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Prime Pass Rushers Tilt The Field

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I forgot where we were having the conversation but I remember explaining to a football fan that nothing changes a team’s fortunes faster than a prime pass rusher. Not only does it improve your defense against the pass but it masks defensive deficiencies in the secondary. Its one of the reasons Taylor Blitz has Green Bay on its way to at least the NFC Championship Game this year with the acquisition of Micah Parsons.

This has been a lesson passed down from days gone by from two defensive terrorists The Chancellor has met that rushed the passer. Fred Dean & Cedrick Hardman. This especially holds true when a pass rusher in his prime is all of a sudden dropped on to a new team in a new division and I needed to elaborate further.

In 5th grade (1980) i remember the Raiders signing veteran Cedrick Hardman to rush the passer #86. He got 9.5 sacks as a designated pass rusher that helped Lester Hayes lead the NFL with 13 interceptions & they won Super Bowl XV.

The next year the idiotic move was San Diego sending a prime Fred Dean to San Francisco and they came out of nowhere to win Super Bowl XVI. It was Hardman, Dean and Lawrence Taylor that taught me the effects of great pass rushers.
To further the notion, the 1980 Chargers with Fred Dean was 6th in total defense & led the league with 60 sacks. Without Dean they gave up 1,500 more yards (4,691 to 6,136 yards allowed) and fell to a ranking of 27th and history misremembers them as Air Coryell & a terrible defense. They had finished 5th in ’79 & 6th in ’80 with Dean on the roster.
Other notables:
  • DE Charles Haley in ’92 – Cowboys were 16th in defense and rose to #1 and won Super Bowl XXVII
  • DE Jevon Kearse in ’99 – Titans had 30 sacks in ’98, they had 54 as Kearse’s Titans made Super Bowl XXXIV
  • OLB Von Miller in ’21 – Added to the #1 defense from ’20 & had 2 sacks in Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles.
  • OLB Haason Reddick in ’22 – Improved from 10th to 3rd in defense & 39 sacks to 770 sacks. Went to Super Bowl LVII.

In Kearse’s case he set the NFL Rookie Record with 13.5 sacks and the Titans became one of the league’s most physical defenses. Reddick was Taylor Blitz Times Defensive Player of the Year with 16.5 sacks and spearheaded one of the NFL’s historic sack totals. We hadn’t seen a sack total like that since the ’89 Vikings with 71 sacks, just 1 off the league record of 72 by Chicago. Both the Bears & Vikings were #1 defensively and the Eagles would have been had they not been in so many blowout victories.

Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick forces a first quarter fumble on San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, January 29, 2023 in Philadelphia.

The NFL world is still buzzing with the idiotic trade of Dallas prime pass rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. Moves like this completely tilt the field when a defense receives a weapon to bolster its lineup. Especially in this division. We all know of the seismic shift that took place when Green Bay signed the late Reggie White back in 1993, but remember the Bears bringing in PFHOF Julius Peppers to the division in 2010?

Chicago went from 17th in defense in 2009 to 4th and made it to the NFC Championship Game where they hosted Green Bay. Peppers was an All Pro for the 6th time in his career & 4th in NFL DPOY voting.

They did it again trading for future PFHoF Khalil Mack in 2018 leaping from 10th in defense to 3rd. They had been #1 for most of the season and Mack made his 5th straight Pro Bowl, 3rd All Pro selection, came in 2nd in voting for NFL DPOY (he won it in 2015) and led the Bears to a 12-4 record and first round bye. Mack was Taylor Blitz Defensive Player of the Year a 2nd time and The Chancellor predicted the carnage he would lay in Green Bay that first game on Monday Night. Why??

Well it was the 2nd coming of what happened when the San Francisco 49ers made the surprise move to pick up PFHoF DE Fred Dean at the start of 1981. Rivals within the division were unable to prepare for this terrorist to be dropped in their lap. They were unable to prepare via the draft or free agent personnel and here comes 4 time All Pro Micah Parsons. They were already the NFL’s 5th best defense in 2024. Yikes!

