Jaylon Smith 3rd in tackles among all linebackers in NFL

[Sydla]

Tackles are a pretty horrible way to judge a LB IMO. Its like using lack of interceptions to claim a CB sucks.

 

[streetcredit]

He's also ranked 1st in high fives and running in the wrong direction

 

[phildadon86]

but the stats say otherwise...

funny thing about stats...they speak truth.

Go look at the OL stats and tell me Philbin is doing a horrible job again. You cant use stats when you feel like it. They are an all around thing.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Tackles are a stupid stat. Every stadium does it differently

Yeah, anybody remember Jessie Tuggle of the Falcons? He regularly was credited with like 20 tackles in games by the Falcons, but looking at his official stats on Pro Football Reference he averaged like 12 in his best years.

Team stats can't be trusted all the time....

 

[McKDaddy]

funny thing about stats...they speak truth.

no, they speak what the person wants them to speak unless the audience knows the context. in this case the audience is well versed in how irrelevant & misleading this stat is. Jaylon is horrible. That is the truth.

 

[McKDaddy]

You know the hate Jaylen gets is because he doesn’t look as good as he did a few years ago. When you look around the league....or hell just look at the teams we play...linebacker play just isn’t what it once was. As crazy as it may sound...Jaylon is closer to league average than he is the worst.

I don't know about that. everytime i watch other teams one of the first thing that jumps out to me is their LB's sticking their nose in the hole & popping the ball carrier. and I'm not talking about highly touted LBers, I'm talking guys i don't even recognize.

 

[Carson]

Guy is a trash player, it'll be good to see him gone.

This.

I loved Jaylon and his story. Him and LVE were studs what seems like forever ago.

Now he’s soft and too finesse

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I don't know about that. everytime i watch other teams one of the first thing that jumps out to me is their LB's sticking their nose in the hole & popping the ball carrier. and I'm not talking about highly touted LBers, I'm talking guys i don't even recognize.

Yeah I’m not seeing it. Even look at the PFF grades...most linebackers are in the 50-60 range. I’m not saying Jaylon isn’t flawed. And we could get better linebacker play. I’m just saying that position is not getting great play around the league. There’s no Patrick Willis or Ray Lewis’s out there. There’s no Luke Kuechly. Hell there’s not even a Sean Lee out here.

 

[Redline360]

Tackling stats don't mean when there made in the 2nd or 3rd level. This however speaks volumes about the DL.

As someone else stated we can see who the fantasy people vs real world people. Its like looking at a quarterbacks passing yards.

Poor angles, unable to read plays, guesses incorrectly 90% of the time, and runs like he has a diaper full of sh it. Average at best

 

[Future]

the #JaylonHaters hate that stat....

it undermines their hate.

I don't hate it, it's entirely meaningless.

He stinks.

they are solo tackles....

Tackle numbers are subjective. He has 25 more on PFF than NFL.com, and 23 more than ESPN lol

Tackles is a useless stat, and using it to justify Jaylon's play is...bad.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

no, they speak what the person wants them to speak unless the audience knows the context. in this case the audience is well versed in how irrelevant & misleading this stat is. Jaylon is horrible. That is the truth.

Yes, context is essential. If Smith makes the tackle, wherever and however he does it, then it goes down in the stats. But say he misses the tackle in the backfield, but the runner, etc. has to slow up past the line because the safety is in his way, and Smith tackles him after a 10 yard gain and a first down, then, well it's a tackle, but not a good play, he missed the opportunity to make a tackle for a loss.

Or if a runner is strung out down the line for 20 yards and Smith gets off the ground, again because he missed the tackle earlier, and chases him down and tackles the runner a yard before he would have gone out of bounds, it's still credited to Smith, but the play was really made by whoever kept the runner from cutting up field, and didn't do anything except keep the clock running (which maybe the Cowboys didn't want).

I don't pay much attention to tackle stats, just for those reasons....

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

but the stats say otherwise...

funny thing about stats...they speak truth.

LOL....

There is a VERY famous quote....and true to many critical thinkers:
"there are lies damn lies and statistics"

I like hwo the OP didn't even give meaning to the quote. Just threw it out there. Bait.

