I didn't know Chris Ivory was activated to play last night!

Radical · 10-09-2012, 07:54 PM

Originally Posted by Utah_Saint

Tackles are grossly over rated?!? I'm kind of a stat nerd but I've never heard anyone ever say that before. Is that new? Lots of tackles arent a good thing anymore?

When you say Weatherspoon is better at coverage what exactly do you mean? Are you using a metric to compare?
Since Weatherspoon has been in the league he's had 11 passes defended and 1 interception.
Over that time, Lofton has had 12 passes defended and 3 interceptions.

In that same time frame, Lofton has had 319 tackles. Weatherspoon has had only 194. That's less than two thirds of Loftons production. Not to mention the fact that Weatherspoon has one of the lowest tackling efficiency rates of all linebackers in the NFL.

From all that you conclude that the Falcons wouldn't have used Lofton more than 100 snaps in a season? Even Dent, who is having a very poor year statistically is trending to have more snaps than that. That sounds pretty far fetched don't ya think?

Yes, number of tackles are an overrated stat, and it isn't new. The tackle stat doesn't provide context, at all. Is the player getting tackles after they just gave what should have been a defensed pass, because he took a poor pursuit angle and ended up tackling a ball carrier several yards later than he should have, or a myriad of other examples. It isn't necessarily a bad stat to have a high number of tackles, but it is doesn't really show how good or bad a player is.

My metric is PFF, which is endorsed by players, agents, and personnel around the league. Concerning Lofton though, one thing about him is that historically he's been mediocre in pass coverage, and really doesn't have an instinct for it. With Atlanta, he had to operate with "spot" coverage instead of a true zone. This is where you drop back to a specific spot on the field and hang there rather than playing a true zone where you have to consider depth and tracking players across an area. Weatherspoon last year was fantastic in all phases of the game as we moved through the year, especially in coverage. I'd like to have a source from your tackling efficiency on him.

I never said we wouldn't use him more than 100 snaps either, just that for his contract size, it wouldn't be worth it if he ends up needing most of the season to get past 100 snaps.

10-09-2012, 07:54 PM	#20
Radical Falcons Fan Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 148	Re: I didn't know Chris Ivory was activated to play last night! Originally Posted by Utah_Saint Tackles are grossly over rated?!? I'm kind of a stat nerd but I've never heard anyone ever say that before. Is that new? Lots of tackles arent a good thing anymore? When you say Weatherspoon is better at coverage what exactly do you mean? Are you using a metric to compare? Since Weatherspoon has been in the league he's had 11 passes defended and 1 interception. Over that time, Lofton has had 12 passes defended and 3 interceptions. In that same time frame, Lofton has had 319 tackles. Weatherspoon has had only 194. That's less than two thirds of Loftons production. Not to mention the fact that Weatherspoon has one of the lowest tackling efficiency rates of all linebackers in the NFL. From all that you conclude that the Falcons wouldn't have used Lofton more than 100 snaps in a season? Even Dent, who is having a very poor year statistically is trending to have more snaps than that. That sounds pretty far fetched don't ya think? Yes, number of tackles are an overrated stat, and it isn't new. The tackle stat doesn't provide context, at all. Is the player getting tackles after they just gave what should have been a defensed pass, because he took a poor pursuit angle and ended up tackling a ball carrier several yards later than he should have, or a myriad of other examples. It isn't necessarily a bad stat to have a high number of tackles, but it is doesn't really show how good or bad a player is. My metric is PFF, which is endorsed by players, agents, and personnel around the league. Concerning Lofton though, one thing about him is that historically he's been mediocre in pass coverage, and really doesn't have an instinct for it. With Atlanta, he had to operate with "spot" coverage instead of a true zone. This is where you drop back to a specific spot on the field and hang there rather than playing a true zone where you have to consider depth and tracking players across an area. Weatherspoon last year was fantastic in all phases of the game as we moved through the year, especially in coverage. I'd like to have a source from your tackling efficiency on him. I never said we wouldn't use him more than 100 snaps either, just that for his contract size, it wouldn't be worth it if he ends up needing most of the season to get past 100 snaps.
Radical Falcons Fan Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 148	For the fans, by the fans. - AtlantaFalconsTalk

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