SACK MASTERS : It Appears That They Have All Gone Hollywood

What’s in a sack these days?

Almost everything. Money. Prestige. Violence. A chance to dance.

But it wasn’t always like this.

Before the late 1960s, National Football League officials didn’t keep records of sacks. So, for some of the early great pass rushers -- former Baltimore Colt Gino Marchetti, the New York Giants’ Andy Robustelli, the Chicago Bears’ Ed Sprinkle, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Norm “Wild Man” Willey and Washington’s Gene Brito, for example -- tackling a quarterback in the backfield earned nothing more than a pat on the rear end.

Now, however, pass rushing is a specialty, and a bunch of sacks will bring a defensive player as much fame as the player he tackles and about three-quarters of a quarterback’s salary.

Simply, tackling the quarterback in the backfield has gone Hollywood.

It was in 1967 that a not-so-modest David Deacon Jones, a defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams, coined the term “sack.”

“We needed a short term,” said Jones. “I gave it some thought and came up with the term ‘sack,’ like you sack a city, you devastate it. And the word was so short you could even get Deacon in front of the word Jones in some headlines. But, wow, I never thought it would take off like it did.”

Take off? Soon afterward, they started giving out nicknames such as “Fearsome Foursome” (for the second time), “Purple People Eaters” and “Sack Pack.”

And now we’re in the golden era of the sack and pass-rush specialist in a league that has gone pass-happy. No longer are pass rushers just huge, knuckle-draggers whose secondary assignment is to tackle the quarterback after plugging the middle of the line to stop the run.

The new breed is the 250-pound, kamikaze linebacker who is too quick for offensive tackles, fast enough to cover a back in the flat and strong enough to run over an offensive guard en route to smashing a quarterback.

The Giants’ Lawrence Taylor, New England Patriots’ Andre Tippett, Detroit Lions’ Mike Cofer and Buffalo Bills’ Cornelius Bennett are just a few. Six of the top 10 pass rushers in the American Football Conference and five of 10 in the National Football Conference are linebackers.

There are still linemen who are throwbacks to the old days, such as the Philadelphia Eagles’ Reggie White, Minnesota Vikings’ Keith Millard and Buffalo’s Bruce Smith, who can play the run just as efficiently as the pass.

But there’s a whole lot more to this sack business.

Washington Redskins defensive end Dexter Manley said, “Money. Sacks mean money. That makes my eyes light up.”

Former Colts defensive end Bubba Smith (1967-71) said, “You’re down in the pits rolling around with what, 10 or 11 other huge people? And nobody knows your name. But a sack turns the game around. The crowd is now focusing on you, and it’s like Hollywood. It gives you an indentity.”

White said, “It’s the greatest moment for a defensive lineman. It’s the same thing as a touchdown to a running back or receiver or an interception by a defensive back. I just love them, but I don’t think anybody is out to hurt anybody.”

But listen to how Taylor once described a “kill hit.”

“It’s when you hit the quarterback so hard that he’s out there quivering on the ground and stuff is coming out of his nose,” said Taylor. “Then I hope the second-string quarterback is not as good.”

In 16 games this season, there were 1,035 sacks, 71 fewer than in 1987. But during the first six weeks, sack artists were setting a quarterback-breaking record, with 16 of the 28 NFL teams having lost their No. 1 quarterbacks.

“Sacks were like rebounds until Bill Russell came along,” said Ernie Accorsi, executive vice president of the Cleveland Browns. “Nobody started counting them until he started winning without scoring a lot of points. Then, everyone said, ‘How does he do it?’

“Well, sacks are the same way. It’s used as incentive for bonuses, because everybody is attacking the pocket of the pass-oriented offenses. A sack can turn the game around much like a touchdown or interception. This pass rushing has become serious business.”

Actually, offenses and officials in the league are to blame for the new-wave pass rusher.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a chess game began between the offensive and defensive masterminds in the NFL.

College football coaches started sending better-trained passers to the NFL. Thus, offensive coaches decided to throw more. They got a major break from the league in 1977, when officials took away a prime pass-rushing weapon, the head slap.

Another boost came in 1978, when rules changes allowed offensive linemen to extend their arms while blocking and disallowed hits from defensive backs on receivers more than 5 yards from the line of scrimmage.

That kept the big, aggressive defensive backs, like Donnie Shell and Mel Blount of the Pittsburgh Steelers, from beating on a receiver all over the field.

Offensive coaches became too greedy. They started bringing in 300-pound offensive linemen and using four receivers, keeping only one running back to block in the backfield.

Finally, defensive coaches had had enough. Instead of laying back in zone defenses, coaches started shifting to the three-man front and moving their top pass-rushing defensive linemen anywhere on the line to disrupt the offense.

Then came Taylor, who entered the league in 1981 and started to dominate opponents. The Giants played Taylor everywhere: weak-side linebacker, strong-side linebacker, even middle linebacker. He averaged nine sacks in his first four years and had an incredible 20 1/2 sacks in 1986.

A tradition ended and another one started. Defensive ends were replaced by linebackers.

“He simply became the most dominating force in pro football,” said CBS commentator and former Oakland Raiders coach John Madden. “You couldn’t run at him; you couldn’t run away from him. He was such a big, dominating and punishing player. Everybody started trying to find one.”

Some still are looking.

“With all those talented receivers in this game, like Al Toon or Wesley Walker, it has become hard to play four guys man-to-man or in a zone,” said Accorsi.

“Everyone started attacking the pocket with the 3-4 defense. Now, everybody is using it, and those linebackers are becoming pass-rushing specialists. They’re nothing more than defensive ends, but quicker. Just about everybody has one, and getting one is high on our list in the next draft. But imagine this: Dick Butkus was one of the greatest linebackers to ever play the game, but in today’s game, he probably wouldn’t be on the field on long-yardage situations.”

Eagles coach and former Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan took it a step further in 1985 with his 46 defense. On any given play, pressure could come from any of the eight men up front.

Defensive coaches also have been working on ways to combat extended-arms blocking. The latest fad from teams such as the Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers and Cleveland is to bring in karate experts during the off-season.

“It basically comes down to hand-to-hand combat,” said Browns defensive line coach Tom Pratt, who once coached at Kansas City when the Chiefs had such defensive linemen as Buck Buchanan, Aaron Brown and Curley Culp.

“Basically, there are four types of pass rushers. There are the big defensive ends like Mark Gastineau, Reggie White and Richard Dent, or the big-linebacker type like Taylor, (Minnesota’s Chris) Doleman and Cofer, or the football-player type who is always around the ball like our Carl Hairston (Browns), Steve McMichael (Bears) or Bill Pickel (Los Angeles Raiders). The fourth is the specialist specialist. That includes people like Taylor, White and Bruce Smith. They can play anywhere.”

And what about the sack dance?

“A person should be able to do as they wish,” said Bubba Smith. “A celebration means that all the miles you run, the leg raises and agility drills have paid off. Me, though, I preferred to stare. You didn’t want to tick the guys off playing against you.”