in 1973 (14 game seasons) threw 286, 274, 260, 258 and the outlier, Roman Gabriel with 460. The top 5 passers who played all 17 games in 2022 threw 648, 572, 587, 584, and 699 passes. Numbers don't lie.

 

Keywords. League average. Not top 5, or bottom 5.
I said the 70s. I took the league average every year from 1970- 1980, and averaged it out. It came to a little over 26 passes a game for the 70s. You can do this also. You can't look at a few teams . You have to add them all together to get a correct league average. Otherwise I could say last years league average was less if I just went by Chicago(22), and Atlanta(24) a game average. Yes today's average is higher than the 70s , but not as much as people think. Now yards.....that's a whole different thing. Like I said earlier it changes year to year...in 2020 the league average was only 27 passes a game.
Before asked....all stats are from Pro Football reference.

 

You need to meet my accountant

 

Turn Your dang avatar.

 

Want to see Leal take the next step and be relief for aging Heyward. Heyward will be great, but we need some quality rotation on the DL.

 

Watt will get it but then they will call roughing the passer and negate it then Heyward will get it and they will call defensive holding. They will then both get it on the same play with a .5 sack each and they will call offsides. It will be like the Keystone Cops out there trying to break any Steelers records in Gooddell's NFL.

 

A much better question is if IDL will be Leal's home?! There is a good argument to be made that the Steelers could potentially be making the same mistake with Leal as they did with Sutton; no position until it is too late. For that matter, it is also way too early to tell for the first Official Depth Chart has yet to be released and will not be so for some time. With any luck... this can change as I share the same sentiment.


Having Leal learn the IDL will go a long way in terms of the team not wasting more high end resources into the position. Given how the team has four expiring contracts at Guard in 2024, best to use some of those resources at Guard. Same goes for Right Offensive Tackle and Center for I still believe an upgrade from Mason Cole would not only benefit Kenny Pickett and Najee Harris but the Offensive Line as well.

 

To answer the OP and to the point that @troybellringer55 made, T.J. Watt's production borders on the path of video game nuthouse levels. That many sacks in that few games.... geez... man. That all said, even T.J. needs a rest every now and then. Thankfully Markus Golden is here but I believe Markus was brought along for more than mere 3rd EDGE Depth.


For me, Markus Golden is the most important backup of any Steelers Defensive Player. Him being here not only ensures a healthy rotation of both Highsmith and Watt but also serves as a mentor to the likes of Nick Herbig. Mind you when Markus Golden came into the league, his major limitation was his lack of length; just like Nick. However, despite this, Markus Golden has carved out a solid NFL Career despite that limitation. Given how Nick has a higher ceiling than Markus did coming out of College, I expect Nick to not only catch on rather quickly but also to contribute more early than others are giving him credit for.



While it is true he does in fact have a severe lack of length, he is not lacking in leverage, get off, agility, flexibility or most of all, pass rush capability; an essential foundation for being even an average NFL EDGE. Nick can outplay his draft slot if the mentorship of Markus Golden pans out. I severely doubt him hitting the Weight Room and watching film will be much of a problem.

 

Has something to do with how I took the picture with my phone

I stuck another one up of another dog until I take a left to right picture of Rica

 

Beautiful dog, and a wonderfully right side up avatar. LoL