Pass-Rushing Productivity: Who’s making the most of their opportunities?

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It’s back!

Our special formula, prized just slightly less highly than KFC’s secret recipe, gives the truest sense of how productive each pass rusher is on a per-play basis.

While most of the football world reports dutifully on sack counts, we tell you who’s getting all of the pressure, and on what percentage of pass-rush snaps.

Pass-Rushing Productivity. We have missed you. There are more than a few surprises here, not the least of which is the overall leader, a guy that doesn’t exactly conjure images of Bruce Smith or Lawrence Taylor.

For those unfamiliar with the formula, here it is. First, we total something called “QB Disruption Points,” which values sacks over hits and pressures: QB Disruption Points = Sacks + Hits (0.75) + Pressures (0.75)

We arrived at that balance after a general audit of our grades and tracking over the past three seasons, and found that hits and pressures represent about 75 percent of the value of sacks.

Then, to arrive at a score that measures productivity per rush, it’s simple: Pass-Rushing Productivity = QB Disruptions Points / Number of Pass Rushes x 100.

So, the final number represents the percentage of damage each rusher inflicts on his forays toward the backfield.

But enough of the waffle. You want some numbers, right? Well let’s get straight into it. Here’s our overall top 10.

(Note: only players who rushed passer 100 or more times qualified)

The Overall Top 10

POS	Team	Name	Rushes	PRP
LB	San Francisco 49ers	Manny Lawson	111	16.7
LB	Kansas City Chiefs	Tamba Hali	306	15.8
LB	San Francisco 49ers	Travis LaBoy	120	15
LB	Green Bay Packers	Clay Matthews	242	14.5
DE	Atlanta Falcons	John Abraham	218	14.3
DE	Seattle Seahawks	Chris Clemons	297	14.1
DE	Minnesota Vikings	Ray Edwards	277	13.9
LB	Cleveland Browns	Marcus Benard	129	13.8
LB	Pittsburgh Steelers	LaMarr Woodley	236	13.6
DE	St Louis Rams	Chris Long	333	13.3

I know what you’re thinking. Manny Lawson? Manny Lawson! Yes, Manny Lawson.

It’s important to note that Lawson has only rushed the passer 111 times, and so this could possibly drop as the season goes on. He had a decent year in 2009, but only scored at 8.79 percent.

Indeed, it’s far less surprising to look one spot below and see that Tamba Hali is a clear point ahead of all players who have rushed the passer more than 200 times. So as a full-time pass-rusher, it’s safe to say that Hali (even with that less-than-stellar game against the Broncos) is in a league of his own.

What may be as interesting is that John Abraham (the man who gave Joe Thomas the worst day of his pro career) is the most productive defensive end, narrowly beating Chris ‘The Bad Tackle Abuser” Clemons and Ray “Will Somebody Pay Me” Edwards. Abraham featured highly on our 2008 and 2009 rankings and though he isn’t as consistent as he was, he isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.

One of the most interesting names in the top ten for defensive ends is rookie Brandon Graham. We’ve given his Eagles teammate Trent Cole an awful lot of (deserved) praise in declaring him our top candidate for defensive player of the year these past three weeks and it’s no surprise he’s in the top five for productive pass-rushers. But Graham (who admittedly struggles in run defense) hasn’t been too far off the pace and is just two spots below, while Juqua Parker is 14^th of all defensive ends. Want to know why I feel confident endorsing the Eagles as a Super Bowl favorite? The defensive ends have a big part to play in it.

Top 10 Linebackers

Team	Name	Rushes	PRP
San Francisco 49ers	Manny Lawson	111	16.7
Kansas City Chiefs	Tamba Hali	306	15.8
San Francisco 49ers	Travis LaBoy	120	15
Green Bay Packers	Clay Matthews	242	14.5
Cleveland Browns	Marcus Benard	129	13.8
Pittsburgh Steelers	LaMarr Woodley	236	13.6
Pittsburgh Steelers	James Harrison	224	13.2
Cleveland Browns	Chris Gocong	102	12
Miami Dolphins	Cameron Wake	265	12
San Francisco 49ers	Parys Haralson	174	11.8

And what of those linebackers? We’ve already mentioned Lawson, but how about the fact that the 49ers have three players in the top 10 most productive pass-rushers at this spot? Granted it has been done on a lower level of snaps, but it paints a good (and realistic) picture of how they’ve been able to get pressure. Now if only their offense could match that kind of end result.

Elsewhere, part of why the Cleveland Browns are a team nobody wants to face is the pressure they get with their linebackers moving all over the place. Situational linebacker Marcus Benard and two-downer Chris Gocong are in the top ten but with full-timers Matt Roth (13^th) and Scott Fujita (15^th) also in the top 15, you have a unit that is making life extremely difficult for teams.

