by J.J. Cooper

You’ve heard it here multiple times, but it is worth a yearly reminder: All sacks are not the same. Some can be blamed completely on an offensive lineman. Some can be blamed completely on a quarterback who held the ball way too long. Some are the result of a poor play call or a line call that left a rusher completely unblocked.

And a lot are a combination of these factors.

Some of those factors are beyond our ability to comprehend. After all, if a receiver runs the wrong route and therefore isn’t where the quarterback knew he was supposed to be, that can lead to a sack. And unless someone on the team mentions it in the postgame, we’re never going to know that he was the reason the quarterback didn’t throw the ball.

But there are some things we do know: The longer it takes for a sack to occur, the less the offensive line and pass protection can be blamed. For a 2.5-second sack, it’s most likely that someone blew their block. For a 3.5-second sack, it’s fair to say that the offensive line did their job and the quarterback, the play call, or the receivers are to blame.

Again, while it requires some inferences, the timing of sacks tells a lot. For the purposes of Under Pressure, short sacks are any sack that took less than 2.6 seconds. A normal or medium sack is one that takes between 2.6 and 3.1 seconds, and a long sack takes 3.2 seconds or longer.

It’s not perfect, but the division between short sacks (34.6 percent of all sacks), medium sacks (32.3 percent) and long sacks (33.2 percent) are close enough to view them as three equal parts.

The Dolphins have been sacked a league-worst 32 times. The Jets are third-worst with 29 sacks. But they have done it in entirely different ways.

Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill has been sacked 17 times (53.1 percent) on short sacks, 12 times (37.5 percent) on medium sacks and three times (9.4 percent) on long sacks. It’s a pretty clear sign that the Dolphins sack problems (and they are significant problems) are the line’s fault, and not the fault of wide receivers failing to get open or a quarterback who holds the ball too long.

The story is quite different with Jets quarterback Geno Smith. Smith has been sacked 28 times overall, but only five (17.9 percent) of them are short sacks. Another eight (28.6 percent) are normal sacks and a whopping 15 (53.6 percent) are long sacks. The story is similar with Raiders’ quarterback Terrelle Pryor. Pryor has 22 of the Raiders 30 total sacks, but 59 percent of those are long sacks, while only 13.6 percent of them are short sacks. Both are young athletic quarterbacks who count on their legs to buy additional time to throw.

