As it turns out, the Patriots' secondary was actually quite good at tackling this season

Kyle Arrington was one of the top tackling cornerbacks in the NFL this season. Julian Edelman's numbers may also surprise you.

APKyle Arrington was one of the best tacklers in the NFL in 2011.

There was a perceptions that theNew England Patriots defensive backs couldn't make routine tackles this season.

It wasn't without basis. There were moments this season where they failed miserably. Kyle Arrington and Sterling Moore both allowed a Baltimore Ravens receiver to step out of a tackle during the AFC divisional round of the playoffs.

And maybe that's why the perception existed -- when they failed, they did so in spectacular fashion. It wasn't just a whiff here or there, the mistakes were in your face.

But that perception isn't exactly accurate.

Pro Football Focus, an industry leading website that charts every play made during the NFL season, published an article on the best tacklers in the league Wednesday, which inspired me to take a closer look at how the Patriots' secondary performed.

The results were unexpected. The Patriots defensive backs performed well as a whole, with Kyle Arrington grading as one of the best tacklers in the NFL.

Here's a look at how the cornerbacks performed on passing plays:

Kyle Arrington -- 608 snaps, 52 tackles, five assists, one miss
Devin McCourty -- 546 snaps, 60 tackles, four assists, six misses
Antwaun Molden -- 211 snaps, 19 tackles, on assist, three misses
Sterling Moore -- 38 snaps, one tackle, one assist, zero misses
Julian Edelman -- 45 snaps, five tackles, two asissts, zero misses

As you can see, mostly everyone was solid. Molden had some issues, but the rest of group made up for it. The biggest surprise was Edelman, who didn't miss a tackle all year.

The safeties didn't fare as well. Here is a look:

Patrick Chung -- 352 snaps, 26 tackles, six assists, three misses
James Ihedigbo -- 444 snaps, 26 tackles, two assists, six misses
Sterling Moore -- 126 snaps, three tackles, zero assists, one miss
Sergio Brown -- 226 snaps, 16 tackles, zero assists, two misses

Chung missed a tackle for about every eight made, while Ihedigbo missed one for every four made. Those numbers illustrate one of the many reasons that improvements must be made at safety this season.