Warren Sapp Retires: One of the Greats Calls it Quits

It seems appropriate that within a couple days of one of the all time great quarterbacks retiring, that maybe his greatest and most respected nemesis retires, as well. DT Warren Sapp played for 13 seasons in the NFL, and for most of his career was one of the most dominant and feared defensive linemen in the entire NFL. He spent nine seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and four with the Oakland Raiders.

While with the Bucs he often played, and hit, Brett Favre, and the two would jaw at each other all the time. This was one of the best player rivalries to watch in the NFL, as they always had something to say and never backed down from one another. While Favre kept making Pro Bowls as a quarterback, Sapp made them as a dominating "three technique" defensive tackle, meaning a tackle who lines up between the guard and tackle.

Over his career Sapp, made seven Pro Bowls, won Defensive Player of the Year in 1999, and was the face of one of the most dominant defenses in NFL history, including the 2002 team that won the Super Bowl. During his time in Tampa Bay he was consistently doubled or even triple teamed, but it often did little good, as several seasons with double digit sacks proved, including a career high 16 ½.

Sapp struggled often with the Raiders, part of which might be the switch to a 3-4, followed by a normal 4-3 as opposed to the 3-Technique he was used to. In 2006 he had a strong year with Oakland, re-gaining old form for at least one season when he registered 10 sacks.

Sapp capped his career with 96½ sacks, in 28th place since the NFL started keeping track of the statistic in 1982. It's more impressive because he played tackle. Most sack leaders are LBs or defensive ends. Among defensive tackles, he is in the top ten all time, just outside of the top five.

It was a long way to come for Sapp, who started out his college football career as a tight end (and he does have 4 catches, 2 for touchdowns, in his NFL career). Over four years the athletic player became the most dominating and intense defensive player in the entire country.

Sapp's career has been extraordinary, and while there is no question he is a Pro Bowl performer, time will eventually show that he was also a Hall of Fame worthy defensive tackle. It seems appropriate that Sapp and his biggest competitor would retire on the same week, and there will never be such an intense yet respectful competition between two players as there was between Sapp and Favre, and the game will miss them both.

List of Sources:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3277165

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80708f00&template=with-video&confirm=true

http://www.nfl.com/players/warrensapp/careerstats?id=SAP635685http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/alltime/leaders?cat=sacks