Bills Draft Gems, No. 8: DE Aaron Schobel

good thing I put the, “I think” in there! I remember that play though as I am a schobel detractor and he shut me up that day….
different year then, thanks for straightening me out!

gobills!

I think he blasted Brady on a nice solo sack during that game too, but I hear what you’re saying.

I think he’s at least an above-average pass rusher. How else to you collect 78 sacks while on mostly mediocre teams?

To use what Brian said in another thread in this context, “I’d piss myself with glee” if we found another above average player like Schobel in the 2nd this year.

and almost always playing from behind when the other team was running the ball.

Not to mention I dont know what kind of big plays people expected a guy who was on a team that never got to the playoffs was going to make.

and you are using selective memory to fit how you remember the man.

Last year in the first four weeks he had 3 sacks in four games with each coming in a different game.

Last year only one game did he have more than one sack, the rest coming throughout the season.

In 2006 he had a sack in week 5, a sack in week 6, 2 sacks in week 7, bye week 8, 2 sacks in week 9, one sack in week 11, half a sack in week 12, one sack in week 13, three sacks in week 14, half a sack in week 15, a sack in week 16. He didnt get to the quarterback in only 4 games in that season.

In 2005, he started the first half of the season slow with only 2 sacks before going one sack, two sacks, two sacks, no sack, one sack, one sack, one sack, no sack, two sacks, no sack from week 7 to 17.

In 2003, he got to the quarterback in 9 games.

Obviously he had seasons where he got the QB less but in his prime Aaron Schobel was a dominant pass rusher who consistently got after QBs and who produced over a long stretch.

but in reality, its not that great when you break down when they came.

In reality, he had them come in stretches when he was young and when he was aging. In his prime he was in the QBs face almost every single game.

Being a Hall of Famer is well above dominant. Being a Hall of Famer is being a legend, a man who changed the game and re-defined. Being dominant is being superior to the opposition you faced almost every time, which Schobel was.

Schobel in his prime owned the offensive lineman he went against on a near weekly basis.

just like grabbing 8 INT’s doesn’t mean a DB is a dominant cover guy or running for 10 TD’s doesn’t mean a RB is dominant or catching 80 passes doesn’t mean a WR dominated DB’s.

A DB who grabs 8 interceptions a year is ABSOLUTELY dominant. You are talking like Schobel had one good year. Hes had 14 sacks, 12 sacks, 11.5 sacks,10 sacks, 8.5 sacks, 8.0 sacks, 6.5 sacks and 6.5 sacks. One of those 6.5 sacks came his rookie year when he started 11 games. Thats all 8 of his healthy seasons. Schobel wasn’t a one time deal. He was dominant in his prime and a great player throughout.

Bruce Smith was a legend of the game. They are different.