The Dallas Cowboys have signed Greg Hardy of the Carolina Panthers, and it's a good matchup of player skill-set and team weakness. Hardy has been a part of one of the league's better pass rushes during his career, while in that same time span Dallas has had one of the worst.
Hardy barely played last season due to a domestic violence case against him, and his contract with Dallas takes into account that he may face a suspension to start the 2015 season. The per-game roster bonuses in the deal protect the team if Hardy can't suit up.
Back in 2013, though, Hardy's 15 sacks were part of Carolina's league-best 60. Dallas had just 34 sacks that year, and just 28 last season. Over the last three seasons, Carolina has had one of the league's best pass rushes, Dallas one of the worst. Hardy, when available, should help change all that.
Team sack totals in each of the last three seasons, sorted by total over that span, are presented below.
TEAM SACK TOTALS, 2012-2014 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | Tot |
Buffalo | 54 | 57 | 36 | 147 |
St. Louis | 40 | 53 | 52 | 145 |
Carolina | 40 | 60 | 39 | 139 |
Denver | 41 | 41 | 52 | 134 |
Green Bay | 41 | 44 | 47 | 132 |
Baltimore | 49 | 40 | 37 | 126 |
Minnesota | 41 | 41 | 44 | 126 |
New England | 40 | 48 | 37 | 125 |
Miami | 39 | 42 | 42 | 123 |
Arizona | 35 | 47 | 38 | 120 |
Kansas City | 46 | 47 | 27 | 120 |
Seattle | 37 | 44 | 36 | 117 |
Philadelphia | 49 | 37 | 30 | 116 |
NY Jets | 45 | 41 | 30 | 116 |
Indianapolis | 41 | 42 | 32 | 115 |
Houston | 38 | 32 | 44 | 114 |
Cincinnati | 20 | 43 | 51 | 114 |
NY Giants | 47 | 34 | 33 | 114 |
Tennessee | 39 | 36 | 39 | 114 |
New Orleans | 34 | 49 | 30 | 113 |
San Francisco | 36 | 38 | 38 | 112 |
Chicago | 39 | 31 | 41 | 111 |
Cleveland | 31 | 40 | 38 | 109 |
Detroit | 42 | 33 | 34 | 109 |
Washington | 37 | 36 | 32 | 105 |
Pittsburgh | 33 | 34 | 37 | 104 |
San Diego | 26 | 35 | 38 | 99 |
Tampa Bay | 36 | 35 | 27 | 98 |
Dallas | 28 | 34 | 34 | 96 |
Jacksonville | 45 | 31 | 20 | 96 |
Oakland | 22 | 38 | 25 | 85 |
Atlanta | 22 | 32 | 29 | 83 |
--Andy Richardson