All season, we kept track of the Steelers' missed tackles to monitor how efficient their defense was at bringing down the ball-carrier. While the week-to-week numbers were always interesting, the season totals give us a wealth of information to evaluate.
The 2017 Steelers were one of the worst tackling teams in the NFL. Per Pro Football Focus, their tackle grades showed a group that was missing tackles left and right:
Last season, the #Steelers missed a tackle on 16.1% of run plays (31st in NFL).
They added sure tackling veterans this offseason in S Morgan Burnett and LB Jon Bostic, who ranked 1st and 8th respectively at their positions in tackling efficiency. https://t.co/R2sUJejvPY
— PFF PIT Steelers (@PFF_Steelers) July 19, 2018
We decided to focus on tackling against both the run and the pass, considering how many offenses use short passes as an extended running game. The Steelers did improve this year, and the numbers bear this out:
(Note: We did not count special teams tackles, removing 10 tackles from Tyler Matakevich and 6 from Anthony Chickillo.)
There are interesting numbers to evaluate here, like Sean Davis leading the team in snaps, made tackles and missed tackles. But we wanted to give an in-depth look at what different numbers mean for a player's effectiveness.
The first percentage score, "find percentage," accounts for how many times a player had an opportunity to make a tackle per number of snaps on the field. The higher the percentage, the better.
It's important to count this because it shows how certain players have a nose for the ball. Even if they miss the tackle, being in the right spot means they at least understood their role on a given play or sniffed out what the offense was doing on a given play.
The second percentage score, "whiff percentage," calculates the rate which defenders missed tackles per every chance they had to make one. The lower the percentage, the better, obviously.
As a fun way to sort through the numbers, we're going to do a series of awards to highlight the top three players in certain statistics.
FINDERS KEEPERS AWARD
L.J. Fort, Jon Bostic, Javon Hargrave
These are the players that found the ball at the highest rate on the team. A minimum of 200 snaps was required to qualify in order to weed out players who didn't see much time on the field, minimizing their overall impact on the defense.
I hyped L.J. Fort all season for his ability to find the ball carrier better than anyone on this roster. Despite seeing only 305 snaps, Fort found the ball at a higher rate than any other player at 17.4 percent. We knew Fort was good at running in space, but where he impressed the most was how he played within the Steelers' defensive scheme.
He wasn't just running around wildly and trying to make plays, he was playing within Keith Butler's defense and reading his keys.
Equally reliable for that was Jon Bostic, who led the Steelers in tackles after eight games, but saw a decreased role in favor of Vince Williams, Fort and the Steelers' increased use of defensive backs in the second half of the season.
But his contributions helped the Steelers improve from the No. 10 defense against the run in 2017 to the No. 6 in 2018. Watch how Bostic scrapes down the line against the Ravens as he reads the pulling guard, engages him at the point of attack and makes the tackle for no gain:
Those kind of plays had Bostic in the running for the Pro Bowl at mid-season. The Steelers sat him more late in the season because of his problems in coverage, but he still contributed against the run enough to prove his worth.
The fact that Javon Hargrave, a lineman, made this group is extremely impressive. Normally the inside linebackers should lead the team in "find percentage" because they're taking on offensive linemen and keeping the linebackers clean.
But Hargrave not only did that, he shed blockers and found the ball carrier in the middle of the field. Often teams would focus their efforts on double-teaming Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt because of their size and reputation. So, Hargrave often gets to work against a single interior lineman, and his numbers showed that he took advantage of those chances, with an 11.9 find percentage.
TOP TACKLERS AWARD
Stephon Tuitt, Cam Heyward, Coty Sensabaugh
This award went to the players with the lowest whiff percentages, indicating they were the best at taking advantage of their tackle opportunities. A minimum of 20 finds was required to be eligible for the award. This was done again to weed out players who didn't see the field much.
Tuitt being at the top of this list surprised me, and I didn't realize how rarely he missed a tackle in 2018 until I triple-checked this list. But the film and the numbers support his importance to the defense. Watch how he's able to dominate his gap with a strong jump off the snap, then disengages and brings down Joe Mixon. Hargrave joined him on the tackle:
Heyward doesn't need much explanation because he's been one of the most sure tacklers on this team for years. Even when he wasn't making tackles, Heyward was winning his gaps or drawing the double teams that would open up opportunities for others.
