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We see interceptions easily because of the spacing between the players, and with replay. The knowledgeable football fan will know that most of them happen because the player was in the right place at the right time, based on what the coaches schemed up. Most interceptions are less the result of a great athletic play by an individual, more the result of a good defensive play call, carried out by a team, that caused the ball to end up near one of the defensive players.
There are a few interceptions that are the result of exceptional individual effort, outside the scheme and play call, but far fewer than ESPN and Neon Sanders would have us believe. We get seduced by the cult of individualism that sells the NFL.
We look at Mark Anderson and ask, "How will the team replace those 10 sacks?" as if they were all his doing. I wonder, though, how many of those sacks would have happened if it weren't Anderson but instead were any average DE, doing what the coaches told him to do, and who drew that particular blocking assignment on plays where the coverage had the QB spend the same amount of time going through that same progression.
In other words, if it weren't Anderson (or Carter, or...etc.) how many sacks would have been recorded by Player X or Player Y?
How much of a sack total is the result of the individual's capability, and how much of it is coaching, team defense, and luck?
That answer would allow us to get a better fix on the true value of the "pass rush specialist" and on the importance of drafting the next great DE or OLB athlete. It would also tell us how much of the defense is already in place with signings like Fanene.
There are a few interceptions that are the result of exceptional individual effort, outside the scheme and play call, but far fewer than ESPN and Neon Sanders would have us believe. We get seduced by the cult of individualism that sells the NFL.
We look at Mark Anderson and ask, "How will the team replace those 10 sacks?" as if they were all his doing. I wonder, though, how many of those sacks would have happened if it weren't Anderson but instead were any average DE, doing what the coaches told him to do, and who drew that particular blocking assignment on plays where the coverage had the QB spend the same amount of time going through that same progression.
In other words, if it weren't Anderson (or Carter, or...etc.) how many sacks would have been recorded by Player X or Player Y?
How much of a sack total is the result of the individual's capability, and how much of it is coaching, team defense, and luck?
That answer would allow us to get a better fix on the true value of the "pass rush specialist" and on the importance of drafting the next great DE or OLB athlete. It would also tell us how much of the defense is already in place with signings like Fanene.