Quarterback Sack Costs For the Broncos (and the League) in 2011

In the final installment of the starting Salaries series, I present the cost of a Quarterback Sack for the Denver Broncos as well as the rest of the league. I will attempt to show the 3 main pass rushing threats for each team last year, or at least the three players who accumulated the most in their Sack attack. Then we will look at what percentage of their teams Sacks they contributed and finally what was the price tag for a Sack for each team. This will help us understand how the Salaries for Pass Rushers have escalated and who got the best value for their buck. The values may be skewed a little because of the players out performing their rookie contracts, but to me, that makes a statement on the talent evaluators in each teams Scouting staff.

I will break it down for you in order to understand the chart. The teams are listed by their Sack total for 2011 from most to the least. The three main Sack contributors for each team are next with their contributions in parentheses. After that is the percentage of their team's Total Sacks (%of SKS), the total Salaries of those three contributors in 2011(2011 Cost in Millions) and what each Sack from those three players cost their team (Value in Thousands). Then I ranked each team according to the cost per Sack, from the lowest to the highest, their projected 2012 expense (at present time) and any Free Agents they must deal with.

As you can see, the Minnesota Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles led the league in Sacking the Quarterback as a team in 2011. The Eagles got a better value since they only spent $254K per Sack, while the Vikes shelled out $448K. However, I believe that since they achieved 70% of that statistic with 3 players, that cost is worth it. Obviously each team will be different in placing a priority on the Sack statistic and the money allotted to that. The Green Bay Packers for instance, rely on a greater part of their Defensive personnel to contain and pressure the Quarterback, forcing a mistake by being patient and disciplined rather than forcing the issue with all out blitzes per se. Teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts and and the Denver Broncos balance their Pass rush with "Book ends," a pass rush specialist on each side of the line. Pittsburgh does it with Outside Linebackers James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley. The Colts have Defensive Ends Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney and the Broncos use one of each, OLB Von Miller and DE Elvis Dumervil to wreak havoc on opposing Quarterbacks.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers spent the least amount per Sack in 2011 at $87K. However, they also produced the least amount of Sacks. Is their ownership a Miser? Perhaps. perhaps not. They had 3 players on their rookie contracts producing their pressure and in their defense (no pun intended), Gerald McCoy will be back after a stay on the Injured Reserve List in 2011. I didn't include his salary in the 2012 projection.

The Denver Broncos outspent all but the Raiders for each Sack produced in 2011 at $929K per Sack. Their expense in 2012 rises very minimal, but the Denver Front Office has to be concerned with the production return on that investment. Sure, you could blame it on injuries. Elvis Dumervil was struggling with a shoulder injury in the early part of the season and finally returned to 100% a little past the halfway mark. Von Miller broke a thumb and lost one source of leverage, making him less effective. That is reason enough for me to think the Broncos 2011 Sack total of 41 will increase.

There are greater depths that can be derived from this list and maybe one of you will journey down that path to solve the questions of, which player was paid the highest per Sack and which team got the best value for an individual Pass Rusher? Another interesting question would be the correlation of Sacks to Wins and if that was that big of a factor?