Arizona Cardinals linebacker Chandler Jones is having an impressive season. He leads the NFL with 19 sacks and eight forced fumbles. It has earned him a Pro Bowl starting selection and he should be considered a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year.

He has had two games this season with four sacks, something that had only been done twice, more than 30 years ago.

As if the numbers themselves aren’t incredible enough, Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph explained why the numbers are even more impressive when he spoke to reporters on Thursday after practice.

Up until recently, he had been playing the SAM linebacker position. After the release of Terrell Suggs, who was playing the WILL, Jones moved over. In Joseph’s defensive scheme, the two outside linebacker positions are the SAM and the WILL. The WILL backer is the rush linebacker.

“When we had him and Suggs playing, he was the better dropper so he dropped more,” Joseph explained. “I didn’t drop him a lot, but he did drop probably 12 percent of the time which is probably 45 more rushes.”

Joseph believes “he’d probably have two more sacks” if he had rushed 40-45 more times than he has.

That would put him at 21 with only needing two in Week 17 to break the all-time sack record in a season.

“That speaks to the year he’s had,” Joseph said. “Being a SAM backer in this defense, usually you’re not the sack leader. It’s the WILL backer, but Chan is special.

“What he’s done is incredible.”

There is no denying that.

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