QB Team Short Sacks PCT QB Team Normal Sacks PCT QB Team Long Sacks PCT 17-R.Tannehill MIA 17 53.1% 17-R.Tannehill MIA 12 37.5% 17-R.Tannehill MIA 3 9.4% 7-G.Smith NYJ 5 17.9% 7-G.Smith NYJ 8 28.6% 7-G.Smith NYJ 15 53.6% 3-R.Wilson SEA 8 29.6% 3-R.Wilson SEA 9 33.3% 3-R.Wilson SEA 10 37.0% 7-B.Roethlisberger PIT 8 30.8% 7-B.Roethlisberger PIT 9 34.6% 7-B.Roethlisberger PIT 9 34.6% 11-A.Smith KC 9 37.5% 11-A.Smith KC 8 33.3% 11-A.Smith KC 7 29.2% 12-T.Brady NE 14 60.9% 12-T.Brady NE 4 17.4% 12-T.Brady NE 5 21.7% 3-C.Palmer ARI 13 56.5% 3-C.Palmer ARI 5 21.7% 3-C.Palmer ARI 5 21.7% 2-T.Pryor OAK 3 13.6% 2-T.Pryor OAK 6 27.3% 2-T.Pryor OAK 13 59.1% 1-C.Newton CAR 6 28.6% 1-C.Newton CAR 5 23.8% 1-C.Newton CAR 10 47.6% 3-B.Weeden CLE 5 23.8% 3-B.Weeden CLE 6 28.6% 3-B.Weeden CLE 10 47.6% 5-J.Flacco BAL 7 35.0% 5-J.Flacco BAL 7 35.0% 5-J.Flacco BAL 6 30.0% 10-E.Manning NYG 5 26.3% 10-E.Manning NYG 10 52.6% 10-E.Manning NYG 4 21.1% 9-D.Brees NO 7 38.9% 9-D.Brees NO 5 27.8% 9-D.Brees NO 6 33.3% QB Team Short Sacks PCT QB Team Normal Sacks PCT QB Team Long Sacks PCT 9-T.Romo DAL 6 37.5% 9-T.Romo DAL 3 18.8% 9-T.Romo DAL 7 43.8% 14-A.Dalton CIN 7 43.8% 14-A.Dalton CIN 4 25.0% 14-A.Dalton CIN 5 31.3% 12-A.Rodgers GB 7 43.8% 12-A.Rodgers GB 6 37.5% 12-A.Rodgers GB 3 18.8% 7-C.Henne JAC 7 43.8% 7-C.Henne JAC 9 56.3% 7-C.Henne JAC 0 0.0% 8-S.Bradford STL 4 26.7% 8-S.Bradford STL 9 60.0% 8-S.Bradford STL 2 13.3% 8-M.Schaub HOU 3 20.0% 8-M.Schaub HOU 9 60.0% 8-M.Schaub HOU 3 20.0% 12-A.Luck IND 6 40.0% 12-A.Luck IND 3 20.0% 12-A.Luck IND 6 40.0% 7-C.Kaepernick SF 5 33.3% 7-C.Kaepernick SF 3 20.0% 7-C.Kaepernick SF 7 46.7% 7-M.Vick PHI 4 26.7% 7-M.Vick PHI 4 26.7% 7-M.Vick PHI 7 46.7% 10-R.Griffin WAS 3 21.4% 10-R.Griffin WAS 4 28.6% 10-R.Griffin WAS 7 50.0% 2-M.Ryan ATL 3 23.1% 2-M.Ryan ATL 7 53.8% 2-M.Ryan ATL 3 23.1% 10-J.Locker TEN 5 38.5% 10-J.Locker TEN 4 30.8% 10-J.Locker TEN 4 30.8% 3-E.Manuel BUF 3 23.1% 3-E.Manuel BUF 2 15.4% 3-E.Manuel BUF 8 61.5% QB Team Short Sacks PCT QB Team Normal Sacks PCT QB Team Long Sacks PCT 7-C.Ponder MIN 4 30.8% 7-C.Ponder MIN 6 46.2% 7-C.Ponder MIN 3 23.1% 9-T.Lewis BUF 6 46.2% 9-T.Lewis BUF 3 23.1% 9-T.Lewis BUF 4 30.8% 11-B.Gabbert JAC 4 33.3% 11-B.Gabbert JAC 4 33.3% 11-B.Gabbert JAC 4 33.3% 18-P.Manning DEN 5 45.5% 18-P.Manning DEN 4 36.4% 18-P.Manning DEN 2 18.2% 17-P.Rivers SD 5 45.5% 17-P.Rivers SD 3 27.3% 17-P.Rivers SD 3 27.3% 9-M.Stafford DET 5 50.0% 9-M.Stafford DET 3 30.0% 9-M.Stafford DET 2 20.0% 6-J.Cutler CHI 2 20.0% 6-J.Cutler CHI 5 50.0% 6-J.Cutler CHI 3 30.0% 8-M.Glennon TB 3 30.0% 8-M.Glennon TB 3 30.0% 8-M.Glennon TB 4 40.0% 5-J.Freeman TB 2 25.0% 5-J.Freeman TB 3 37.5% 5-J.Freeman TB 3 37.5% 6-B.Hoyer CLE 3 50.0% 6-B.Hoyer CLE 2 33.3% 6-B.Hoyer CLE 1 16.7% 4-R.Fitzpatrick TEN 2 33.3% 4-R.Fitzpatrick TEN 1 16.7% 4-R.Fitzpatrick TEN 3 50.0% 9-N.Foles PHI 1 20.0% 9-N.Foles PHI 3 60.0% 9-N.Foles PHI 1 20.0% 16-M.Cassel MIN 2 50.0% 16-M.Cassel MIN 1 25.0% 16-M.Cassel MIN 1 25.0%

When it comes to sacks, mobility is a double-edged sword.

Ben Roethlisberger gets slammed (somewhat rightfully) for holding the ball a long time, and praised for escaping a lot of potential sacks. But his sack breakdown by time this year is right along the league average. He just gets sacked a lot more often than the average quarterback, which may be a sign that many of Pittsburgh's problems revolve around pass protection.

On the other hand, Tom Brady is getting sacked a lot and it’s pretty clear that pass protection is the problem. Brady’s sack rate of seven percent is higher than any he’s had since 2001. Carson Palmer is facing similar problems as the latest quarterback to suffer the fate of playing behind the Cardinals offensive line. Palmer has 13 short sacks and only 10 medium and long sacks.

SHORT SACK OF THE WEEK

There wasn’t really an exceptionally short sack this week. Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich came unblocked off the edge to hit Tannehill. Tannehill bounced off of Ninkovich and into the arms of Dont'a Hightower.

Bills safety Da'Norris Searcy also had a 1.8-second sack this week as he came unblocked through the right side of the Saints line to nab Drew Brees. Impressively, Kyle Williams had beaten center Brian De La Puente so quickly that he was able to share the sack with Searcy.

LONG SACK OF THE WEEK

Pryor is a frequent long sack nominee -- 13 of his 22 sacks this year have been long ones. His mobility buys him time, but it also means he’s more comfortable holding the ball to try to run someone open than fitting a pass into a small window.

This week was more of the same. On a third-and-8, Pryor eventually decided to run to the sideline. Safety Troy Polamalu came up from coverage to run him out of bounds 5.5 seconds after the snap. It’s Pryor’s third sack of the season that took more than five seconds.