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Defense and Pass Pressure, 2015

Guest column by Carl Yedor

Esteemed defensive coach Buddy Ryan famously had a playbook that described quarterbacks as "overpaid," "overrated," and "pompous," adding that they "must be punished." While blunt, it certainly had one thing correct: the ability to pressure the quarterback is a critical part of a successful defense. On Monday, we took a look at how quarterbacks were able to handle defensive pressure; today, we're switching sides of the ball and examining which teams were best at making opposing quarterbacks' lives miserable. While sacks will always be a driving factor in the discussion of pressure, sometimes merely forcing a quarterback off his spot and into an awkward throw is all it takes for a defense to win on a given play.