1974 - 1981 Colts "Sack Pack"

[Bryan]

Questions about the four aggressive, young studs who comprised the Sack Pack.

They didn't do anything in 1974, then they get a new DC in 75 and you have Cook and Dutton both getting 16.5/17 sacks in a 14 game season. Sack Pack continues to dominate in 76, starts to fall off in 77, and in 78 they go back to their 1974 level of mediocrity. Cook has a decent year in 79, but in 1980 he is washed up...starting 16 games and accumulating all of 2 sacks! By 1981 the Sack Pack ceases to exist, and the Colts field the worst defense in NFL history.

Did the Colts do anything different on defense in 1975 that led to such a huge uptick in DL sacks? Would you say that they flamed out rather quickly, despite all 4 DLs being relatively young?

[Brian wolf]

With Jones playing so well those two years, could correlate to protecting leads and not worrying about the opposing run. White was good at intercepting errant throws as well.

[JohnTurney]

Did the Colts do anything different on defense in 1975 that led to such a huge uptick in DL sacks? Would you say that they flamed out rather quickly, despite all 4 DLs being relatively young?

1. Yes, Baughan's scheme was George Allen's. The playbooks are the same. It's a get up the field, play the run on the way to the ball scheme. Rams ran it un 60s, Vikings did with Patera's influence ... though their coverages were their own. But it was designed to let the front 4 rush and cover with 7 and also the backers to be able to play the run ... and that kind of showed.

2. Yes, I think it's fair to they faded fast. In 1978 there were injuries and then Dutton wanted more money. Cook had family issues --- he and his wife lost babies to birth defects. It cost him a lot of money (insurance, apparently, didn't cover it). There were injuries, money, tragedies, Jones and offense getting hurt and no producing ... and overall lack of productions

Fred Cook - probably should have been a Pro Bowler in 1979 but the team's record could not have helped.

[Bryan]

Thank you Brian & John for your comments. Interesting.

[Brian wolf]

Lets blame Irsay! It didnt help the defense that the team traded away Lydell Mitchell.

[SeahawkFever]

By 1981 the Sack Pack ceases to exist, and the Colts field the worst defense in NFL history.

Out of curiosity:
1. How was the defense outside of its defensive line?
2. How does this defense compare to the 1966 Giants and 1954 Redskins for you? Just curious because they both allowed more points per game.

[Bryan]

By 1981 the Sack Pack ceases to exist, and the Colts field the worst defense in NFL history.

Out of curiosity:
1. How was the defense outside of its defensive line?
2. How does this defense compare to the 1966 Giants and 1954 Redskins for you? Just curious because they both allowed more points per game.

I think the 81 Colts are the worst because they were so much worse than the rest of the league that year. No one was close to the Colts in terms of points, yards, and yards allowed per play. MLB Ed Smith was so bad that Joe Washington faked him out with the exact same juke on two different plays.

[Jay Z]

1981 Colts had 13 sacks. Someone led with 2, there probably was a tie for the lead. The D Line was the worst of it. In the back 7 they had some guys who stuck around for a while, Nesby Glasgow was probably the most prominent. Bruce Laird was still there. But the D line had a 35 year old Herb Orvis and a couple of guys who didn't make it. Donnell Thompson had a career but he was a rookie.

The best team with a poor pass rush was the 1970 Dolphins. 18 sacks. The only two players they replaced from that team to the undefeated team were two D linemen, Vern Den Herder and Bob Heinz were added. But even with everyone else it was only an average defense.

If you see QBs today where they aren't getting rushed at all, it makes an average QB look great. So the back 7 for the Colts wasn't the worst ever maybe, but with absolutely no pressure, they got chewed up consistently.

[GameBeforeTheMoney]

They also traded Dutton to the Cowboys in 1979.