The surprise of this group was undoubtedly Coty Sensabaugh. But when I looked back, it made sense. Sensabaugh never was the gambling cornerback in 2018 — not jumping routes or going for interceptions — because his ball skills are unreliable. Instead, he was the guy the Steelers counted on to stay on his assignment, be the conservative cornerback that would challenge the ball if he was in position, but focused mainly on making the tackle. Only missing on 4.3 percent of his tackles shows value.
While the Steelers still need a second cornerback that can make plays on the ball, Sensabaugh showed he could be a serviceable cornerback that fits into a scheme and that he can quickly bring down his receiver to limit yards after catch.
MR. EFFICIENCY AWARD
L.J. Fort, Jon Bostic, Mike Hilton
This award went to the players that had the highest differential between their find percentage and their whiff percentage, comparing how often a player found the ball and how few times they would miss the tackle.
The best in this regard was Fort, and it speaks to what I mentioned earlier about his improved play within the scheme. Fort read his keys well and stuck to his fundamentals. His 17.4 find-percentage was a full eight points higher than his 9.4 whiff rate. That's huge, and suggests he has value to the team moving forward.
Watch how Fort makes this tackle in the gap, attacking the puling guard and bringing down Austin Ekeler for only a gain of one. He keeps his feet wide to maintain a strong base and drives through the block, then wraps up Ekeler's thighs to make sure he can't escape:
Mike Hilton deserves a nod for this award because he was all over the field. As the slot cornerback, the Steelers would slide him across their formations and give him a wide variety of matchups, but he did a great job of reading offenses and making plays on the ball.
Watch how he reads the option run by Lamar Jackson and comes from the other side of the field to track down the speedy rookie and make the open-field tackle:
That's one of the biggest contributions to the team when it comes to down and distance battles. Though Hilton lacks the ball skills to be a truly dangerous slot cornerback, his tackling is on par with the best of the team.
Bostic's ranking here solidifies his value to the team. If he can improve as a cover linebacker, he might get more opportunities to see the field in 2019. He comes off as a very coachable player that's willing to study and adjust his game, so maybe he can improve in coverage.
I didn't want to create a "worst" award based off this statistic, but I didn't want leave out the players who were the least efficient when it came to this tackling metric. The worst differential between their find percentage and tackle percentage was tied between Bud Dupree and Tyson Alualu, each having a -7 point differential. Right behind them was Davis with a -6.9 point differential.
Dupree was often in position to maintain his edge, but you cannot overlook his lack of production at finding the ball (5.5 find percentage) and how often he missed tackles (12.5 percent).
KINGS OF THE WHIFF
Sean Davis, Tyson Alualu, Joe Haden
This was the main statistic we wanted to focus on for this project. After watching the missed tackles against Leonard Fournette, Jordan Howard and other players in 2017, we wanted to pinpoint which Steelers were the most culpable in missed tackles.
I've mentioned Alualu's and Davis' high whiff percentages on the season. Davis' 16.7 whiff percentage was a significant jump from his 11.4 whiff percentage after eight games. Part of that was because Davis began to sell-out more on his opportunities in hope of forcing a turnover.
He would either dip his head down to lower his shoulder for a big hit or go for the strip, something he didn't do as much early in the season. Part of why Davis was moved back to free safety in 2018 was because of his problems with tackling running backs at the line in 2017, but that definitely showed up again in 2018.
Watch Alvin Kamara's 8-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and how Davis gets a clean shot on Kamara, who is recovering after forcing a missed tackle from Williams. Davis manages to wrap his arms around Kamara, but goes to strip the ball and misses:
Davis' primary contribution to the Steelers was his communication and limiting the impact of deep passing plays.
Alualu, however, showed to be one of the least impactful defenders. He had an average find percentage of 8.4, but his 15.4 whiff percentage was too high. That combination showed a player that didn't do well finding the ball at the line, but also couldn't bring down the ball carrier when he was in position to make a play.
Joe Haden's whiff percentage continued a trend we saw early in the season. He led the team with seven missed tackles in the first half of the season, but managed to finish with a season total of ten. Haden's missed tackles show how aggressive he was in going for the ball, both in coverage and in his attempts to tackle the runner.
He's the one player on the Steelers' defensive roster that doesn't rush the passer and could be considered an X-factor player, so he gets that liberty in the scheme. As a cornerback, he also has the advantage of knowing he has safety help when he's swarming to the ball. He showed improvement with only three missed tackles in the last eight games, but his season numbers still stand out.
