In 2002-03, Leonard Little had 24.5 sacks in 38 games played (.65 sacks per game).
In 2004-05, he has 11 sacks in 24 games (.46 sacks per game).
What's the difference?
Could it be Grant Wistrom? While I, admittedly, was okay with Grant's departure given the high salary he obtained (and I still think he's overpaid), I have to wonder if Wistrom's presence on the opposite side of Little impacted Leonard's productivity.
To further investigate, I looked at the DEs Wistrom has played with in Seattle.
Chike Okeafor, who played opposite Wistrom in 2004, had his best year with Wistrom on the other side (though, to be fair, Wistrom did miss a few games). He registered 8.5 sacks in 16 games (.53 per game), which was his best production to date in this category.
Bryce Fisher, who plays opposite Wistrom this year, is also having his best career output in sacks, registering 7.5 in 10 games.
Now, before you misconstrue my point, I don't think the Rams should have paid Wistrom what the Hawks did in 2004. That said, I think these stats show how important it is to have two quality pass rushers at the DE position. When you have only one person who can consistently pressure the QB, that person can be nullified with blocking schemes.
I think this is one of the key problems with the Rams defense.
-11-21-2005, 09:28 AM
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