Myles Garrett already ranks as the best pass rusher in Browns history. He should be their all-time sack leader by 2023. (Getty Images)
The Browns at 75 years old: My top 10 pass rushers
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Browns, I will commemorate the franchise with periodic lists honoring top moments, players, coaches, games and characters from my history as a beat writer and analyst.
The category: Top 10 pass rushers
Coaches and analytics mavens profess that sacks are not the be-all, end-all statistic to measure a player’s pass rush ability. Pressure alone on a quarterback can influence an incompletion, an interception or a sack by another player even if the main rusher doesn’t get the sack.
All true. But there’s no stat in football like the sacrifice fly. Warning-track power in football isn’t rewarded. The sack – taking down a quarterback -- remains the No. 1 goal of the pass rusher.
Trouble is, the NFL only started counting sacks as an official statistic in 1982. Football researchers John Turney and Nick Webster have tabulated sacks prior to that by scouring official play-by-play books and coaches film of games through 1960. Gamebooks were not available prior to 1960, however.
Thanks to research by Turney and Webster, the unofficial NFL single-season sack record belongs to Al “Bubba” Baker and not Michael Strahan. Baker was re-credited with 23 as a rookie with the Detroit Lions in 1983. Strahan had 22.5 for the Giants in 2001. Baker played for the Browns in the 1987 through ’90 seasons, but was in his 30s by then and his 14 sacks in 37 games weren’t enough to merit him a spot in the top 10 Browns pass rushers.
These rankings are not based entirely on sack totals, however.
10. Jamir Miller: 1999-01, 47 games, 22.5 sacks.
The best player of the Browns’ initial expansion roster, this tall linebacker had a career revival when Butch Davis took over as coach in 2001. His 13 sacks and four forced fumbles that year earned him a Pro Bowl spot and All-Pro placement, and helped turn around a 5-27 team. Alas, a torn Achilles in the 2002 preseason opener in Minnesota led to early retirement at the age of 29.
9. Lyle Alzado: 1979-81, 46 games, 24.5 sacks.
A member of Denver’s famed “Orange Crush” defense, he was traded to the Browns in 1979 and was their leading sacker during the Kardiac Kids years. The Browns angered Alzado by trading him to the Raiders in 1982, fueling a career renaissance in the Raiders’ Silver and Black in his mid-30s. He was an intense, menacing defender on the field and a gentle giant off it. At the end, Alzado admitted using anabolic steroids, which probably – but not conclusively – caused his death by brain tumor at the age of 43.
8. Jack Gregory: 1967-71, 1979; 86 games, 41 sacks.
After unofficially posting 26.5 sacks in 28 games in 1969-70, Gregory engaged in a famous contract squabble with owner Art Modell. He was traded in 1972 in his prime, causing Modell grief with fans and deflating the locker room. Gregory reaffirmed his dominance from the right end position by leading the NFL with 18.5 sacks with the Giants. In a typical Modell move, the Browns reacquired Gregory in 1979, but he was well past his prime at the age of 35.
7. Walter Johnson: 1965-76, 168 games, 66 sacks.
One of the best defensive tackles in team history, Johnson had a dual career in pro wrestling that lasted 16 years and more than 100 matches. Among his victims in the ring were George “the Animal” Steele and Randy “Macho Man” Savage.
6. Michael Dean Perry: 1988-94, 109 games, 51.5 sacks.
A much better player than his more famous brother, William, aka “the Refrigerator,” Perry’s squatty stature and incredible first-step quickness made him one of the league’s best penetrators from the tackle position. He was named All-Pro four times and earned five Pro Bowl berths. His demise with the Browns was rooted in a personality conflict with Bill Belichick, who handcuffed Perry from free-lancing to the quarterback.
5. Clay Matthews: 1987-93, 232 games, 75 sacks.
Matthews reigned as the Browns’ all-time sack leader until recent revisions of the pre-1982 period placed him second. He could have had plenty more if just left as a rush linebacker. But the arrival of Chip Banks in 1982 relegated Matthews to the burgeoning role of covering tight ends and backs on third downs instead of rushing the quarterback. In a new era of defensive specialists, Matthews specialized in playing every down. In his career, he played all four linebacker positions when the team employed a 3-4 system. Belichick called him “the ultimate team player in all respects.”
4. Jerry Sherk: 1970-81, 147 games, 70.5 sacks.
Overshadowed nationally by division rival “Mean” Joe Greene of the Steelers, Sherk stepped out of that shadow by earning NFL defensive player of the year honors in 1976 when he turned in a career-high 12 sacks from the tackle position. Sherk was on a path to the Pro Football Hall of Fame until a knee injury in a 1979 game resulted in a life-threatening staph infection. He missed the 1980 season and battled to come back for part-time duty in 1981 before retiring at the age of 33.
3. Bill Glass: 1962-68, 94 games, 77.5 sacks.
Unofficially the Browns’ all-time sack leader, Glass was the Lions’ first-round pick six notches after the Browns took Jim Brown No. 6. After three so-so years in Detroit, the Lions “threw in” Glass in a trade with the Browns. Over the next six seasons, Glass produced 75.5 sacks in 84 games. He founded Bill Glass Ministries in 1969 and devotes his time to prison ministries.
2. Len Ford: 1950-57, 88 games, sacks unavailable.
As a two-way performer with the Los Angeles Dons in the AAFC, Ford doubled as the league’s best tight end and pass rusher. Paul Brown snatched him in the AAFC dispersal draft and left him to concentrate on right defensive end for the first eight years of the Browns’ existence in the NFL. Sack statistics from that era are unavailable, but Ford unquestionably was the best defensive player on the league’s best defense. He was named to the league’s 1950s All-Decade team and eventually inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
1. Myles Garrett: 2017-20, 51 games, 42.5 sacks.
At his current pace, Garrett would surpass Glass’ franchise record for sacks in his 93rd game – roughly in the 2023 season at the age of 28. He’ll still be under contract for three more years at that point, which means Garrett could set a franchise record that may not be approached for generations. PreviouslyMy top 10 quarterbacksMy top 10 running backsMy top 10 wide receiversMy top 10 head coachesMy top 10 games