You could even bring up  PFHoF DeMarcus Ware when he joined Von Miller in Denver to win Super Bowl 50. Yet that was in his 2nd season in Denver and not the surprise element of tilting the field in the 1st.  Same can be said of fellow PFHoF DE Jared Allen. In his 2nd season in Minnesota (2009) he was among the league leaders in sacks (14.5) and led his Vikings to the NFC Championship Game featured here in a “Missing Rings” article.

Same can be said of the late Kevin Greene who tilted the field 3 times aiding 3 teams to either the conference championship or Super Bowl in 4 straight seasons. He led the league in sacks (14) in ’94 leading the Steelers to the AFC Championship then Super Bowl XXX the following season. He then joins the Carolina Panthers in ’96 leading the NFL in sacks again (14.5) and was the impetus in making the NFC Championship Game in their 2nd season of existence. He follows that up going to San Francisco as a designated pass rusher and accumulates another 10.5 sacks as they make the ’97 NFC Championship Game.
Fred Dean, Kevin Greene, Charles Haley, Julius Peppers, Jared Allen, and DeMarcus Ware are all enshrined in Canton. Von Miller will be there one day and with a few more All Pro selections Micah will be there as well. Just understand more than any other position, a prime pass rusher whether from a Defensive End or Outside Linebacker dramatically increases a team’s success more than any other position.
Starting in that 1981 season when I learned the lesson of the importance of the weak side pass rusher. All of a sudden drafting the Left Tackle became a focal point of the offense and many teams lead rebuilds around selecting one in the 1st round. It’s also when you started to see Left Tackle salaries soar. Do you realize in 2025, 23 of the NFL’s 32 teams have their LT in their top 5 highest paid players? If stopping prime pass rushers carries this type of weight what value do the pass rushers have themselves?
Nothing tilts the field for a team’s immediate fortunes like landing a prime pass rusher. Nothing… franchise QBs or all time great running backs don’t get dealt at their zenith.
Again the lessons learned have brought me as a defensive afecionado to writing about these exploits and spreading this with fellow fans. For me it started with Cedrick Hardman & Fred Dean, both of whom I had the chance to meet.
With Cedrick I used to run into him at The White House in Laguna Beach California early 2000s Talked football over many drinks. Same with Fred at the PFHoF hotel in Canton. We’re having a drink at the bar in Canton and I explained the both of them teaching me the lesson of pass rush terrorists and Dean said “Your ass is too young to remember all this zhit” I hit him back… “You know that’s the same muthaphukkin’ thing Cedrick’s ass said.” Great times ….great laughs. I had waited 37 years to shake Dean’s hand and thank him for that lesson.
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2025 AFC West Preview!

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Its amazing how week 1 looked a lot like Super Bowl LIX with Patrick Mahomes running for his life against the Chargers. To be fair their gameplan changed when they lost Xavier Worthy to injury but it’s a microcosm of what they will face in 2025.

AFC West 2025 Predictions

1 Denver Broncos 12-5 *

2 Los Angeles Chargers 11-6 +

3 Kansas City Chiefs 9-8

4 Oakland Raiders 6-11

Do you realize the Broncos defense finished ranked 7th but just 101 yards from finishing 2nd?? With twin OLB Nick Bonito (13.5 sacks) & Jonathan Cooper (10.5 sacks) speeding quarterbacks clocks into ’24 NFL Defensive POY Patrick Surtain II, this defense will be even more disruptive this year.

They led the NFL with 63 sacks last year and their two main pass rushers are just 25 & 26 years of age respectively. Now add in 24 yr old 2nd year QB Bo Nix and this team is growing into a winner right before your eyes. Nix broke the late Marlon Briscoe’s 55 year old Broncos rookie TD passing (14) record with 29. He improved throughout the season and played well early in the Wildcard playoff loss in Buffalo. This team is on the rise and watch for RB RJ Harvey as the season wears on.

The Kansas City Chiefs have fatigued and ran into a wall early in Super Bowl LIX which still lingers. Patrick Mahomes has his 5th starting Left Tackle in 5 years and his RT Jawaan Taylor  hasn’t improved has been struggling and could have had 30 false starts in 2024 has yet to improve. The officials are going to watch him closer and these penalties will sink a team that had 10 wins in 1 score games.

Having lost G Joe Thumey to the Bears, 2 of Mahomes 5 Offensive Linemen have been replaced since the Super Bowl.

