Most informed football fans remember the name Aaron Schobel and may even remember that he was a very good player. But how many remember that the former Buffalo defensive end excelled despite being vastly underweight for his era?
Schobel was 6-4, weighed 263 pounds and ran a 4.75 40 at the NFL scouting combine. So he had some speed to compensate for his lack of size. But what made him remarkable was that he was a successful pass rusher when he sometimes was outweighed by as many as 60-80 pounds.
The proof is in the numbers: He ended his career with 78 sacks, including a career-high 14 in 2006, and 21 forced fumbles.
The sacks are eighth-best of any NFL player from 2001-09, and the forced fumbles are tied for 11th in that span - not eye-popping numbers ... but solid for a nine-year career and someone of his size.
Depending on the season, that could be either 263 or 243 pounds. From 2007-2009, Schobel was listed at 243 -- or 20 pounds under his listed weight in previous seasons. By comparison, his height and weight were about the same as Gino Marchetti, Jack Youngblood, and Jim Marshall—star defensive ends of the 1960s and 1970s.
One difference: In their eras, they were outweighed by 10-30 pounds vs. tackles who were 255-285. In the 2000s, tackles had grown to 300-320 pounds ... or more. So Schobel would yield as many as 60-80 pounds each Sunday.
He never went public to explain why he dropped the weight, especially after his career year in 2006. Presumably, it was to increase his quickness and ability to get to the edge.
Except he had been successful. From 2003-06, only Hall-of-Famer Jason Taylor had more sacks (48) than Schobel (45-1/2), and in 2006, his final year at the listed 263 he was a second-team All-Pro.
At 243 pounds, Schobel more closely resembled two other small defensive ends of his era: Miami's Jason Taylor was listed at 6-6, 245, while the Colts' Robert Mathis measured 6-2, 245.
So what happened? At his new weight in 2007, Schobel went to his second Pro Bowl. Injured the following season, he returned to produce 10 sacks in 2009 -- his final year -- making him one of only three defensive ends to achieve that number in those three seasons.
The two others were Taylor and Mathis, both members of the small ends' club.
At any weight, Aaron Schobel was effective -- not only sacking quarterbacks (he led the Bills every year he was healthy) but generating pressures. He usually led the Bills in hits and hurries.
"He's got a good motor," said Patriots' fan Bill Belichick, one of his biggest fans. "He's never out of a play. He's got several good moves . . . Even though he's not the biggest guy, he's got explosive power. He's hard for everybody to block."
No surprise there. Those traits date to his collegiate days at TCU where he was an All-Western Athletic Conference and WAC Defensive Player of the Year and set the school's sack and forced fumbles' records (both since broken).
When you do all those things, you're worth remembering.
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