In order to properly evaluate your team’s tackling in season, identifying and addressing yards after contact (YAC) allowed by your team is key.

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Rob Everett, former assistant coach of the AAF’s Memphis Express spoke recently with the host of USA Football’s Coach and Coordinator podcast Keith Grabowski on how YAC can be indicative of your teams tackling capabilities. “From a data standpoint, the yards after first contact is crucial,” says Everett. “Whoever you say your primary tackler is, [look at however] many yards came after when that contact was made or should have been made, and that will tell you a lot about who you are as a tackler.”

The make/miss percentage is a place coaches generally go to evaluate how their tacklers are doing. While this can be useful, Everett tends to shy away from that in order to focus on YAC. “You could have a high make/miss percentage, but be a bad tackler,” says the former defensive coordinator at Bridgeport College (Va.). “If you’re giving up 4 yards after contact every time on average, and you break it down and you’re giving up 4 yards when you’re making tackles, that’s not a good situation.”

Emphasizing YAC can improve your team defensively in a variety of ways. “[YAC] can also prove a lot of points to your team about explosion plays, about the importance of tackling properly and using it within the scheme,” affirms Everett. “In my time in the AAF that was the big thing we used to open some eyes. Because you could say, ‘Oh, we need to improve at tackling,’ but then you sit there and say, ‘Here’s your YAC number, here’s the explosion plays, here’s the actual yardage that we gave up because of missed tackles and because of explosion plays.’ You can get some heads turned because you have data to back up what you’re saying.”

YAC is an inevitable statistic that can add up, but if controlled can be extremely beneficial. “There’s always going to be some YAC that’s going to be there, I don’t think zero is a realistic number, but [the thought is], ‘What could happen if you lower this number?’” says Everett. “Elimination of first downs, elimination of explosion plays, as Coach [Vince DiGaetano] likes to say, ‘What would happen if a 6-foot guy fell forward 30 times?’ What does it do to that number? And the opposite side is true. What does it do if we eliminate that number or cut that number in half?”

As far as numbers go for YAC allowed, Everett has one he tends to follow and tries to adhere to. “I use that number of 1 yard per tackle,” adds the former high school state champion defensive coordinator. “As an average, I think that’s a decent one to chase … Over the course of the data that seems to be a good number to start with.”