No one in the San Francisco 49ers camp seems at all worried about the sack slump of outside linebacker Aldon Smith, Trey Iles of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. With 19.5 in the first 14 games of the season, Smith, a second year pro from Missouri, could have conceivably tied or broken the single-season record of 22.5 set by Michael Strahan. Two factors figure into that, Smith and other players said. First, Smith is getting a lot more attention from opposing offensive lines, second, the streak slump coincides with a triceps tendon injury suffered by right defensive tackle Justin Smith, who helps take up blockers, freeing Aldon Smith. And Aldon has been hampered by a shoulder injury as well. “A lot more guys coming to block me,’’ said Aldon, who has 33.5 sacks in his two NFL seasons. “I’m getting doubled teamed a lot. Tripled team at times. And the quarterbacks are getting the ball off fast. But if I’m not making the play, there have been times when I’ve been double teamed and the sack comes by somebody else. At the end of the day, I might not get it but the stat is still there, it’s a sack.’’ “Aldon, just in this last game (in the NFC Championship against Atlanta), he was getting lots of pressure,’’ Justin said. “They know when you’re playing a guy like that, he’s going to get more attention, more chipping, he’s going to bring the line over there a little more. What the quarterback knows, too, is that you have to get rid of the ball. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t have a clock that goes off when you’re practicing against a guy like Aldon. The ball has to come out in three seconds.†Source: The Redzone
"the streak slump coincides with a triceps tendon injury suffered by right defensive tackle Justin Smith, who helps take up blockers" this is the only thing that needed to be said...............
Aldon is only that great when he is one on one. Maybe when he matures more he will be better getting chipped and doubled.
and the rest of their front 7 needs to step up when aldon is taking up 2 or 3 blockers and thus far they have not. i think they only have 2 sacks as a team in the playoffs.
Pressures, knockdowns and QB hurries are effective too and they still get plenty of those, so I don't care that much. Sack stats are nice and like Strahan said sacks come in bunches, so it would be a perfect time for the drought to end.
