Will Bruce Smith’s sack record ever be broken?

[Royale with Cheese]

No.  That's an average of 10 sacks over 20 year period.  Or 13 sacks over a 15 year period.  I don't think that's going to happen again.

 

Von Miller and Aaron Donald are the best pass rushers in the last 15 years.  Von Miller at age 34 is 73 sacks behind.

Aaron Donald at age 32 is 98 sacks behind.

The talent is up there for guys to do it but the longevity isn't.  

[Saxum]

The rotation of DEs affect ability to get the higher number of sacks.

 

The reduction of talent on offense line due to change in college game will eventually require NFL to change rules again to protect QBs.

 

[May Day 10]

2 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

Think extremely unlikely for all the reasons listed. Namely:

 

1. The health and longevity is hard to achieve; 

2. The level of physicality you can hit QBs with is significantly reduced;

3. The QBs are more mobile;

4. The short passing game rather than the deep drop passing game is the order of the day in the modern game.

 

This hits the nail on the head.  I don't think it is unbreakable like Cy Young's wins or Glenn Hall's consecutive games as a goalie or anything like that.

 

But highly unlikely.  A pass rusher can put together a few superb seasons, but they are going to get schemed out a bit.  Players are held out due to health more, careers are shorter.  Coaching is more technical than ever where a dominant pass rusher will be nerfed quite a bit over time.  IMO the 'greats' will top out around 150 sacks.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

2 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

Think extremely unlikely for all the reasons listed. Namely:

 

1. The health and longevity is hard to achieve; 

2. The level of physicality you can hit QBs with is significantly reduced;

3. The QBs are more mobile;

4. The short passing game rather than the deep drop passing game is the order of the day in the modern game.

Agree with above but some of the most mobile QBs are also some of the most frequently sacked ..Vick and Wilson come to mind. 

[T master]

11 hours ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

*Warning - off-season thread* 
 

Honestly, I wasn’t old enough to see Bruce in his prime, but I like to hear from knowledgeable Bills fans about great players of the past. I was watching a YT video about sports records that can never be broken and I was surprised that Bruce Smith’s sack record wasn’t on the list. Reggie White came only 2 sacks shy, but looking at the all-time sack leaders, all of them were drafted in the 80s or 90s. Our own Von Miller is 19th all time with 123 1/2. Strange how it’s so much more of a passing league now, but it doesn’t seem like anyone has even been coming close to putting up 200+ and I’m just wondering why? 

 

 

It will take one heel of a player to break his record & the only player that may have broken it was Reggie White but Bruce stayed in longer than Reggie .

 

I only wish that Bruce would have been able to make all of his sacks in a Bills Uni - It totally sucked to see him in a Redskins Uni & all while he still had more to give the man was a once in a life time player .

 

LT, Bruce, Reggie White, Brady, Jerry Rice, are all once in a lifetime type players & i think what records they have may never be broken .

 

P.S. I love this freakin commercial & i will post it any time i get the chance it is a iconic piece of media/Bills history !

 

BAD THINGS MAN !!!   

Edited August 23, 2023 by T master

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

1 hour ago, Old Coot said:

I agree. Bruce was great -- better than great -- but someone will come along and break his record. Some records that seemed unbreakable at the time:

Unitas' record of passing for a TD in 47 straight games set in 1956-60 broken by Brees 50 years later and then by Brady. 

OJ's season russing yardage of 2003 yards set in 1973 and broken by Dickerson in 1984 (OJ is now 8th on the list but that's because there are 2-3 more games in a season).

Brady's career passing mark of 89,214 yards broken by Josh Allen in 2043.

 

The quick passing game existed when Bruce played -- the West Coast offense; the Run and Shoot.

Records are meant to be broken, but nobody is coming CLOSE to 200. Like I said, Von Miller is one of the greatest pass rushers of this generation and he is 77 1/2 sacks short of Bruce. 

[BullBuchanan]

very, very unlikely. Maintaining that level of peak performance for 15-20 years is so incredibly rare. We've seen some really great pass rushers since Bruce but they have a tendency to fall completely off a cliff in their early 30s(Mario Williams, Jared Allen, Strahan, Freeney, JJ Watt, Ware, etc ) It's uncanny how most of these guys went from double digit sacks to immediately dropping to low single digits at 30-31 and then were just completely washed.

Based on their injury history, I expect the Bosas and TJ Watt to follow similar trajectories.

[Andrew Son]

I think it will be broken, especially if the league keeps adding games.

 

[C.Biscuit97]

Given how we have been picking d linemen, hell no.

 

but even if somehow we hit on a stud d linemen in the draft, every sack/ passing receiving/ record should come with a giant *. What Bruce did in an era where 3,000 yards passing was a major accomplishment was stupid. Add to that he was in a 3-4 which is terrible for DEs to get sacks in is even more impressive. 
 

he’s the best/ most dominant Bill of my lifetime.  I feel like he doesn’t get the credit he deserves. He’s one of the best players in nfl history. 

34 minutes ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

Records are meant to be broken, but nobody is coming CLOSE to 200. Like I said, Von Miller is one of the greatest pass rushers of this generation and he is 77 1/2 sacks short of Bruce. 

I actually took this as the Bills’ sack record but this puts it even in more perspective. 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

20 minutes ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

Given how we have been picking d linemen, hell no.

 

but even if somehow we hit on a stud d linemen in the draft, every sack/ passing receiving/ record should come with a giant *. What Bruce did in an era where 3,000 yards passing was a major accomplishment was stupid. Add to that he was in a 3-4 which is terrible for DEs to get sacks in is even more impressive. 
 

he’s the best/ most dominant Bill of my lifetime.  I feel like he doesn’t get the credit he deserves. He’s one of the best players in nfl history. 

