I just came across a weird defensive team stat?we are currently second in total team tackles in the NFL?and since the 2001 season we have either been first or second in this category with the exception of the 2002 season (7th) and the 2004 season (14th)? Does this stat mean anything? As in a poor defense has always a high tackle count? Does it mean that irrespective of defensive schemes and different DC's this defense has remained fundamentally the same the entire decade?
It means our defense cant get off the field. Could be the offense cant drive or hold on to the ball or it could be bad 3rd down defense. Or any combination.
Yeah obviously. The only good defense we've had in recent memory is the 2004 D. They were 14th in tackles because they forced alot more incompletions, and got off the field alot faster.
Not to mention every time we go into a second half prevent D we're going to rack up a lot of tackles.
Bend but don't break defense and allowing a higher than average completion percentage to opposing offenses. Those are the only things that I can see that would impact the overall number of tackles for a defense. It probably also means that the Jets allow fewer long plays on defense than that average team.
Maybe it means teams run on us a lot. An incomplete pass produces no tackles, but even a run for no gain produces a tackle added to the stats.
Maybe the explanation is simple: we?re in a division, where teams tend to run it a lot more, than the rest of the League.