With Xavier Worthy injured and Rashee Rice suspended for the first 6 games, the Chiefs have to lean on the running game with Isiah Pacheco & Kareem Hunt more. The issue is will Pacheco still run with the abandon he did before his latest injury.

Replacing KC in the 2025 playoffs will be Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers who just outdueled the Chiefs in week 1. Justin Herbert finally pulled off a win vs a quality opponent. He was 1-9 in his last 10 matchups with playoff teams. The win in Brazil over KC can go a long way to his maturing into the QB most of us thought he was on the way to being back in 2023.

The 1-0 Raiders looked solid in their win against the Patriots on opening day but lets face it, Geno Smith beat 2nd year starter Drake Maye. He won’t have the luxury of playing a rebuilding team every week. He does have 1st round pick Ashton Jeanty who The Chancellor believes will have a super rookie season. The Raiders without serious weapons at wideout must rely on the running game when they face better teams.

Geno’s history shows once teams have a bead on what he does he really struggles which will come back to haunt against the Broncos, Chargers, & Chiefs. Right now he doesn’t have enough offensive help outside Pro Bowl TE Brock Bowers. A steady performer but not specacular enough to win more than 6 games.

How far will Denver go in 2025? Well… stay tuned. Thanks for reading and please share the article.

2025 NFC North Preview

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The NFL world is still buzzing with the idiotic trade of Dallas prime pass rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. Moves like this completely tilt the field when a defense receives a weapon to bolster its lineup. Especially in this division. We all know of the seismic shift that took place when Green Bay signed the late Reggie White back in 1993, but remember the Bears bringing in PFHOF Julius Peppers to the division in 2010?

Chicago went from 17th in defense in 2009 to 4th and made it to the NFC Championship Game where they hosted Green Bay. Peppers was an All Pro for the 6th time in his career & 4th in NFL DPOY voting.

They did it again trading for future PFHoF Khalil Mack in 2018 leaping from 10th in defense to 3rd. They had been #1 for most of the season and Mack made his 5th straight Pro Bowl, 3rd All Pro selection, came in 2nd in voting for NFL DPOY (he won it in 2015) and led the Bears to a 12-4 record and first round bye. Mack was Taylor Blitz Defensive Player of the Year a 2nd time and The Chancellor predicted the carnage he would lay in Green Bay that first game on Monday Night. Why??

Well it was the 2nd coming of what happened when the San Francisco 49ers made the surprise move to pick up PFHoF DE Fred Dean at the start of 1981. Rivals within the division were unable to prepare for this terrorist to be dropped in their lap. They were unable to prepare via the draft or free agent personnel and here comes 4 time All Pro Michah Parsons. They were already the NFL’s 5th best defense in 2024. Yikes!

NFC North 2025 Prediction:

  1. Green Bay Packers 14-3 *
  2. Chicago Bears 10-7 @
  3. Detroit Lions 9-8
  4. Minnesota Vikings 6-10

The team best equipped to deal with Micah are the Detroit Lions with Pro Bowl Tackles Pinei Sewell (3rd) & Taylor Decker (1st). However the surprise retirement of 4 time Pro Bowl Center Frank Ragnow along with replacing Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson will bring the Lions back to the pack and may have closed their window.

The best offensive line in football losing their Center is bigger than fans think. Blocking audibles and slide protections aside, he’s being replaced by an older (33 yrs) Graham Glasgow. Some of those holes for Jamyr Gibbs & Montgomery on stretch plays may be missing the 1st part of the season. We know what happens when Jared Goff has pressure up the middle also.

The schdule isnt kind with the Packers, Ravens, and Chiefs out of the gate where a 3-3 record is likely. One game is where they take on their old OC Ben Johnson now with the Bears. At least that game is home where they start in Lambeau and face the Ravens & Chiefs also on the road. Then have back to back road games in Washington & Philadelphia. The two teams that played in last year’s NFC Championship after the Commanders upset Detroit. They could be 5-5 after 10 weeks.

Much like the memo that went out to Packers QB Jordan Love, the same can be said in Chicago. The Bears fortifying their front line trading for Pro Bowl G Joe Thuney & Jonah Jackson and bringing in C Drew Dalman from Atlanta are proof positive the front office has done everything to make you a winner. No excuses.

