FOXBOROUGH — It’s easy to overemphasize sacks, both positively and negatively. But when you take a look at the Patriots’ offensive line and pass protection this year, it’s hard not to be impressed by the numbers over the first half of the 2018 regular season.
Asked Wednesday about the fact sacks of Tom Brady have fallen off to start the 2018 season — only six other starting QBs have been sacked less than Brady through the first half of the year — the offensive linemen simply shrugged.
“It’s funny. You think about things like sacks and the offensive line. A lot of that stuff, you can assign to one group,” said center David Andrews. “A lot of those stats like sacks kind of get put on one group, but there’s a lot that goes into it. That’s why this is the greatest team sport there is.”
Andrews is usually a fairly modest guy, so that reply isn't a complete surprise. But truth be told, while there are other factors at play, the offensive line deserves some credit here.
Overall, Brady has been sacked 11 times through eight games, which would put him on pace for 22 sacks on the season. That would be the fewest sacks in one year for Brady since he took 15 in 2016 (granted, that season included his four-game suspension to start the season). If he plays 16 games this year and stays on the same pace, 22 would be tied for the third-lowest amount of sacks he’s taken in his career, trailing only 2009 (16) and 2014 and 2007 (21).
While it’s always important to take the schedule and opponent into consideration when comparing and contrasting year-to-year totals, it’s worth noting the 11 sacks represents a drastic decrease from last year, when Brady took 21 sacks in the first eight games and 35 for the season. In addition, it’s important to add that the Patriots have managed to keep Brady relatively clean against some of the best pressure teams in the league — Kansas City (24 sacks), Detroit (23), Buffalo (21), Indy (21) and Houston are all in the top half of the NFL in sacks to this point on the calendar.
“Honestly, I didn’t know how many sacks we’ve given up. I don’t know how many we gave up last year,” said right tackle LaAdrian Waddle. “But we definitely take pride in keeping Tom clean and keeping the lanes for the backs wide open. I don’t know the official stats on that, but it’s always nice to know there’s some improvement and that we’re doing some things right.”
