AFC East
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Thursday, 11 March 2010 02:02 |
 In pouring over ProFootballFocus.com researcher Sam Monson's data on missed tackles, what stood out most of all was the abysmal season the Miami Dolphins had in that area.
We knew the Dolphins had trouble tackling, but to see where their players ranked was disconcerting.
They were near the bottom at cornerback and inside linebacker and had an erratic safety.
Tackle data is subjective. The NFL declines to acknowledge tackles as an official stat. The league does list unofficial numbers on NFL.com, but teams generally keep track of their own when coaches break down game film. Team figures are what I quote when writing a story.
It should be pointed out that tallying missed tackles is even more subjective, but when criteria is applied uniformly, then I believe there is value in seeing how players compare.
The Dolphins were atrocious, and the misses certainly contributed to the Dolphins' decision to fire defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni. Inside linebackers coach George Edwards (now Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator) and outside linebackers coach Jim Reid (now University of Virginia's defensive coordinator) also left.
Here are Miami's lowlights from Monson's spreadsheet on a stat called "tackle inefficiency rating," which factors solo tackles and missed tackles:
- Inside linebackers Channing Crowder and the recently released Akin Ayodele ranked 114th and 106th, respectively, in TIR among 117 graded linebackers (inside and outside).
- Rookies Sean Smith and Vontae Davis ranked 82nd and 54th, respectively, in TIR among 88 graded cornerbacks.
- Free safety Gibril Wilson, cut the same day as Ayodele, had a mediocre TIR. But Wilson missed seven tackles through the first six games. His miscues were glaring in Miami's 2-4 start.
Dolphins coach Tony Sparano sounded exasperated after a particularly poor tackling performance in a critical loss to the Houston Texans in Week 16.
"What I'm surprised of -- and this is my fault; this is what I'm disappointed in me for -- is that I take great pride in the fact that we work our team hard enough, and that our team gets better as the season goes on," Sparano said. "We didn't get better in that phase. We didn't get better fundamentally. We didn't tackle well enough." |
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Thursday, 11 March 2010 00:21 |
 Adalius Thomas missed more than the start of a meeting last year.
The New England Patriots outside linebacker was the NFL's worst tackler, according to ProFootballFocus.com research.
This week, I've been sharing tackle data compiled by ProFootballFocus.com analyst Sam Monson. He constructed a stat called "tackle inefficiency rating," which takes a player's number of missed tackles and solo tackles to come up with an evaluation.
We've already taken a look at how the cornerbacks and safeties fared. Now we'll wrap up the series by breaking down linebacker and defensive lineman grades.
Thomas failed miserably. Of the 436 defenders on the list, he finished dead last. ProFootballFocus.com tallied 18 solo tackles and eight misses for Thomas, giving him a 30.77 TIR.
No wonder he was on Bill Belichick's bad side.
But recently re-signed Patriots free agent Tully Banta-Cain wasn't much better. He ranked seventh from the bottom among all linebackers (ProFootballFocus.com didn't differentiate between inside and outside in its research) with a 17.78 TIR (37 solos, eight misses). At least Banta-Cain recorded sacks, leading the Patriots with 10.
Another outside linebacker who ran afoul of his head coach, Joey Porter, graded out quite well. In fact, his 3.70 TIR led all AFC East linebackers and was 10th among those with at least 20 solos. Monson credited him with 26 solo tackles and one miss for the Miami Dolphins.
One notch behind Porter was New York Jets outside linebacker Bryan Thomas with a 3.85 TIR (50 solos, two misses).
Patriots inside linebacker Jerod Mayo tied for 24th. Mayo had a 6.67 TIR (70 solos, five misses).
Mayo was part of an AFC East sandwich. One spot above him was new Dolphins inside linebacker Karlos Dansby with a 6.19 TIR (106 solos, seven misses). One spot behind Mayo was Buffalo Bills middle linebacker Paul Posluszny with a 6.82 TIR (82 solos, six misses).
Jets inside linebacker David Harris tied for sixth in number of total misses, but many of the leaders in that category are top tacklers because they're around the ball so much. ProFootballFocus.com tallied 13 missed tackles for Harris, but he had 97 solos for an 11.82 TIR.
Way down the list was Jets outside linebacker Calvin Pace. He was seventh from the bottom with an 18.37 TIR (40 solos, nine misses).
The Dolphins inside linebackers also graded near the bottom, underscoring the importance of the Dansby signing. Channing Crowder was fourth from the bottom with an 18.87 TIR (43 solos, 10 misses), while the recently released Akin Ayodele was 12th with a 16.39 TIR (51 solos, 10 misses).
Defensive linemen have naturally lower TIRs because they don't work in open space as much as linebackers or defensive backs. So I'm going to mention the extremes.
Patriots defensive end Ty Warren was the only AFC East D-lineman ProFootballFocus.com didn't blame for a single missed tackle, while tallying 34 solo tackles, one behind Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Broderick Bunkley for most without a miss.
Dolphins end Kendall Langford, Bills end Chris Kelsay were the only AFC East D-linemen with one miss.
Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork led all NFL D-linemen with seven misses. He made 45 solo tackles for a 13.46 TIR. |
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Wednesday, 10 March 2010 13:38 |
The Buffalo Bills have been slow to act in free agency. That's not unusual for them, and new general manager Buddy Nix has stated his intention to build through the draft.
But this year the Bills have many holes to fill. They're overhauling their defense, converting to a 3-4. Suitable personnel is missing.
