As someone who played DE and OLB, I'll confirm this as my experience. There's nothing more frustrating than winning a rush (either beating an OL, or finding a gap) and being within arms reach of a QB, only to have the QB throw the ball away somewhere near a receiver, to avoid the sack and the penalty. It ALWAYS felt like I was being ripped off, because something I felt like I'd earned was taken away from me. This feeling is compounded when the DB's have the play covered so the entire defense played exceptionally well and got nothing more than an incompletion out of it.
Every defensive player I ever played with felt the same way. They use language like "grounds the ball" doesn't refer to the rules, it refers to the act of avoiding a sack with a toss at someone's feet or over their head and out of bounds. It starts in junior high school ball.