Top 10 Interior Defensive Linemen

Team	Name	Rushes	PRP
New England Patriots	Mike Wright	183	11.5
Cleveland Browns	Shaun Rogers	164	10.1
Seattle Seahawks	Brandon Mebane	140	8.75
New York Jets	Shaun Ellis	250	8.5
Kansas City Chiefs	Wallace Gilberry	212	8.14
Washington Redskins	Albert Haynesworth	114	8.11
Cincinnati Bengals	Geno Atkins	167	7.93
San Francisco 49ers	Justin Smith	304	7.81
Green Bay Packers	Cullen Jenkins	234	7.8
Oakland Raiders	Richard Seymour	248	7.76

And it’s another somewhat surprising name at the top of our interior (combined defensive tackles and 3-4 ends) defensive lineman rankings. The Patriots’ Mike Wright has a substantial lead, and while his run defense isn’t always up to scratch, getting that kind of production from a role player is why the Patriots are such a good franchise year in and year out.

Interesting that we get to see the sub-package tackles come in and kick some backside after losing their starting roles this year. Not many people are talking about Shaun Rogers, but the guy is about as tough to block as a man of his size can be, and it’s no surprise to see him ranked second. If there’s a guy who may be tougher to block, it’s Albert Haynesworth. He’s in a spot now where he can’t justify the amount he’s getting paid with how much action he sees, but when he’s on the field he does everything in his power to do so. Given the talent there, it wouldn’t surprise to see him rise as the year progresses and the Redskins realize they need to get him on the field more.

Bottom 10 Defensive Ends

Team	Name	Rushes	PRP
Carolina Panthers	Tyler Brayton	183	2.05
St Louis Rams	George Selvie	136	3.13
New York Giants	Jason Pierre-Paul	136	3.31
Indianapolis Colts	Keyunta Dawson	199	4.15
Tennessee Titans	William Hayes	170	4.41
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Kyle Moore	149	4.53
Cincinnati Bengals	Michael D. Johnson	184	4.62
Seattle Seahawks	Kentwan Balmer	129	4.65
Cincinnati Bengals	Antwan Odom	109	4.82
Cincinnati Bengals	Robert Geathers	274	5.29

In some respects isn’t not a surprise to see Tyler Brayton here. He moves inside on third-down situations and has played hurt. But he should be doing better than that, and when you compare the productivity of Brayton to Charles Johnson (15^th-ranked defensive end) you get an immediate impression of where the Panthers need to improve. It doesn’t help that the guy who was meant to replace Julius Peppers (who is 23^rd — a reasonable tradeoff given his production in the running game) is struggling. Everette Brown has the 14^th-lowest score.

Most notable is the presence of three Bengals players in the bottom 10. Ouch. That’s why you’re 2-7 — because your defenders can’t get any pressure. It was always risky relying on Antwan Odom coming back from injury, but the warning signs have been there for a while when you look at Robert Geathers.

Bottom 10 Linebackers

Team	Name	Rushes	PRP
Arizona Cardinals	Clark Haggans	189	3.84
Green Bay Packers	Frank Zombo	147	3.91
Washington Redskins	Andre Carter	296	4.05
New York Jets	Jason Taylor	219	4.22
Baltimore Ravens	Jarret Johnson	218	4.59
New York Jets	Calvin Pace	139	4.68
New York Jets	David Harris	109	5.05
Buffalo Bills	Chris Kelsay	214	5.37
Green Bay Packers	Brad Jones	116	5.82
Washington Redskins	Lorenzo Alexander	167	6.14

It doesn’t exactly make great reading for Packers fans, does it? You get an idea of just how reliant they are on Clay Matthews when you see that Brad Jones and Frank Zombo are among the worst in the league when it comes to getting to the quarterback. Still, it’s prettier than looking at the Redskins. Andre Carter went from one of the most productive guys to one of the least while Lorenzo Alexander may do a lot of things, but rushing the passer isn’t one of them. You do really question that transition to a 3-4 more and more.

The Pass Rushing Productivity rating doesn’t tell us who the best pass-rushers are. We’ve got a grading system for that. But it does offer an insight into why guys with big sack counts might not necessarily be having the season some would lead you to believe. Take Ndamukong Suh, for example. Elite talent and big playmaker. But on a per-play basis he is only the 20^th-most productive interior defensive linemen at generating pressure, worse than fellow rookie Geno Atkins and comprehensively beaten by Gerard Warren (13^th) and Antonio Garay (16^th).

We’ll leave you to ponder that. If you’re interested in finding out more about specific players or teams or have a media request for more information, contact khaled.elsayed@profootballfocus.com and we’ll see what we can do.