NFL tries to tackle tackling with a new Next Gen statistic

Every offensive play in the NFL provides a trove of statistics accounting for the yards gained or lost on every throw or run.

Quantifying defensive performance has always been a more difficult proposition outside of splash plays like sacks and takeaways. The official tackle stats tracked by statisticians with binoculars in the press box can't account for the quality of the play and tackles that are missed.

That led the NFL Next Gen Stats department to seek a new measurement based on the loads of data generated by tracking equipment to quantify nearly every aspect of the tackle.

“When you look at our toolbox of metrics that can contextualize and tell the stories of the games within the game, we feel like tackling is an area that really hasn’t been analyzed in good enough stats beyond a tackle was made or it wasn’t made,” said Mike Band, the senior manager of research and analytics for NFL Next Gen Stats.