[BostonCard]

[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=17573.msg204148#msg204148 date=1507086252]
I agree tackles is a bad metric.  Some of it is dumb luck... how often is a play run towards you.  And how often a play is run towards you may depend a bit in how poor a defender you are.  That being said, when Blake Martinez led the league in tackles a couple years ago, we took it as a mark that he was a pretty good player ("had a nose for the ball"), so there is something to the stat on an individual level (especially among the front 7).

Well, except Martinez contributed more obviously good  defensive plays. (Which I'll categorize as TFLs, sacks, passes broken up, and picks.) His senior year featured 6.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 6 PBU, 1 pick. During his junior year -- which is Perez's eligibility right now -- he collected 7 TFL, 4.5 sacks, 3 picks, 2 PBU.

Perez has never contributed much by way of those type of impact plays. Saying Martinez is similar to Perez in the statistic of "tackles" is like comparing a Porsche to a Ford Taurus in the category of "number of wheels."
[/quote]

I think that is mischaracterizing what I said.  I just said that tackles as a metric might not be as misleading a stat (generally), though it might be in Perez' case.  Here are the team's leading tackler and (if the leading tackler wasn't a linebacker) the leading tackler among linebackers the last 10 years:
2017: Harrison Phillips, Bobby Okereke
2016: Solomon Thomas, Peter Kalambayi
2015: Blake Martinez
2014: Blake Martinez
2013: Shayne Skov
2012: Shayne Skov
2011: Jared Lancaster
2010: Shayne Skov
2009: Bo McNally, Shayne Skov
2008: Bo McNally, Pat Maynor

Looking at the list, you can reasonably say that having a lot of tackles correlated with being a good player (perhaps Lancaster the year Skov was injured might be the weakest player on the list).  Perez is fourth on the team in tackles, second amongst linebackers.  Last year, that would have been Alfieri/Kalambayi, the year before Kodi Whitfield/Kalambayi, 2014 Tarpley/Anderson, 2013 Lyons/Tarpley, 2012 Terrence Brown/Chase Thomas.  By and large you don't see bad players get on the list at the levels that Perez is.  5 tackles per game would have led the team last year, would have been second in 2015, fourth in 2014, fourth in 2013, third in 2012.

Another data point... Perez last year, when he was widely acknowledged to have been... not so good only had 28 tackles over the season (20 solo, 8 assisted), good for 15th on the team, and 7th among linebackers, and less than half his production rate this year.

I get what you are saying about impact plays, but it is hard to put that in context of what he is being asked to do (for example, it is hard for an inside linebacker to get a sack if he is not asked to blitz).  I think if you are talking about red flags for Perez, the lack of pass break-ups and interceptions given the number of times he's dropped into coverage is a concern.

BC

[BostonCard]

[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=17573.msg204148#msg204148 date=1507086252]
I agree tackles is a bad metric.  Some of it is dumb luck... how often is a play run towards you.  And how often a play is run towards you may depend a bit in how poor a defender you are.  That being said, when Blake Martinez led the league in tackles a couple years ago, we took it as a mark that he was a pretty good player ("had a nose for the ball"), so there is something to the stat on an individual level (especially among the front 7).

Well, except Martinez contributed more obviously good  defensive plays. (Which I'll categorize as TFLs, sacks, passes broken up, and picks.) His senior year featured 6.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 6 PBU, 1 pick. During his junior year -- which is Perez's eligibility right now -- he collected 7 TFL, 4.5 sacks, 3 picks, 2 PBU.

Perez has never contributed much by way of those type of impact plays. Saying Martinez is similar to Perez in the statistic of "tackles" is like comparing a Porsche to a Ford Taurus in the category of "number of wheels."
[/quote]

I think that is mischaracterizing what I said.  I just said that tackles as a metric might not be as misleading a stat (generally), though it might be in Perez' case.  Here are the team's leading tackler and (if the leading tackler wasn't a linebacker) the leading tackler among linebackers the last 10 years:
2017: Harrison Phillips, Bobby Okereke
2016: Solomon Thomas, Peter Kalambayi
2015: Blake Martinez
2014: Blake Martinez
2013: Shayne Skov
2012: Shayne Skov
2011: Jared Lancaster
2010: Shayne Skov
2009: Bo McNally, Shayne Skov
2008: Bo McNally, Pat Maynor

Looking at the list, you can reasonably say that having a lot of tackles correlated with being a good player (perhaps Lancaster the year Skov was injured might be the weakest player on the list).  Perez is fourth on the team in tackles, second amongst linebackers.  Last year, that would have been Alfieri/Kalambayi, the year before Kodi Whitfield/Kalambayi, 2014 Tarpley/Anderson, 2013 Lyons/Tarpley, 2012 Terrence Brown/Chase Thomas.  By and large you don't see bad players get on the list at the levels that Perez is.  5 tackles per game would have led the team last year, would have been second in 2015, fourth in 2014, fourth in 2013, third in 2012.

Another data point... Perez last year, when he was widely acknowledged to have been... not so good only had 28 tackles over the season (20 solo, 8 assisted), good for 15th on the team, and 7th among linebackers, and less than half his production rate this year.

I get what you are saying about impact plays, but it is hard to put that in context of what he is being asked to do (for example, it is hard for an inside linebacker to get a sack if he is not asked to blitz).  I think if you are talking about red flags for Perez, the lack of pass break-ups and interceptions given the number of times he's dropped into coverage is a concern.

BC