Williams is set to make the jump 2nd year NFL players experience if by nothing else the talent put around him to win. This new look like with RB D’Andre Swift, WR DJ Moore & Rome Odunze will score more points under HC Ben Johnson. He has to produce and will but not to the degree of winning the division.

The Vikings will take a significant step back with JJ McCarthy taking over for Sam Darnold. Many thought the Vikings overreached for him in the 1st round two years ago coming out of Michigan. Last year he was injured and missed the entire season so this is his true rookie year.

Can he pick up and perform where Sam Darnold left off? No, Darnold was at least going into his 7th season and learned under Kyle Shanahan the season before coming to Coach McConnell. You have to give grace to McCarthy learning on the job and will have his ups and downs. This division is too stout for a 1st year starting QB though.

That Green Bay Packers memo I joked about? Well Jordan Love, last year management gave you workhorse back Josh Jacobs. He responded with 1,329 yards & 15 TDs to keep the pressure off. You might have the best corps of young receivers in all of football in Reed (55 rec. 857 yds 6TDs), Doubs (46 rec. 601 yds 2 TDs), then Watson & Wicks. Who will emerge or will they stay the hungry group fighting to outperform their counterparts?

Pick your poison as this team has weapons and I’ve already forwarned how the defense should improve. Its Watson who has to stay healthy and make the plays early in games to give the Packers leads against quality opponents. This was missing last year but was front and center in 2023 when he played his way into the divsional round & contract extension.

With all the talent around him plus the move to add Micah to the defense, management feels this is a Super Bowl push season. Where does Taylor Blitz have Love & the Packers?? At least in the NFC Championship Game.

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2025 NFC West Preview!

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When you hear an aging quarterback is having aches and pains its one thing, but not practicing or playing in a preseason when the team’s biggest acquisition is a top flight receiver? Not good and when its the back of a 37 year old Matt Stafford, its impossible to look off the beating he took as qurterback of the Detroit Lions and recently out in Los Angeles.

A healthy  Matt Stafford and this team could make the NFC Championship however the crystal ball says he won’t and will succumb to missing 4 games this year due to a rising defense within the division.

NFC West 2025 Prediction:

  1. Arizona Cardinals 11-6 *
  2. Los Angeles Rams 9-8
  3. San Francisco 49ers 6-10
  4. Seattle Seahawks 3-14

With the addition of 2nd round selection CB Will Johnson, DT Calais Campbell, and DE Josh Sweat the Cardinals defense will vault from 21st into the top 10.

Johnson was college football’s best defensive back at Michigan and was skating to a top 10 selection until he was lost to injury in his last year. At 6’2 200 lbs, he has the physicality to face up with an “X” and the agility to blanket a “Z”. He is a 1 stepper that jumps routes with the best and has the chance to be the Cardinals best ever Corner. The kid is special.  Did you notice how many plays he made against All American Marvin Harrison Jr in the video? Those were huge Michigan v OSU matchups. Now they sharpen each other’s iron on the same team in the pros.

Josh Sweat should have been Super Bowl LIX MVP with his 2 1/2 sack performance against Mahomes back in February. He had my vote…  They need him to build off the 25 sacks garnered over the last 3 seasons playing in Philadelphia’s defensive rotation. Keep in mind his best season came in ’22 with 11.5 sacks playing for current Head Coach Jonathan Gannon when the Eagles played in Super Bowl LVII. The team with 70 sacks.

A lead dog pass rusher was what the Cardinals needed to force more turnovers and errant throws. Schematically their pass defense has been sound. In ’24 they were 14th against the pass but was 5th in fewest touchdowns allowed with 20. They plan on forcing more turnovers and creating short fields for the offense.

This is a make or break year for Kyler Murray and he has to show he can play within the specificity of the offense. Last year this team started 4-4 losing close games to Buffalo (34-28) and Detroit (20-13) when Murray played well. The growth has been steady and he has to put it all together and have Marvin Harrison Jr in his 2nd year where he is set to make a big leap to elite status. This team has the chance to start 6-0 this year and will win the West.

