Tag Archives: 2000s sacks leaders

H2H 157: Julius Peppers vs. Jason Taylor – Who was Better?

In recent years, the NFL has seen its share of star players who also excelled in basketball at the college level (e.g. Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens), perhaps most notably at the tight end position (think Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Jimmy Graham, etc.).  On the defensive side of the ball, a couple of dual-sport standouts who spent their Sundays terrorizing opposing quarterbacks were defensive ends Julius Peppers and Jason Taylor – both long and lanky with great athleticism, they were two of the best pass-rushers of the 21st century and each accumulated well over 100 career sacks, thus making for an apt comparison:

Who was better – Julius Peppers or Jason Taylor?

Continue reading

H2H 104: Jared Allen vs. DeMarcus Ware – Who was Better?

During the 2011 NFL season, Jared Allen of the Minnesota Vikings and DeMarcus Ware of the Dallas Cowboys were engaged in a fierce race to break Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record of 22.5 sacks.  While both players would ultimately fall just short of surpassing that mark (22.0 and 19.5 sacks, respectively), this sack race was a microcosm of each player’s greatness as a pass rusher.  For the better part of a decade each, Allen and Ware were among the most feared pass rushers in the NFL, wreaking havoc in the backfields of opposing offenses – given their almost perfectly overlapping playing days and similar career sack totals, it makes sense to line them up side-by-side and pose the question:

Who was better – Jared Allen or DeMarcus Ware?

Continue reading