The Bills finally might act on their defensive conversion. Jason La Canfora of NFL Network reports the Bills will host defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy on Thursday.
Can the 6-foot-5, 320-pound Kennedy handle the Bills' opening at nose tackle?
The Bills are going to have to project. The four teams Kennedy has played for operate out of 4-3 defenses.
Kennedy's career has been a disappointment. The St. Louis Rams drafted him 12th overall in 2003. He has been with five teams (released by the Denver Broncos in 2007 before getting into a game) and has started only 31 times.
He is coming off a decent season with the Minnesota Vikings. They picked him up in late 2008 as an emergency replacement when the Williams Wall (defensive tackles Pat Williams and Kevin Williams) faced suspensions for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances.
Kennedy was the primary backup in 2009 and, as NFC blogger Kevin Seifert writes, "made more plays than you would think, but probably had something to do with at least one Williams and Jared Allen always being on the field with him."
Kennedy recorded 18 tackles, three sacks, four tackles for losses and seven hurries in the regular season. In three postseason games, he notched three tackles and one sack. |
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Wednesday, 10 March 2010 05:53 |
Dueling draft analsyst Mel Kiper and Todd McShay have released their latest head-to-head mock draft at ESPN Insider.
The article is for Insider subscribers, but The Hauge has awarded me special dispensation to reveal their picks for the AFC East. Click on the link to check out the entire first round and to read their reasoning for each projection.
No. 9 Buffalo Bills
- Kiper's pick: Oklahoma tackle Trent Williams
- McShay's pick: Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen
No. 12 Miami Dolphins
- Kiper's pick: Tennessee nose tackle Dan Williams
- McShay's pick: Tennessee nose tackle Dan Williams
No. 22 New England Patriots
- Kiper's pick: Clemson running back C.J. Spiller
- McShay's pick: Michigan outside linebacker Brandon Graham
No. 29 New York Jets
- Kiper's pick: USC safety Taylor Mays
- McShay's pick: Penn State defensive end Jared Odrick
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Wednesday, 10 March 2010 02:14 |
Yeremiah Bell was a symbol of the Pro Bowl sham.
The all-star exhibition, held a week before the Super Bowl, couldn't include anybody playing in the championship game. As a result, a bunch of players who normally wouldn't get invited became Pro Bowlers.
Bell was one of those add-ons. The Miami Dolphins safety was a third alternate, replacing Indianapolis Colts safety Antoine Bethea, who was an injury replacement himself.
So the unheralded Bell became a "Pro Bowler," a designation that required finger quotes.
Research done by ProFootballFocus.com analyst Sam Monson shows we can drop the sarcasm.
For a series of stories Monson is producing about the best and worst tacklers, Bell graded out as the NFL's top tackling safety and near the top among all defenders.
ProFootballFocus.com broke down every play on film and counted the missed tackles and solo tackles. He used those figures to determine a "tackle inefficiency rating." The formula divides missed tackles by attempted solo tackles to come up with an evaluation.
Bell was the NFL's most effective safety tackler. He was blamed for one missed tackle and made 90 solos, giving him a miniscule 1.10 TIR. No defensive player, regardless of position, had more than 60 tackles with one or no misses.
Imagine if the Dolphins didn't have that presence. As I posted Tuesday, Miami rookies Vontae Davis and Sean Smith ranked 54th and 82nd, respectively, in TIR among 88 graded cornerbacks.
Miami's inside linebackers last year, Channing Crowder and the recently released Akin Ayodele, ranked fourth from the bottom and 11th from the bottom in TIR among all linebackers.
Then there was free safety Gibril Wilson, who was vilified by Dolfans for his missed tackles. Wilson had a surprisingly average 11.39 TIR (70 solos, nine missed tackles). But Monson points out Wilson missed seven tackles through the first six games. His miscues played a significant role in Miami's 2-4 start.
Buffalo Bills safety Donte Whitner ranked 10th with a 6.38 TIR (44 solos, three misses), but pleasant surprise George Wilson was 14th with a 7.46 TIR (62 solos, five misses). Monson notes George Wilson finished second among safeties in a stat ProFootballFocus.com calls "stops," tackles that result in an offensive failure such as denying a third-down conversion.
Bills rookie Jairus Byrd, who tied for the league lead with nine interceptions, had 31 solos and four misses for a below-average 11.43 TIR.
Recently traded New York Jets safety Kerry Rhodes ranked 11th with a 7.25 TIR (64 solos, five misses), but the grading of his former teammate caught me off guard.
Jim Leonhard, known as an overachieving bulldog, ranked 11th from the bottom with a 17.57 TIR. He recorded 61 solo tackles, but was docked for 13 misses. Some ProFootballFocus.com readers have postulated that's because he played with a cast on a broken thumb. But Monson reports more than half of his misses occurred when healthy.
Rhodes' potential Jets replacement, Eric Smith, was near the middle of the pack with a 9.68 TIR (28 solos, three misses).
As stunning as Leonhard's numbers was ProFootballFocus.com's data on New England Patriots strong safety Brandon Meriweather. The Pro Bowler finished barely ahead of Leonhard with a 17.46 TIR (52 solos, 11 misses).
Patriots free safety Brandon McGowan was in Smith's neighborhood with a 9.84 TIR (55 solos, six misses).
On Thursday, we'll take a look at how the front seven defenders graded out as tacklers. |
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Vikings Trivia
Who is the only Vikings' player to lead the NFL in touchdowns?
[ Answer? ]
Running back Chuck Foreman, who did it twice in the 1970's (1974 and 1976).
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