So he played like a "safety" is what you're saying?
I'm telling you right now, anytime a safety makes 140 tackles (behind an atrocious front seven and next to an even more sad array of free safeties) and not only gets completely over looked for his good play, but is even dragged over the coals, people don't know what the hell they're talking about.
Church took a steaming dump on Cam Chancellor's play last season and everyone is all in a tizzy over Chancellor.
Typically that front 7 is making the tackles. The safety gets opportunities when those front 7 guys fail. Lynch and Chancellor would have more tackles if the likes of Nickerson, Sapp, Brooks, Wagner, McFarland, Avril, Bennett, etc were missing tackles and staying blocked. They got the tackles. Guys like Laurence, Sims, Hayden and Wynn missed a whole lot of tackles. Church got the tackles.
Sherman, Barber, Abraham and Maxwell can all tackle as well. Corners are supposed to make tackles in the short zone but when your front 7 and corners fail like Carr, Claiborne and Scandrick did then your safety is the last line of defense. Bad defenses will see safeties with inflated tackles. He is a very solid physical safety no doubt but gloating over tackle stats is ironic.
What Church isn't is fast or rangy. Chancellor and Lynch were and they made plays on the ball which Church does not. When Church turns the ball over in the air or high points deflections then he will be considered on that level. He just doesn't have the wheels. He doesn't have the wheels to get outside from the hash and it was a big reason why big receivers like Jeffries and Megatron destroyed us too.
