Several NFL teams pay the website ProFootballFocus.com to perform football analytics on a swath of topics. The website has clout in the football world.
On Wednesday, PFF posted its overall tackling efficiency rankings, and the Cleveland Browns were ranked No. 1 in the NFL.
On 1,118 snaps, the Browns only missed 102 tackles, good for a .086 missed tackle percentage.
Mike Pettine and defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil stressed to players the Browns will be the toughest team on the field each Sunday, and the Play Like a Brown mantra developed into a full-blown competition.
The Browns had their issues shutting down the run the season, but there's no denying this side of the ball was responsible for several of the October and November wins.
"I think our guys are getting more comfortable in the scheme," O'Neil said in November. "I think they're learning to play with each other. They're trusting the coaching. They're trusting the technique. They're bringing the technique out onto the field.
"I think we're starting to get to a point where we're really starting to bring that attitude, that defensive attitude, every play, every game to the field that we know we need to bring to be a dominant and a successful defense in this league."
The issue in this statistic is that the 1,118 defensive snaps logged by the Browns' defense was the highest total in the league. Because the offense was sputtering, it made things more difficult defensively.
The Browns tackle leaders went as follows: Donte Whitner (106), Craig Robertson (99), Karlos Dansby (93), Chris Kirksey (81), Joe Haden (73), Buster Skrine (67), Paul Kruger (53), Tashaun Gipson (52), Desmond Bryant (49) and Jabaal Sheard (44).
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What we posted on Wednesday
Jimmy Haslam addresses Johnny Manziel, Brian Hoyer. Read more. *
How John DeFilippo rose the ranks to become Browns offensive coordinator. Read the story.
One sentence about every player under contract on the Browns roster. Read More.
Jimmy Haslam fully supports Ray Farmer. Read the story.
Browns Tweet of the day
