With the recent addition of unofficial sacks to the Pro Football Reference, which we discussed this morning, John Zook gets his due on the franchise sack leaderboard. In seven years in Atlanta, Zook formed a fearsome defensive end duo with Claude Humphrey in the 1970s, with the duo accounting for well over 100 (unofficial) sacks from 1969-1975.
While Humphrey is justifiably in the Hall of Fame, though, Zook is a franchise great who rarely gets enough credit for the caliber of work he did. We’ll make some amends for that one today by remembering the long-armed pass rusher and his stellar seven years in Atlanta, as well as his post-Atlanta stint with the Cardinals.