What is going on with Curtis Lofton? (1 Viewer)

[QB Bills]

He has posted very low tackle numbers this year after being a monster the last couple of years. Anyone have any insight?

 

[Qtip Callahan]

I'm not an expert on alignments, but Weatherspoon and Lofton are always on the field and Weatherspoon seems like he's playing a bit closer to the line in passing downs while Lofton is dropping back further. Maybe similar to Vilma of NO who is dropping deeper and not making as many plays.

 

[Jene Bramel]

He has posted very low tackle numbers this year after being a monster the last couple of years. Anyone have any insight?

Tackle opportunity hasn't been great the past three weeks, rush attempts against have been below average. Lofton is something of a compiler in the mold of a Posluszny or a Ruud. He's not quite a sideline-to-sideline stud and he has strong competition for tackles around him at OLB and in the secondary. To wit:First three games: Tackle Opportunity: 51 / 56 / 58Rush Attempts Faced: 27 / 30 / 36Lofton Solos: 8 / 6 / 7 29 total tacklesLast three games:Tackle Opportunity: 40 / 50 / 48Rush Attempts Faced: 15 / 20 / 25Lofton Solos: 4 / 4 / 325 total tacklesIt's also worth noting that Lofton had eight games with four or fewer tackles in 2009 and 2010. That's in line with what we usually see from even the most consistent LB1 performers.Looks like he might be getting bitten by the assisted tackle bug that's going around, too. Not seeing anything on film that worries me. In fact, I think he's moving very well between the tackles for the most part, without signs of the knee issues that have dogged him at times.

 

[QB Bills]

He has posted very low tackle numbers this year after being a monster the last couple of years. Anyone have any insight?

Tackle opportunity hasn't been great the past three weeks, rush attempts against have been below average. Lofton is something of a compiler in the mold of a Posluszny or a Ruud. He's not quite a sideline-to-sideline stud and he has strong competition for tackles around him at OLB and in the secondary. To wit:First three games: Tackle Opportunity: 51 / 56 / 58Rush Attempts Faced: 27 / 30 / 36Lofton Solos: 8 / 6 / 7 29 total tacklesLast three games:Tackle Opportunity: 40 / 50 / 48Rush Attempts Faced: 15 / 20 / 25Lofton Solos: 4 / 4 / 325 total tacklesIt's also worth noting that Lofton had eight games with four or fewer tackles in 2009 and 2010. That's in line with what we usually see from even the most consistent LB1 performers.Looks like he might be getting bitten by the assisted tackle bug that's going around, too. Not seeing anything on film that worries me. In fact, I think he's moving very well between the tackles for the most part, without signs of the knee issues that have dogged him at times.

Excellent analysis. Thanks for that.I guess the dropoff has been more noticeable in my league since no points are awarded for assists. However, I have also noted that solo tackles are down across the league. Weird.

 

[Jayrod]

Looks like a lot of his old solos are now being credited as assists. He already has 22 assists this season. For reference, he has never had more than 28 for an entire year. That is a significant jump. His solos are down to being on pace for 85 instead of the 92/105 type pace he's had for the last two years.

My league gives significant points for assists as well as solos, so I'm not feeling the crunch, but if your league doesn't give much credit (or none at all) for assists, you may want to temper your expectations back to only 5-6 solos per game instead of 7-9.

And as usual, Lofton isn't much for big plays, but hopefully everyone knew that already.

 

[Jayrod]

Looks like a lot of his old solos are now being credited as assists. He already has 22 assists this season. For reference, he has never had more than 28 for an entire year. That is a significant jump. His solos are down to being on pace for 85 instead of the 92/105 type pace he's had for the last two years.My league gives significant points for assists as well as solos, so I'm not feeling the crunch, but if your league doesn't give much credit (or none at all) for assists, you may want to temper your expectations back to only 5-6 solos per game instead of 7-9.And as usual, Lofton isn't much for big plays, but hopefully everyone knew that already.

Lofton went for 5-5 this week. In seven weeks he has more assists than he had all of last year. And it isn't just home cooking. He has almost half of those assists from road games.

 

[QB Bills]

Looks like a lot of his old solos are now being credited as assists. He already has 22 assists this season. For reference, he has never had more than 28 for an entire year. That is a significant jump. His solos are down to being on pace for 85 instead of the 92/105 type pace he's had for the last two years.My league gives significant points for assists as well as solos, so I'm not feeling the crunch, but if your league doesn't give much credit (or none at all) for assists, you may want to temper your expectations back to only 5-6 solos per game instead of 7-9.And as usual, Lofton isn't much for big plays, but hopefully everyone knew that already.

Lofton went for 5-5 this week. In seven weeks he has more assists than he had all of last year. And it isn't just home cooking. He has almost half of those assists from road games.

So odd. It seems that solo tackles are becoming rare in the NFL. Angerer has been the same way lately.

 

[Jene Bramel]

Looks like a lot of his old solos are now being credited as assists. He already has 22 assists this season. For reference, he has never had more than 28 for an entire year. That is a significant jump. His solos are down to being on pace for 85 instead of the 92/105 type pace he's had for the last two years.My league gives significant points for assists as well as solos, so I'm not feeling the crunch, but if your league doesn't give much credit (or none at all) for assists, you may want to temper your expectations back to only 5-6 solos per game instead of 7-9.And as usual, Lofton isn't much for big plays, but hopefully everyone knew that already.

Lofton went for 5-5 this week. In seven weeks he has more assists than he had all of last year. And it isn't just home cooking. He has almost half of those assists from road games.

So odd. It seems that solo tackles are becoming rare in the NFL. Angerer has been the same way lately.

Been reporting this possibility since our NFL stat crew broke the news here this spring that the NFL was changing how the default method for recording shared tackles. Did an early review three weeks ago in my column. Spent much of this afternoon prepping for an extended look at the issue this week...At the current per game pace...Solo tackles will be down across the league 8.90% this year, while assisted tackles will be up 7.75%. Some stat crews are clearly more responsible for this than others.

 

[johnnyboy8102]

Looks like a lot of his old solos are now being credited as assists. He already has 22 assists this season. For reference, he has never had more than 28 for an entire year. That is a significant jump. His solos are down to being on pace for 85 instead of the 92/105 type pace he's had for the last two years.

My league gives significant points for assists as well as solos, so I'm not feeling the crunch, but if your league doesn't give much credit (or none at all) for assists, you may want to temper your expectations back to only 5-6 solos per game instead of 7-9.

And as usual, Lofton isn't much for big plays, but hopefully everyone knew that already.

Lofton went for 5-5 this week. In seven weeks he has more assists than he had all of last year. And it isn't just home cooking. He has almost half of those assists from road games.

So odd. It seems that solo tackles are becoming rare in the NFL. Angerer has been the same way lately.

This is due to Angerer's schedule and the fact that the Colts are on the field for the entire game. The Colt's home scorekeeper is giving a ridiculous amount of assists.

 

[LargeMouthBass]

No not really, Colts scorekeeper is giving the right amount. It's just that other scorekeepers are stingy.