Growing up going to GT football games, a phrase stands out that I would use all the time when GT was on defense. I’d be standing up, clapping, and yelling, “Come on D, make a play!” What exactly did I mean? Usually, I wanted a turnover, a sack, or a stop on third down. I wanted us to put the other offense in a bad position or get the ball back for our offense.
Digging into some of the statistics we have at our disposal, there are two that jump out to give us a good glimpse into the “playmaking” ability of a defense: stuff rate and havoc rate.