I actually took this as the Bills’ sack record but this puts it even in more perspective. 

Agree. Smith is better than Simpson in terms of Bills all time players. Simpson was an amazing combination of strength and speed just as Smith was. But Smith's longevity and the dominance for his position is unmatched. 

That said, Simpson 2003 yards in 14 games is still the best single season by a Bill. 

[C.Biscuit97]

4 minutes ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Agree. Smith is better than Simpson in terms of Bills all time players. Simpson was an amazing combination of strength and speed just as Smith was. But Smith's longevity and the dominance for his position is unmatched. 

That said, Simpson 2003 yards in 14 games is still the best single season by a Bill. 

Simpson was before my time and his after football career wasn’t great. But from what I read/ heard about that 2,000 yard season was insane. Every team knew what they were going to do and they couldn’t stop him. 
 

I just looked it up and I know it was a different time. But the Bills qbs were a combined 45%, 1200 yards, 4 tds, & 14 ints 😂.  And they went 9-5!

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/buf/1973.htm

[AuntieEm]

11 hours ago, gobills404 said:

No. The last 5 years or so we’ve seen an explosion of athletic QBs that can avoid sacks sooooo much better than the statue QBs of the past. And that trend is only gonna continue.

Man I wish we could’ve all got to see an injury free career from JJ Watt. IMO he had the best peak (2012-2015) of any defensive player ever not named Lawrence Taylor.

If you go by sack rate per game Jj edges Bruce out by half of 1 per cent.  If he had played at his same level longer he certainly was on a pace to break the record.  Again hard to keep motivated with the wear and teR you take, especially if you earned as much as these guys do.  You almost have t be motivated to break the record and perhaps even enjoy the punishment.

[Buffalo03]

If someone plays 20 years, yeah

[AuntieEm]

11 hours ago, mrags said:

Short answer…. No

 

Also, I think White had the record at 198 and Bruce broke that. 
 

Bruce was an absolute monster. He almost never missed time (other than training camp). He had an extremely long career for the position. These defenders these days don’t have the longevity that Bruce had, or the self drive he had either. Bruce outworked everyone. When you listen to guys that played with him they tell stories about how he broke multiple stair masters from burning them out. 

Yea he went thru a couple per year if I remember correctly.  He certainly never slaved iñ getting himself in top shape once he learned what worked for him.

[Saxum]

10 minutes ago, AuntieEm said:

Yea he went thru a couple per year if I remember correctly.  He certainly never slaved iñ getting himself in top shape once he learned what worked for him.

 

Remember Bruce had Rusty Jones at time when NFL trainers were just telling to just eat lots of food but nutrition and training were not developed into a science.  The NFL has improved the quality (Rusty did a lot of teaching) but you need someone who can teach AND motivate.  Rusty Jones turned tubby Bruce Smith into powerhouse Smith.  As Bruce said "Rusty Jones was worth his weight in gold."   Oh and old timers remember when you curse Hank Bullough that he was the one who convinced Rusty Jones to leave Pittsburgh and work for the Bills.

[Rico]

10 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

My knee jerk answer was going to be no for the reasons outlined by others. 

But I think TJ Watt has a chance. Watt has 77.5 sacks in 6 years and up until last season he only missed 3 games in 5 years. He would need several great seasons in the next 5 years and then hang around into late 30s to have a shot.

Also they added a 17th game which helps pad the stats.

Only a matter of time before the after-effect of the massive roids  kicks in.

[Mr. WEO]

14 hours ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

*Warning - off-season thread* 
 

Honestly, I wasn’t old enough to see Bruce in his prime, but I like to hear from knowledgeable Bills fans about great players of the past. I was watching a YT video about sports records that can never be broken and I was surprised that Bruce Smith’s sack record wasn’t on the list. Reggie White came only 2 sacks shy, but looking at the all-time sack leaders, all of them were drafted in the 80s or 90s. Our own Von Miller is 19th all time with 123 1/2. Strange how it’s so much more of a passing league now, but it doesn’t seem like anyone has even been coming close to putting up 200+ and I’m just wondering why? 

 

Players use far less cocaine on game days now.  It's more of a 5-hours energy sipping league these days.

[DaBillsFanSince1973]

Quote

Will Bruce Smith’s sack record ever be broken?

[Doc]

14 hours ago, uticaclub said:

Bruce would have been kicked out of the league the way QBs are protected now.

 

13 hours ago, Dan said:

This.   Easily half of Bruce’s sacks

wouldn’t have counted because it would be a 15yd roughing the passer penalty. 

 

He would have adjusted his style to fit the rules.

[Mr. WEO]

5 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

Think extremely unlikely for all the reasons listed. Namely:

 

1. The health and longevity is hard to achieve; 

2. The level of physicality you can hit QBs with is significantly reduced;

3. The QBs are more mobile;

4. The short passing game rather than the deep drop passing game is the order of the day in the modern game.

 

14 hours ago, uticaclub said:

Bruce would have been kicked out of the league the way QBs are protected now.

 

Wrong--see Gunner's take above.  6 QBs took at least 40 sacks last year---lots of sacks to be had.  

 

Had nothing to do with rules change.  It took Smith a mind blowing 19 seasons and 279 games to get to that 200 sacks.  Von Miller would easily pass 200 if he played 19 seasons---but there is zero chance he will.  These guys get paid so much money they have no reason to keep playing like that.