National Football League

Big sack attack

Published Oct. 12, 2010 10:17 p.m. ET

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Maybe Bears quarterback Jay Cutler needed the week off anyway. He clearly needs to clear his head after suffering a concussion against the New York Giants, but he also might need to rest his body, given the abuse he has endured so far this season. Cutler has been sacked a whopping 17 times and has been knocked down 25 times, according to STATS. By contrast, Matt Cassel has been sacked twice, Peyton Manning four times and Aaron Rodgers five times.

FEWEST BROKEN TACKLES ALLOWED

Before the debacle last Sunday, the Bears' defense was ranked seventh in the NFL. After a strong first half, the Bears didn't finish the game well against the Giants, and a troubling issue has emerged.

Team Broken tackles

Dallas Cowboys 0

Baltimore Ravens 4

San Francisco 49ers 4

Buffalo Bills 5

Cleveland Browns 5

Denver Broncos 5

Jacksonville Jaguars 5

Pittsburgh Steelers 5

San Diego Chargers 5

Green Bay Packers 6

Minnesota Vikings 6

New England Patriots 6

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6

New York Jets 7

Washington Redskins 7

New York Giants 8

Seattle Seahawks 8

Cincinnati Bengals 9

Houston Texans 9

Miami Dolphins 9

New Orleans Saints 9

Oakland Raiders 9

St. Louis Rams 9

Arizona Cardinals 10

Philadelphia Eagles 11

Carolina Panthers 12

BEARS 12

Atlanta Falcons 13

Kansas City Chiefs 13

Detroit Lions 14

Indianapolis Colts 16

Tennessee Titans 16

NFL average 8.2 (263/32)

MOST CLUTCH

Perhaps it's not just sheer volume but the quality of catches a receiver makes. Here's a look at the most ''clutch'' receivers in the NFL. STATS defines clutch catches as any receptions on third- or fourth-down that result in a touchdown or first down. The list doesn't really include many surprises.

Rank Player/team Clutch catches

1 Anquan Boldin, Ravens 10

2t Davone Bess, Dolphins 8

2t Tony Gonzalez, Falcons 8

4t Antonio Gates, Chargers 7

4t Todd Heap, Ravens 7

4t Brandon Marshall, Dolphins 7

4t Reggie Wayne, Colts 7

4t Roddy White, Falcons 7

9t Mark Clayton, Rams 6

9t Donald Driver, Packers 6

9t Terrell Owens, Bengals 6

9t Jordan Shipley, Bengals 6

9t Steve Smith, Panthers 6

9t Wes Welker, Patriots 6

9t Kellen Winslow, Buccaneers 6

PROTECT THE ROCK

Protecting the ball is a key for successful teams, but neither the Bears nor the Panthers has proved an ability to do that consistently. Here's a look at the percent of offensive drives that have ended in turnovers this season:

Team Turnover pct.

New York Jets 2.1 (1/47)

Philadelphia Eagles 6.5 (3/46)

Washington Redskins 7.0 (3/43)

Kansas City Chiefs 7.9 (3/38)

Atlanta Falcons 8.7 (4/46)

Denver Broncos 9.1 (4/44)

Indianapolis Colts 9.3 (4/43)

Houston Texans 10.9 (5/46)

New England Patriots 11.1 (4/36)

New Orleans Saints 11.1 (5/45)

Pittsburgh Steelers 11.1 (5/45)

Buffalo Bills 11.4 (5/44)

Tampa Bay Bucs 11.4 (4/35)

Cincinnati Bengals 12.2 (6/49)

St. Louis Rams 12.2 (6/49)

Cleveland Browns 12.8 (6/47)

Dallas Cowboys 13.3 (4/30)

Green Bay Packers 14.6 (6/41)

Jacksonville Jaguars 15.6 (7/45)

BEARS 16.0 (8/50)

Oakland Raiders 16.0 (8/50)

Tennessee Titans 16.0 (8/50)

Miami Dolphins 16.7 (7/42)

Seattle Seahawks 17.4 (8/46)

San Diego Chargers 18.0 (9/50)

San Francisco 49ers 19.0 (8/42)

Baltimore Ravens 19.1 (9/47)

Detroit Lions 19.2 (10/52)

Minnesota Vikings 23.5 (8/34)

Arizona Cardinals 23.9 (11/46)

New York Giants 25.0 (13/52)

Carolina Panthers 26.1 (12/46)

NFL average 14.3 (204/1,426)

1

Michael Vick

Eagles

28

Knockdowns

11

Sacks

2

JAY

CUTLER

BEARS

25

Knockdowns

17

Sacks

3

David Garrard

Jaguars

24

Knockdowns

10

Sacks

4

Alex Smith

49ers

24

Knockdowns

8

Sacks

5

Sam Bradford

Rams

23

Knockdowns

10

Sacks

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