The 49ers brought back DC Robert Saleh but the defense has been rebuilt and no longer has the DLine rotation he enjoyed in his 1st stint. Fred Warner is there to lead a youthful unit but they will have some growing pains this year. Do you realize the 49ers are missing 7 defensive starters since Super Bowl XLVIII just a year and a half ago?

Brock Purdy got the big payday and now has to be the catalyst to San Francisco’s offense with TE Kittle and a Christian McCaffrey who was injury riddled in 2024 and has some serious mileage on his tires. 49ers brass traded for RB Brian Robinson to lighten the load. Keep in mind McCaffrey has missed 37 games due to leg injuries dating back to 2020 and if you notice, more workhorse style backs are who they bring in to spell him.

The loss of Deebo Samuel will be huge. Over the last 4 years he was the swiss army knife of the offense they could turn to when a critical 1st down was needed. He did it from the backfield, the slot, bubble screens, jet sweeps and reverses. Without him Purdy will be called on to make more throws when defenses will be expecting them. The limitations in his play that surfaced last year will be front and center without Deebo to mask deficiencies.

The Cardinals have a rough and rugged team and will emerge in the NFC West in 2025. They have to learn to win those games they have stayed close in the past. This is a lesson they will learn but they start the season with an extremely favorable schedule. Gannon’s team will cash in this season.

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What Comes Around Goes Around – Russell Wilson & Jaxson Dart

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“Sittin’ here reminsicing back through high school…” for the hip hop impaired was the start of the late Biz Markie’s song titled “What Comes Around Goes Around”… Remember that?? Well lets take you back to the finale of the 2011 NFL season when the Packers were hosting the Detroit Lions. The 14-1 Packers had locked up homefield advantage throughout the playoffs and gave league MVP Aaron Rodgers the finale off.

Let 4th year backup Matt Flynn get a start and what did he do? He shattered the Packers all time single game passing records for passing yards (480 yds) & TDs (6) and opened the eyes of GMs around the league. The Seahawks bit and signed Flynn to a free agent deal of 3 years $26 million. Yes, based off that one performance. He was the projected starter however he was being outplayed by a rookie named… *drum roll* Russell Wilson, a 3rd round selection.

He kept making plays through mini-camp then the preseason and ultimately Head Coach Pete Carroll went with his gut and named Russell Wilson the starter. After paying Matt Flynn all that money?? Yes… and Seattle went on to an 11-5 record and came within a last second field goal of making the NFC Championship Game. Flynn was let go midway through the following season as Wilson led the Seahawks to the Super Bowl XLVIII Championship.

That Russell Wilson? Yes that same Russell Wilson 12 years later is the embattled veteran who has been outplayed by Giants prized rookie QB Jaxson Dart. Not only have the statistics been better but he passes the eyeball test when on the field.

  • Wilson – 10 of 14 136yds 0TDs 1 Int
  • Dart- 32 of 47 372 yds 3TDs 0 Int

Head Coach Brian Daboll has named Wilson the starter for the season to protect his new quarterback and I think its a decision that will be reversed within the first 5 weeks of the season. Wilson hasn’t been the same since he left Seattle and either throws deep or checkdowns, leaving plays all over the field. Its what led to his benching in Denver and Pittsburgh not retaining him. Now he is learning a new offense for the 3rd time in 3 years and we expect good veteran performance??

Let’s face it the offense looked livelier with Dart on the field and he didnt look rattled. Even in the 1st preseason game against Buffalo, he had the team driving and threw a tipped pass that was intercepted nearing the redzone. The play was reversed and the next play Dart beat one on one coverage with a go route right up the left sideline for a 28 yd touchdown. Perfect throw, 5 steps on time, perfect trajectory and delivered with confidence.He remained unrattled the rest of that game and the preseason.

I think Daboll is making a mistake keeping this kid on the bench. The offense looked livlier with him on the field this entire preseason and produced more scoring drives. The Giants have a rough start to begin the season with Washington, the AFC Champion Chiefs and Dallas among their first four games.

If Russell Wilson doesn’t have the Giants 2-2 with his play central to their success, Dart will be the starter in game 5 vs New Orleans and Spencer Rattler. Who?  Too bad Daboll didn’t go with his gut for week 1 and get his prized rookie on the field. Keep in mind Jaxson Dart is a 1st round selection and he is meant to take the field and produce. Well…all I know is Russell Wilson is about to be Matt Flynn’d.

