Interesting article.As I recall Favre gave Strahan the sack record while Allen was cheated.
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Aug 27, 2012
[h=2]Jared Allen: Sack record should have been mine[/h]
By
Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY
Updated 2012-08-27 12:55 PM
CAPTION
By Bruce Kluckhohn, US Presswire
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. --
Jared Allen was just one sack shy of setting the NFL's single-season record in 2011, and he knows exactly where one quarterback drop came and went.Green Bay, of all places.
The Minnesota Vikings all-pro defensive end -- whose 22 sacks last season were the most in a campaign in the league since Michael Strahan set the record with 22 1/2 in 2001 -- remembers a play against the arch-rival Packers in Week 10 that still leaves him a bit puzzled because of the manner in which it was statistically recorded.
"They actually took one away from me in Green Bay," Allen told USA TODAY Sports. "I pushed my guy into
(Aaron) Rodgers, he fumbled, and I touched him down. They gave it as a team sack, versus giving me the sack. That would've been the record right there."
Then again, Allen can think of a few other sacks that got away.
"I missed probably four or five, that were in my hands," he said. "There were opportunities left on the field. My goal each year isn't a set number. I want as many sacks as I can get when the opportunities present themselves. That's my goal. Just to not have missed opportunities. There were some left on the field last year."
When he starts rattling off examples -- including crashing into
Drew Brees a split-second after a pass was released -- you realize how the near-sacks stick in his memory.
Allen collected 13 1/2 sacks of his sacks last year against NFC North opponents, including 3 1/2 against Chicago in the season finale. He punished Detroit and left tackle
Jeff Backus, collecting three sacks of
Matthew Stafford in each of the two divisional matchups.
"A fourth sack would've happened in Detroit," he recalled. "I thought Matt Stafford was going to try to beat me to the sideline. He cut back and ran through an arm tackle."
In most cases, Allen cashed in on his chances with with relentless consistency. He notched sacks in each of the first nine games last season, and had a sack in all but four contests. He fueled Minnesota's league-best 50 sacks, a bright spot in a dismal 3-13 season.
Now the Vikings -- seeking to exceed projections this season and become relevant again while fielding a second-year quarterback in
Christian Ponder -- undoubtedly need the ninth-year veteran to continue supplying the heavy rush that is his trademark.
History is surely on his side. Since entering the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2004 as a fourth-round pick from Idaho State, no player has tallied more sacks than Allen (105). Among active players, only Atlanta's
John Abraham has more career sacks (112).
And motivation won't be lacking. He still wants the record that got away.
"Any pass rusher that tells you that's not a goal, he's lying," Allen said. "It's always a goal. It's always in your mind. You just try to do it within the scheme of winning games."
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Jared Allen
