First off, let’s refresh everyone on one of our key Signature Stats for defenders, Tackling Efficiency. Measuring how many tackles a defender misses per the attempts they have.
The equation for it is as follows:
Tackling Efficiency = (Tackles + Assists + Missed Tackles) / Missed Tackles
Like many of our Signature Stats, Tackling Efficiency is calculated as a proportionality, and in this case on a per tackling attempt basis. We do this so that we can better evaluate and compare players who have differing amounts of playing time.
A couple weeks ago I took a look at Tackling Efficiency for players in the secondary. In that article I stated that a sure tackling corner is a luxury and a poor tackling coverage safety can still be a good safety. Linebackers, though, are a different story altogether. You won’t find many guys toward the bottom of this list who are sniffing the Pro Bowl (or should be at least) and Tackling Efficiency is fairly indicative of performance because tackling is such a big part of what linebackers do. Only one player in the Top 10 has received a negative grade so far, and only one in the bottom 10 has received a positive grade.
Note: We only looked at inside linebackers and 4-3 outside linebackers with at least 200 total snaps
Why ‘Effective Tackler' doesn’t always equate to ‘Effective Linebacker'
A good case study for this is Browns linebacker D’Qwell Jackson. If you looked at his tackling efficiency over the past two years you would see that it has actually gone up this year from last (16.0 to 26.0). Then, when you look at his PFF run grade you see that he went from +9.0 last year to -1.1 last year. This may leave you scratching your head. Well, the reason for this grade decrease is because finishing a play is only half of the equation, getting to the play is just as important and Jackson just hasn’t done that as well this year. Last year his run snaps per tackling opportunity, or how many running snaps it took for him to attempt a tackle, was 4.65. This year it has climbed considerably to 6.86. This means he is getting to approximately two-thirds as many plays as he was last year, and definitely worthy of the grade decrease. Some prime examples of this on the opposite end (poor tackling efficiency but great play in the run game) are inside linebackers Daryl Washington (7.3 tackling efficiency, 4.52 run snaps per tackling opportunity, and run defense grade of +7.0) and Kavell Conner (8.3 tackling efficiency, 3.28 run snaps per tackling opportunity, and run defense grade of +4.7).
Here's a list of the 20 top tackling linebackers.
[table id=630 /]
Inside vs. Outside
Inside linebacker and outside linebacker are different positions, and general managers look for different traits and skill sets with each. This is obvious, but what is not obvious is how it plays out when tackling. So let’s take a look at the numbers. When it comes to tackling efficiency inside linebackers total numbers are: (Note: 49 inside linebackers qualified)
Total Tackling Efficiency: 11.28
Run Tackling Efficiency: 14.30
Coverage Tackling Efficieny: 8.14
This vast difference between coverage and run tackling efficiency is to be expected. When linebackers are making plays in the running game, the running back most of the time has no choice but to take on the linebacker in a limited area. If the linebacker is making a tackle on a receiver and isn’t making the play directly after the catch, the receiver will have much more room to work with and a variety of moves to employ. Now on to the outside linebacker numbers: (note: 38 outside linebackers qualified)
Total Tackling Efficiency: 9.88
Run Tackling Efficiency: 11.99
Coverage Tackling Efficiency: 8.075
These numbers are interesting because outside linebackers are lower in every regard, yet the difference is really only in Run Tackling Efficiency. This difference likely harkens back to the differences in positional responsibilities. Outside backers are traditionally lighter and faster because they take larger roles in coverage and have to be able to make tackles out on the edge of the field. One might think that outside linebackers would play a lot more coverage snaps but the data showed that the outside linebackers were in coverage 58.7% of the time, while inside linebackers were 57.8%.
Let’s also explore the differences between the snaps per tackling opportunity.
Inside linebackers
Total Snaps per Tackling Opportunity: 7.77
Run Sanps per Tackling Opportunity: 5.08
Coverage Snaps per Tackling Opportunity: 12.7
Outside linebackers
Total Snaps per Tackling Opportunity: 8.21
Run Snaps per Tackling Opportunity: 6.05
Coverage Snaps per Tackling Opportunity: 10.96
These numbers are again not terribly surprising. As I stated earlier outside linebackers are more active in the passing game and inside linebackers in the running. In fact using run snaps per tackling opportunity as a measure for outside linebackers makes little sense. The reason for this being that teams game plan to run away from the best outside linebackers giving them no chance to make tackles.
After that here's the 20 worst tackling linebackers this year.
[table id=631 /]
I have greatly enjoyed doing these signature snapshot articles because I think they provide a peek at all the amazing data that PFF provides. If you have any feedback on the piece, how you’d like the data to be presented or what signature stats you’d like to see in future. Comment in the article or send me a message on twitter.
Follow Mike on Twitter: @PFF_MikeRenner
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