Editing Quarterback sack (section)

==History==
[[File:Cougars on offense at BYU at Air Force 2010-09-11.jpg|alt=|thumb|upright|left|[[BYU Cougars football|BYU]] quarterback Riley Nelson being sacked by [[Air Force Falcons football|Air Force]].]]

The term ''sack'' was first popularized in the 1960s by [[Pro Football Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] defensive end [[Deacon Jones]], who felt that a quarterback being sacked devastated the offense in the same way that [[Looting#In armed conflict|a city was devastated when it was sacked]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Jones, NFL coiner of 'sack the quarterback,' dies at 74|url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/06/04/us/sport-deacon-jones-death/index.html|work=CNN|accessdate=June 5, 2013|date=June 4, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite av media | title=#15: David 'Deacon' Jones - The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players (2010) - #FlashbackFridays | date=May 13, 2016 | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqcmuCcwCiU | time=1:53 | via=YouTube }}</ref> In 1999, Jones provided a ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' reporter with some other detailed imagery about his forte: "You take all the offensive linemen and put them in a [[burlap]] bag, and then you take a baseball bat and beat on the bag. You're sacking them, you're bagging them. And that’s what you're doing with a quarterback."<ref name=TimesObit>{{cite news|last=Goldstein |first=Richard|title=Deacon Jones Dies at 74; Made Quarterback Sack Brutal and Enthralling|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/05/sports/football/deacon-jones-fearsome-nfl-defensive-end-dies-at-74.html?hpw|access-date=June 6, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 6, 2013}}</ref>

According to former NFL coach [[Marv Levy]], [[Washington Redskins]] coach [[George Allen (American football coach)|George Allen]] may have coined the term when referring to [[Dallas Cowboys]] quarterback [[Craig Morton]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/16/levy-explains-how-deacon-jones-came-up-with-sack/ | title=Levy explains how Deacon Jones came up with 'sack' | first=Mike | last=Florio | author-link=Mike Florio | date=June 16, 2013 | website=Profootballtalk.com | accessdate=August 10, 2020}}</ref> when he purportedly stated before a game, "Before we play those Dallas Cowboys, we’re going to take that Morton salt and pour him into a sack."

Prior to ''sack'', the term ''dump'' was often used, as the NFL's statistical office recorded all sacks under "dumping the passer".<ref name=":0">{{cite news|title=Sack or Dump: To Quarterback It's All Downhill|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19751107&id=72kaAAAAIBAJ&pg=5990,3948674|accessdate=June 5, 2013|newspaper=The Milwaukee Journal|date=November 7, 1975}}</ref>

The NFL only began to keep track of times passers lost yardage in 1961<ref>[http://www.nfl.com/history/randf/records/indiv/passing NFL Records]</ref> and no credit was given to the defensive player responsible until 1982.<ref name=autogenerated1>[http://www.nfl.com/history/randf/records/indiv/sacks NFL Records]</ref> Researcher John Turney of the [[Pro Football Researchers Association]] estimated that Jones recorded 173½ sacks in his career.<ref name=branch>{{cite news |last=Branch |first=John |title=Unofficially, Sack Record Doesn't Add Up |date=November 4, 2006 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/04/sports/football/04giants.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150901134522/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/04/sports/football/04giants.html?_r=0 |archivedate=September 1, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Controversial NFL rule changes made for the [[2018 NFL season|2018 season]] prohibit tacklers from landing on the quarterback after making a sack, with the punishment being a [[roughing the passer]] penalty.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2018/9/27/17911444/nfl-roughing-the-passer-penalty-explanation-clay-matthews | title=The NFL's controversial new roughing the passer rule, explained in a 3-minute read | first=Adam | last=Stiles | date=September 27, 2018 | work=SBNation.com | access-date=2018-09-28}}</ref>