Jared Allen, DeMarcus Ware: Is a 25-sack Season Possible?

Business in the front, party in the back. That's just how Minnesota's Jared Allen likes it.

And although he no longer sports his stylish mullet, he still lives by that motto while on the football field. He's all fun and games until it's time to get down to business, and he's in the business of sacking quarterbacks.

While these same quarterbacks he's been sacking were out making headlines by passing for 5,000 yards (three accomplished this rare feat in 2011), he quietly came just one sack away from breaking the single-season sack record.

Personally, I just like to believe that the record is 22–not 22.5 like the record books say. Michael Strahan, the actual sack king according to the books, earned his record-breaking sack back in his 2001 All Pro season. The final game of the regular season, a 34-25 loss to the Packers, Strahan surpassed Mark Gastineau in the record books when Strahan's good buddy Brett Favre practically fell at his feet.

In my own personal NFL record books I would like to say I'd place an asterisk next to Strahan's name, meaning the Jets' Gastineau (22 sacks in 1984) still holds the single-season record. That is, until this season of course. In a season he failed to win the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award (Baltimore's Terrell Suggs won the honor instead), Allen recorded a personal-best 22 sacks on his way to his fourth career Pro Bowl.

Why have I brought this to everyone's attention today? Well, first off because not too many people really gave him much recognition for it during the season because it appeared to fly under the radar, but also because Allen has opened up about his eye-popping, yet disappointing season.

The mullet-less Allen spoke to Minnesota media today and discussed the possibility of someone one day hitting 25 sacks. Now, considering that's not only beyond the single-season record by 2.5 sacks but also the fact that no one player has ever had two 20+ sack seasons in history (as Allen points out), it seems a bit of an outrageous claim.

But, hey, if the workhorse Jared Allen thinks it can be done, it can be done, right?

“Before you get that close, you’re not really sure if it’s attainable. You think it is, because you always think if someone did it, I could do it. But being right there and actually leaving some stuff on the field — they took the one away in Green Bay, they gave it a team sack — and there were a couple in my arms that I didn’t get it. Or the ones that I was that close. The ones at the end of the year… It was kinda like, ‘Ah, bummed out. Now I’m 23 away again, versus one away.’ But when you start working out again, it’s motivation. How can I push myself just a little further?

I think 25 is possible. I think someone will eventually get it. Look at some of the athletes, the DeMarcus Ware's of the league and the matchups he creates as a 3-4 guy on a running back or something. I think it’s possible. Then again, no one’s ever had two 20-sack seasons in their career in the history of the NFL. So, someone’s gotta do that first. Like I said, I believe 25 is a number that will get hit one year. But when, I don’t know?”

First of all, I love the fact that he acknowledges DeMarcus Ware's presence in Dallas. I always ranked Ware above Allen in the pass-rushing category, perhaps because of his versatility at the outside linebacker position. Ware poses a problem to each offense he lines up against and has a rare combination of size and speed coming from the outside.

Allen, too, is a freak of nature, but lets not forget that this season Ware was just a half a sack shy of becoming the first player to accomplish two 20-sack seasons. The six-time Pro Bowler has averaged 14.2 sacks/season over his seven professional seasons in Dallas and has failed to reach double-digits just once. 


So there's no doubt I completely agree with Allen that a 25 sack season is very possible, and almost sure to happen in the future. But, then again, I don't believe it will be Allen that accomplishes this feat. If anyone, DeMarcus Ware will beat Allen to the punch in Dallas.


Who knows, maybe you will find this on my BOLD predictions list in August: Ware breaks Strahan's 11-year old sack record.


Note: I do not own the above images, and the quotes were found and borrowed from NFL.com (Ian Rapoport). No copyright infringement intended.

True or False: "Window of Opportunity Closing" in Dallas?

On Tuesday, during the owners meetings in Atlanta, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones claimed in an interview that he believes his team's window of opportunity (to win a Super Bowl) is closing.

He stated that his players are in the prime of their careers and will need to start winning soon.

Now, is it just me, or is that complete B.S.??

Has he lost his mind, or has he just lost all confidence in his team's ability?

I mean, yeah, sure, Dallas has struggled over the past several seasons, winning just one postseason game during the Tony Romo-era (1-4 in four postseasons since 2003) and posting a combined 14-18 record over the last two regular seasons.

But if anything, Mr. Jones should be excited about the coming season and have nothing but hope and positive vibes coming from the Dallas front office. Five of eight losses in 2011 were by six points or less, and had they posted a better division record (2-4) they could have easily found themselves atop the NFC East and in the postseason this past season.

Tony Romo was back to his elite form for a majority of the season in addition to a fantastic rookie performance from the third round pick DeMarco Murray before he went down with a season-ending injury in a Week 14 matchup with the Giants. With his 164 carries, the 24-year old Murray accumulated 897 rushing yards and two TDs, allowing the offense to be two-dimensional.

Romo, 32, and wideouts Miles Austin, 27, and Dez Bryant, 23 are in the prime of their careers right now. Well, technically Bryant's is just taking off, finishing his second professional season with a 928 yard-9 TD season in 2011. Tight end Jason Witten (79 receptions, 942 yards, 5 TD) continues to be one of the top receiving tight ends in the game.

On offense, Dallas will be just fine. I really don't see them having too much trouble keeping up with the offenses in the East, including defending champion New York Giants. As long as Romo limits his mistakes, we could see a high-flying/scoring offense in Dallas this season.

As for the defensive unit, the front office designated linebacker Anthony Spencer as the franchise player, locking him up for at least another season after his 51 tackle, 6.0 sack season. All Pro linebacker DeMarcus Ware completed his sixth consecutive double-digit sack season (19.5 in 16 games), further proving why he's the top pass rusher in the game.

When you add the highly underrated inside linebacker Sean Lee in to the mix, you get one of the most dangerous linebacking corps in the league. Lee, 25, led the team with 69 solo tackles and four interceptions this past season.

Jay Ratliff anchors a defensive line that ranked seventh against the run last season, allowing 4.1 yards per carry and under 100 yards a game.

It was the secondary that gave Dallas a hard time in its 2011 campaign, but the front office did what they could to address that issue so far this offseason. The aging, inconsistent cornerback Terence Newman was released on March 13 (later to be signed by Cincinnati) and will be replaced with sixth overall draft pick in April, Morris Claiborne, out of LSU.

Claiborne will make an immediate impact and hopefully assist a defense that ranked in the bottom half in forced turnovers last season.

In all, Dallas has plenty of youth on its roster to compete not just this season, but in the next 4-5 seasons. Why Jerry Jones felt the need to publicly announce his skepticism, and possibly add unneeded pressure to his squad, is beyond me.

If one thing's for certain, it's that there will be no shortage in drama (once again) for the Dallas Cowboys this season. Drama seems to follow Mr. Jones every where he goes. Personally, I think he secretly enjoys creating it.

Answer to the question: No, Jerry!

Note: I do not own any of the above images