What Does COMB Mean In Football Statistics


Have you ever found yourself looking through football statistics wondering what some of those acronyms mean?

If so you are in the right place because this article is going to answer the question “what does comb mean in football statistics?”

Comb in football statistics is short for combined tackles. In football statistics, tackles are broken down into two categories: solo tackles and assisted tackles.

When counting combined tackles you take the total of assisted tackles plus solo tackles.

It is important to note that some statistic keepers measure tackles differently. In some cases, you will not see a COMB football column when looking at tackles.

In these cases, both assisted tackles and solo tackles are already counted under the tackles column. 

Other common defensive statistics you may see along with COMB include FF for forced fumbles and pressures on the quarterback.

What are assisted tackles?

Now that you know what comb means in football statistics you may be wondering what assisted tackles and solo tackles are.

An assisted tackle occurs when multiple players come together to bring down an opponent. Assisted tackles are not an official stat kept by the NFL. Instead, this statistic is recorded by the home teams statistician at each game.

An assisted tackle can be regarded as being similar to a half-sack. When two players work together to bring an opponent to the ground they will both be awarded.

An example of an assisted tackle could occur with a larger ball carrier. Say one defender has stopped the ball carriers movement and the other brings him to the ground both tacklers will be credited with assisted tackles.

What Is A Solo Tackle In Football?

A solo tackle in football is exactly what it sounds like. When a single defensive player tackles the ball carrier he will be credited with a solo tackle. It does not matter if defenders have contacted the ball carrier previously in the play.

If no other defenders are part of the process of bringing down the ball carrier then a solo tackle will be awarded.

Solo tackles tend to be the higher regarded tackle out of these two statistics. As it is more impressive to bring a ball carrier down on your own rather than to assist in the process.

But once these two tackles are put into the COMB statistic you will not be able to identify solos from assisted tackles.

Do Players Get More Solo Or Assisted Tackles?

Though you may think the answer to this question is assisted tackles the answer is actually solo tackles.

The league leader for solo tackles in the 2020 NFL regular season was Avery Williamson. Williamson racked up 98 solo tackles throughout the season. This was only two solo tackles above the next highest defender.

In the 2020 NFL season, the league leader in assisted tackles was Jaylen Smith of the Dallas Cowboys who racked up a total of 65 assisted tackles throughout the season.

As you can see there is a fairly large difference between the number of tackles in each statistic.

The reason for this is that the majority of plays end when the ball carrier is tackled by a single player. Though assisted tackles may be easier, they happen less frequently ultimately making them less common than solo tackles.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed our guide to understanding what COMB means in football statistics.

If you want to learn more about football statistics like COMB check out our guide to what PCT means or yards from scrimmage.

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