[DC 86]

[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=15456.msg167920#msg167920 date=1471629385]
As long as the leading tackler is not a safety.  That's usually a bad sign.

BC

I agree.  During the 49ers' five Super Bowl seasons, Lott was rarely the top tackler on the team.  He was considerably down the list during the 1984 season, but he led the team in tackles in the 1983 and 1985 non-Super Bowl seasons.  He had literally twice as many tackles those years (108 and 104) than he did in 1984 (51).
[/quote]

The 49ers have won five Super Bowls but Ronnie Lott was only on the first four of those wins (his last season as a 49er was 1990, fifth championship was the 1994 season) and he was the leading tackler on two of those four teams (1981, 1988). The cited low number of tackles in 1984 is misleading. In 1984 he only started 11 games (and missed significant parts of others) due to ankle, toe and shoulder injuries, whereas in 1985 he started all 16 games. Moreover in 1984 he exclusively played left cornerback whereas in 1985 he moved to safety. Not a 49er fan but my favorite all-time non-Stanford player.

[DC 86]

[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=15456.msg167920#msg167920 date=1471629385]
As long as the leading tackler is not a safety.  That's usually a bad sign.

BC

I agree.  During the 49ers' five Super Bowl seasons, Lott was rarely the top tackler on the team.  He was considerably down the list during the 1984 season, but he led the team in tackles in the 1983 and 1985 non-Super Bowl seasons.  He had literally twice as many tackles those years (108 and 104) than he did in 1984 (51).
[/quote]

The 49ers have won five Super Bowls but Ronnie Lott was only on the first four of those wins (his last season as a 49er was 1990, fifth championship was the 1994 season) and he was the leading tackler on two of those four teams (1981, 1988). The cited low number of tackles in 1984 is misleading. In 1984 he only started 11 games (and missed significant parts of others) due to ankle, toe and shoulder injuries, whereas in 1985 he started all 16 games. Moreover in 1984 he exclusively played left cornerback whereas in 1985 he moved to safety. Not a 49er fan but my favorite all-time non-Stanford player.