 

[McKDaddy]

Yeah I’m not seeing it. Even look at the PFF grades...most linebackers are in the 50-60 range. I’m not saying Jaylon isn’t flawed. And we could get better linebacker play. I’m just saying that position is not getting great play around the league. There’s no Patrick Willis or Ray Lewis’s out there. There’s no Luke Kuechly. Hell there’s not even a Sean Lee out here.

well no, not compared to those guys. you are putting out some big time names. but their is an ocean between Jaylon's play and what i'm seeing from other LBers. I don't say this lightly but he is a player that i would cut & feel like whoever replaced him was going to be better. That's how bad i think he is.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

LOL....

There is a VERY famous quote....and true to many critical thinkers:
"there are lies damn lies and statistics"

I like hwo the OP didn't even give meaning to the quote. Just threw it out there. Bait.

I took stats in college. Doesn't take long to learn stats can be made to sit up and bark like a dog if you know what you're doing. Sometimes numbers look so logical but when you apply statistical analysis, the answer is not what "logic" would dictate...

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Yes, context is essential. If Smith makes the tackle, wherever and however he does it, then it goes down in the stats. But say he misses the tackle in the backfield, but the runner, etc. has to slow up past the line because the safety is in his way, and Smith tackles him after a 10 yard gain and a first down, then, well it's a tackle, but not a good play, he missed the opportunity to make a tackle for a loss.

Or if a runner is strung out down the line for 20 yards and Smith gets off the ground, again because he missed the tackle earlier, and chases him down and tackles the runner a yard before he would have gone out of bounds, it's still credited to Smith, but the play was really made by whoever kept the runner from cutting up field, and didn't do anything except keep the clock running (which maybe the Cowboys didn't want).

I don't pay much attention to tackle stats, just for those reasons....

That's exactly correct. Throwing out a stat is meaningless....unless you describe the situation in which you are using it. Dincanlso doesn't understand this philosophy. Probably because he's a notre dame homer or something.

If I say this light bulb puts out 85% UV. Is that a "good" stat" or "bad" stat? Depends what you are using it for.

If a LB makes a thousand tackles....but they all went for 1st downs....well...very poor LINE BACKING.

 

[gimmesix]

That's exactly what my eyes have been viewing all year.....poor interior line play reflects on LBs, including LVE and Coach.

It's kind of hard to make tackles at the line of scrimmage when you have a 300-pound man blocking your way 5 yards downfield. Better DTs would allow Jaylon more clean runs to the ball. That he's fighting through traffic and blocks and still making a lot of tackles is a good thing. Hopefully, if we improve the interior, where he's making those tackles also will improve.

I think this idea that both Jaylon and LVE were good but now they both suck should tell us that's not the whole story, especially when we consider who we've got playing in front of them on the line.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

I took stats in college. Doesn't take long to learn stats can be made to sit up and bark like a dog if you know what you're doing. Sometimes numbers look so logical but when you apply statistical analysis, the answer is not what "logic" would dictate...

Myt boss is a statistician of sorts. A quality manager and COO. We keep a ton of records in our laboratory, including XL spreadsheets. When he makes the quality control charts, he makes the UQL and LQL movable....just in case you get some minor outliers. He can fool the auditors easily.

They look at the charts and see all the "stats" are in acceptable limits. Their eyes lie. They either don't have the time or inclination to dig down into what the stats really say.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

It's kind of hard to make tackles at the line of scrimmage when you have a 300-pound man blocking your way 5 yards downfield. Better DTs would allow Jaylon more clean runs to the ball. That he's fighting through traffic and blocks and still making a lot of tackles is a good thing. Hopefully, if we improve the interior, where he's making those tackles also will improve.

I think this idea that both Jaylon and LVE were good but now they both suck should tell us that's not the whole story, especially when we consider who we've got playing in front of them on the line.

Why can't Jaylon be where the 300 pound man...ISN'T. Is it that hard to not run directly at a 300 pound man?

I still say there's something wrong with his running and planting. It doesn't look right to me. And I think it's effecting his leverage, speed, and quickness.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Just because a stat is true doesn't give you the whole picture, often times.

Let's say you have a two man foot race. Person A beats person B. A's the winner, right?

But you can also say "B finished second in a foot race, A was next to last". Gives you a different feel doesn't it?

It's a true statement that person A finished next to last, but unless you know it was a two man race, not a 10 man or such race, you won't have a true understanding of the event....

 

[rnr_honeybadger]

How many of those tackles were in the backfield vs 7 - 10 yards downfield?