2011 Tackles Issued by Home Scorekeepers

Untitled Document A major difference between offense only Fantasy Football and IDP Fantasy Football is the subjectivity of the scorekeeping. On the offensive side of the ball, a 10 yard catch is a 10 yard catch. However, on the defensive side of the ball, things become a bit less clear. For example, two defensive players get to the ballcarrier at roughly the same time. Who gets the solo tackle and who gets the assist? Or do both players only get an assist? Or does only one player get a solo? There are multiple options in these scenarios and different scorekeepers have different tendencies (right or wrong). Analyzing each home scorekeeper’s tendencies will better allow us to make informed lineup decisions.

The most subjective defensive stat is the assisted tackle. With this said, this is the particular stat we will be scrutinizing in this
article.

The key listed below is based upon the average amount of assisted tackles awarded per game by each home scorekeeper (both teams combined). The range within the key was determined by taking the average amount of assisted tackles awarded by home scorekeepers across the entire NFL (32) up to that current week and adding +/-12 to it to get an average span. Anything above or below that average span is considered above average or below average respectively.

As you can see from reading the chart, the Bills, Bengals, Colts, Patriots, Raiders, Seahawks, Steelers, and Redskins scorekeepers all award an above average amount of assisted tackles. On the other hand, the scorekeepers for the Broncos, Chiefs, Eagles, Rams, and Buccaneers, all award a below average amount of assists.

In a lot of cases, the disparity between assisted tackles awarded is significant. So far this season, the Colts scorekeeper has given away 218 assisted tackles whereas the Rams scorekeeper has given away only 12!

Taking a quick look at the solo tackle department allows us to see that the Colts scorekeeper does not issue a lot of solo tackles. Rather, he tends to split the tackle between multiple players on most occasions. So for those in leagues that don’t get points for assists, you may want to avoid playing your borderline starters when they are playing in Indy. Conversely, the Patriots scorekeeper tends to not only give out a ton of assists, but also gives out an average amount of solo tackles as well. This means he typically gives one player a solo on a play and another player an assist when applicable. For those in leagues that get points for assisted tackles, this type of scorekeeper is the one you want to exploit in home matchups.

Obviously this inconsistency in defensive scorekeeping is an issue that the NFL needs to address across the league. However, until they do, it’s important to be aware of each scorekeeper’s tendencies and to exploit/avoid them when necessary especially in leagues that reward for assisted tackles.

This article will be updated every Tuesday to reflect the most up-to-date tackles issued. However, scorekeepers rarely change their tendencies over the course of the season and thus the trends that we currently are witnessing are likely to remain for the entirety of the season.

*Home team numbers are listed on the top row, away team numbers are listed on the bottom row

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