The Art of War - How to Sack the QB if you're Aaron Maybin

Much is being made about the three sacks that former Bills DE/OLB Aaron Maybin has made since being released from and re-signed by the Jets.  Comments concerning Maybin have certainly increased with the recent departure of Shawn Merriman to the Injured Reserve list.  Some are questioning whether or not we let him go too early.

The following is just my amateur analysis of his sacks based on the three highlight clips he has produced over the course of his three years in the league.

His first sack came against the Ravens in Week 4.  In the first frame (moving clockwise), Maybin has his hand on the ground on the right side of the line.  The frame says 9:16 but the ball isn't snapped until the 9:13 mark.  After the snap, Maybin - who starts out at the 25 yard line - is pushed by LT Bryant McKinnie beyond Baltimore's 15 yard line.  3 seconds have elapsed.  Frame 4 shows tight coverage down field with quite a bit of running room for Flacco.  At the 9:09 mark in Frame 4 (below) we see that Flacco is back to the same position as when the ball was hiked to him, but he still has the ball in his hands.  He hasn't thrown it away or take off as a runner.  And in the last frame?  Boom goes the dynamite at the 9:08 mark.  In this amateur's opinion Bryant McKinnie did his job in pushing Maybin out of the play, but a tentative Flacco - who has been palying horribly the entire season so far - holds onto the ball for too long and allows Maybin to re-enter into the scene and make a play.  In a sense, he beat no one on the play.  He made no swim move, no bull rush, and didn't even dip his shoulder to get around McKinnie.  He simply ran past the LT 10 yards down field and ran back into the play.

Maybin's second career sack was at the hands of Miami's backup quarterback, Matt Moore.  In Week 6, it came to the end of the game with one minute left and the Dolphins down by 18 points.  Maybin starts out on the line as the second man from the bottom in Frame 1.  In Frame 2 we see him drop back into a zone covering the TE.  Between Frame 2 and Frame 3 we see Matt Moore get flushed from the pocket (in Frame 3 he is at the top right corner of the down-and-distance-marker).  Between Frame 3 and Frame 4 Maybin closes the distance and sacks a scrambling Matt Moore.  He beat no one on the play, and it came at the hands of a back-up quarterback desperately trying to make a play with the game not even within reach.  He is behind Moore, on the ground, in Frame 4 (bottom right).

His third and most recent sack came against San Diego in Week 7.  Maybin is lined up with his hand on the ground on the far left side of the line.  After the snap, he is not picked up by the RT but rather by Ryan Matthews.  In Frame 3 we can see Maybin run directly into Matthews and knock him over.  In Frame 4 he has gotten back up (right below the 0 on the 10).  And finally, in Frame 5 and Frame 6 we can see him take Rivers down.  This, in my amateur opinion, is the closest he's come to making an actual pass rushing move to reach the quarterback.

He played chicken with a Pass-Protecting Challenged RB and won by running into him.

For those that would like to view it in Live Action, the following links will help.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/new-york-jets/09000d5d8233a2fd/Jets-defense-sack-4-yd-loss

http://www.nfl.com/videos/new-york-jets/09000d5d8236269a/Jets-defense-sack-7-yd-loss

Stats without context are meaningless.  Maybe it’s not the same for the rest of you Bills fans, but in my eyes these sacks appear rather fluky and display no improved pass rush skills since his time as a Buffalo Bill.  What he does show is a relentless motor that helped him get one sack (also being helped by a QB refusing to get rid of the ball).  I hold no ill will towards him as a player, and don’t actively hope for him to suck.  However, I’m not going to lose my head over him making a few fluke plays either. 

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