Linebackers inflate Steelers' sack total

By Scott Brown
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Tuesday, October 21, 2008


Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley is part of one of the best sack tandems in the NFL this season with teammate James Harrison.
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review

When LaMarr Woodley sacks a quarterback, it is not uncommon for him to seek out James Harrison and hold his hands a couple of inches apart. After Harrison has recorded a sack, he will turn to find Woodley and hold his hands considerably farther apart.

"Widening the gap," Woodley said with a knowing smile when asked about the Harrison gesture.

The Steelers' outside linebackers are staging a competition that is anything but friendly for quarterbacks. Opposing signal-callers find themselves caught in the middle of a "Can you top this?" game.

The Steelers already have 25 sacks and are on pace to drop the quarterback 67 times this season. That number is considerably higher than the team-record 55 sacks the Steelers recorded in 1994 and 2001. It is also almost double the number of sacks (36) the Steelers had last season.

That the Steelers are sacking quarterbacks at an unprecedented rate starts with Harrison and Woodley trying to outdo each other.

"The biggest competition is in your backyard, and that's how they approach it," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "They drive each other, and that's awesome."

They probably drive opposing offensive coordinators batty. Harrison and Woodley rush from opposite sides of the field, and double-teaming one is tantamount to unleashing the other, if their production through six games is any indication.

Harrison is tied for first in the AFC with 8.5 sacks, and Woodley is right behind with 7.5. Both are on track to break the Steelers' single-season sack record of 15, set by Mike Merriweather in 1984.

"I don't think I've really seen anyone block them yet," Steelers linebacker and defensive captain James Farrior said.

How dominant have the bookend pass rushers been? Woodley sacked quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick twice in the Steelers' 38-10 win over the Bengals Sunday and did nothing to close the gap on Harrison.

Harrison spent much of the afternoon in Fitzpatrick's face,. Bengals left tackle Levi Jones, a former first-round draft pick, proved to be no match for Harrison, who made the NFL as an undrafted free agent.


Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is sacked by Steelers linebacker James Harrison in the first half of their game Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008, in Cincinnati. Pittsburgh won the game, 38-10.
AP photo

Jones may have fared better trying to wrestle a bear than in holding off Harrison, which would make him a member of a club that is growing by the week. Powerful and relentless, Harrison has the kind of drive that reflects the circuitous route the 6-foot, 242-pounder took to one of the glamour positions on the Steelers' defense.

If Harrison, who was cut three times before sticking with the Steelers, is a handful, Woodley is no bargain on the left side of the defense.

Woodley recorded six sacks last season despite limited action as a rookie, and the 6-2, 265-pounder is proving that he can get to the quarterback with the same alarming efficiency as an every-down player.

"I'm feeding off Woodley, Woodley's feeding off me," said Harrison, who took over at right outside linebacker for Joey Porter last season and made the Pro Bowl. "It's a little bit of a competition there to see who can get the most sacks."

A welcome by-product for the Steelers: Harrison and Woodley are creating opportunities for other players.

Lawrence Timmons joined Harrison and Woodley in notching a pair of sacks in Cincinnati, and Farrior had one. The two inside linebackers were able to come up the middle to sack Fitzpatrick, in part, because the Bengals were so conscious of the havoc Harrison and Woodley were creating on the flanks.

"There's times I sit there and just shake my head," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said of the Steelers' pass rush.

Indeed, the sign Woodley and Harrison make to one another after a sack also could serve as a warning to opposing quarterbacks. The one who didn't get to the quarterback is coming that much harder on the next play and the ones that follow.

"The more (sacks) James gets, the more I try to stay close to him," Woodley said. "Who knows? At the end of the season it may be a lot."

It already is.


Scott Brown can be reached at sbrown@tribweb.com or 412-481-5432.