PATRIOT64

Looking at the defensive stats so far in the early going and its truly a surprise to me as the defender with the most Tackles on this team is Rodney Harrison! - 22 total tackles with 13 of them Solo (tied with the outstanding rookie Mayo) and Rod also has 9 assists and thats not all,the player with the second highest totals in Tackles is none other than that washed up slow guy named Tedy Bruschi!

Yes Rodney is slower than he was years ago and Tedy is not as fast to the ball either but you know what? They obviously still have gas left in that tank and its good to see them playing as well if not better than all the younger guys around them with 2 games of the 2008 season already in the books.

I am glad to know we have these two old beat up washed up guys on defense that some people in here say should have retired or cut for younger blood and to get faster - I don't think so

They are doing just fine with what they still have left and thats a quest for another Championship

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DaBruinz

Something to think about. A Safety having so many tackles isn't necessarily a good thing. It could be an indication that the D-line is breaking down and that opposition is getting into the secondary. I love Rodney, but SS is a place where we need someone to compliment Brandon Meriweather.

Sicilian

It's always tough to measure tackles as a sense of defensive play. I think they should start distinguishing between tackles on runs (or pass plays under 5 yards), and pass plays over 5 yards. You'd still have a tough time saying anything concrete, but at least you could measure a cornerback's ability better. If he's tackling after 5 yard gains, those shouldn't be positive stats for a CB most of the time.

JSn

I agree to an extent, but a tackle is generally also read as "not a td".

When O'Neil tackled that escaped receiver from KC (name escapes me now), that's a good tackle, even though it sucks he made it that far.

A pass deflection or INT is way better than a tackle by a safety, but a tackle sure beats a whiff. I might be tempted to measure tackles solely against missed tackles.

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Sicilian

I'll agree there. Defensive stats kind of have to be a combination of a handful of different ones mixed with observation. Just looking at the numbers never tells the whole story.