jgcruz wrote:
I don't want to oversell the value of the missed tackle stat. But if a team has a higher percentage of missed tackles or a higher gross number of missed tackles than another team, then the first team likely going to give the other team a couple of extra opportunities per game to have a big play. In otherwise evenly matched games, that could be the difference.
I think we just see this differently. There are a bunch of unknown reasons why a player may be credited with a missed tackle when it is not a negative.
For example, what if two players arrive at the ball carrier simulatneously?
What if the first defender has the player firmly in his grasp and is in the process of taking him to the ground, and the second defender comes in and makes contact just before the ball carrier hits the ground?
Neither of those scenarios is a negative against the first player in my opinion, but giving credence to the missed tackle stat would make it appear so.
On another note, I don't necessarily think that a team that has more missed tackles than another is a bad thing. I would think that a lot of those, if not most, would be because they do a good job of getting multiple defenders in on the tackle.
A team that "gang tackles" a lot is going to have a lot of missed tackles in MFN.
A team that gives up a bunch of wide open 12 yard runs is going to have fewer missed tackles, but I would rather have the former.