 

 

The Arizona Cardinal Should Have a Commemorative Patch for Fallen Cardinal Luis Sharpe

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On July 11th of this year the Cardinals family lost one of their own in Offensive Tackle Luis Sharpe. Although I saw items locally and an official statement from the team I haven’t seen any commemorative patches or decals on their uniform. Keep in mind this was one of the stalwarts who came to the desert when the team relocated from St Louis in 1988.

He is listed 6th in Cardinals history in games played with 189 while making 3 Pro Bowls. Twice being voted All Pro by Sportswriters.  Keep in mind this is the oldest franchise in the NFL and preceded the league itself starting in Chicago in 1898. Yes, the Cardinals franchise precedes the NFL as a league by almost a quarter of a century with the league establishing itself in 1920 on a Hupmobile showroom floor in Canton, Ohio.

Think back to the 1998 Cardinals when they upset Dallas in the NFC Wildcard and you’ll see the 100th season commemorative patch. This was on their uniform the entire season here on the late Pat Tillman for reference.

Even the likeness used to immortalize Tillman in bronze has that season’s jersey with patch on outside the stadium.

I haven’t seen any information if the Cardinals will put a patch on the jersey or a decal of Sharpe’s “67” but they need to. As one of the league’s best Left Tackles in the NFC he faced the like of Dexter Manley, Lawrence Taylor, Leonard Marshall, Pat Swilling & Richard Dent in the heydey of the NFC during their 13 year championship run. These were the primary pass rushers on some of history’s best ever NFL defenses. He protected the blind side for Neil Lomax and Tim Rosenbach.

He overcame addiction in his post playing career, turned his life over to Christ and spoke at many Hall of Fame events. Luis  had a great sense of humor and always had an encouraging word with all the fans he came across. In real life & social media. During Super Bowl LVII here in Phoenix we kept missing each other and were supposed to meet but between interviews on Radio Row and all the events it didn’t happen. In one of my pics elsewhere at Ditka Jaws Cigar Party I put up a pic with Seth Joyner and Luis let me know it was Seth who invited him to church which fueled his relationship with the Lord. He learned #59 did the same for me back in 2015 and Luis & I had an even greater connection.

One of the last times he came to visit Pheonix, I was out in Southern Cal getting married. Those missed connections felt like minor setbacks as we would sit and break bread in the future and we didn’t get the chance.

 

It was fun to recall the NFL wars and games with his UCLA Bruins and learned I attended one of his games in Ohio Stadium in 1980. Even recalling a brawl in the ’86 preseason between the Super Bowl champion Bears & his St Louis Cardinals. He and the great Wilber Marshall were locked in combat that went beyond the whistle. I would tease him with Marshall pics on Facebook. All in good fun…

His response in this one:

One of God’s fiercest warriors who battled in NFL trenches for 13 years and yet maintained a sense of humor, pride and honor with the men he played with and against. I was taken aback when i didn’t see a #67 decal or a commemorative patch on the Cardinals uniform.

Commemorative patch worn by the 1992 Philadelphia Eagles in Jerome Brown’s memory.

One like the 1992 Philadelphia Eagles wore in memory of Jerome Brown who passed a few months before the season. Or the “Spider 43” patch adorned on the ’86 NY Giants jersey they carried to the Super Bowl XXI championship. It was for fallen Giant Cornerback “Spider” Lockhart who played back in the 60s & 70s in forgettable years for the Giants who had just passed. Its not just your Hall of Fame players you do this for but those rank and file players who gave blood and guts for their team. Even in games when you were up against a superior opponent facing long odds.

I hope the Cardinals do that here. A former player whose spirit to fight back and never give up had everything to do with how Luis Sharpe faced life, faith and adversity on the field of battle.Your team should know one of the fiercest Cardinals and draw inspiration from his storied journey. Especially your offensive linemen. Keep in mind this is the 1st season the NFL will give “The Protector of The Year Award to the best OLineman out there.

If you need an idea for a patch here is an image to craft it from when Luis was blocking Eagles DE Clyde Simmons.

Arizona Cardinals let’s go with a tribute for Luis with a decal or patch for the 2025 season.

RIP Luis, miss joking about football with you already.