Chad Henne

The oft-maligned Miami Dolphins QB Chad Henne cranked out 416 yards against the Pats

89 sacks were recorded opening weekend in the NFL. That’s more than have ever been recorded since they started keeping track back in ’82.

5 sacks on Tavaris Jackson, Kyle Orton, Matt Ryan and Jay Cutler. 4 sacks on 9 other QBs (including Ben Roethlisberger in the Steelers embarrassing loss to the Ravens) and 3 on Michael Vick and some others I’m too lazy to look up.

The same weekend 4 QBs passed for more than 400 yards (including rookie Panthers Cam Newton, New England’s Tom Brady and Miami’s Chad Henne who did so in a game against the Pats, and New Orleans Saints Drew Brees). There was a total of 7,842 passing  yards in all games opening weekend with a total of 14 QBs passing for over 300 yards. Those 14 included Washington Redskins Rex Grossman, Arizona Cardinals Kevin Kolb, Dallas Cowboys Tony Romo, San Diego Chargers Phillip Rivers, New York Jets Mark Sanchez, Detroit’s Matthew Stafford and Denver Broncos Kyle Orton. A few QBs stopped just short of 300 such as New  York Giants Eli Manning who came in around 268 yards.

Both the increase in yards and sacks just highlight the fact that the pass keeps growing and growing and growing. And, consequently, so does pass rushing. There are some teams like the Jets who unleash constant blitzes aimed at confusing the other team’s offensive front line and QB. And still other teams like the Philadelphia Eagles who play their ends wide and apply constant pressure on each possession without a need to blitz.

With so many teams having only two QBs on the roster and possibly someone who can be an “emergency” QB the way Wide Receiver Hines Ward is for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the need to keep the passer on his feet is elevated. Let’s not forget that even when QBs manage to stay on their feet, they’ve often still absorbed a hit.