FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Glance at the NFL statistics this week and you'll see Atlanta Falcons inside linebacker Paul Worrilow atop the league with 29 combined tackles.

It would appear to be a significant accomplishment for a second-year player who came to the Falcons as an undrafted free agent out of Delaware. But the only number Worrilow sees is four: He's counted four missed tackles for himself through the first two games.

One was during Sunday's 24-10 loss at Cincinnati, when Worrilow and strong safety William Moore both missed a chance to corral Bengals running back Jeremy Hill on a checkdown from quarterback Andy Dalton. A 3-yard gain suddenly became an 18-yard explosive play with Hill's 15 yards after the catch.

"It was just a poor tackle attempt, thinking that you were going to be able to take a shot at a guy," Worrilow explained. "Obviously, we both whiffed. That's something that I usually don't do. I usually try to just secure the tackle and get the guy down. ... That's one that sticks out that you'll never do again."

Another against the Bengals occurred when Worrilow couldn't get off a block in time to wrap up Giovani Bernard on a fourth-quarter run.

"There was a penalty on the play, and it came back," Worrilow said. "The play might not count on the stat sheet, but that's one of those that plays over and over in your mind as you're preparing for the next game."

Worrilow deserves plenty of credit for not being content with his play. He could have been somewhat comfortable following a solid rookie season, during which he led the Falcons in tackles with 127 and had back-to-back 19-tackle efforts against Carolina and Seattle. Instead, he never became consumed by those gaudy numbers after his team finish the season 4-12.

Falcons coach Mike Smith appreciates Worrilow's self-criticism and willingness to strive for perfection.

"I think the guys that are really truly driven, it's not about what they did well, it's about what they can improve on," Smith said. "Paul is that way. He's a guy who is hypercritical of his play. And when you are hypercritical, I think it's a good trait to have as a football player.

"Is he too critical? Absolutely not. I like that. He's a guy that studies the game extremely hard. For a second-year player, I think he's light years ahead of other people that I've been around in terms of his understanding of the game."

Worrilow needs to be a sure tackler Thursday night against Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers boast a rather elusive running back in Bobby Rainey, who is coming off a 144-yard rushing outing against St. Louis. Rainey rushed for a career-high 163 yards and scored three touchdowns in a 41-28 win over the Falcons last season.

"He's definitely a guy you have to wrap up," Worrilow said of Rainey. "A lot of times I see they (Rainey and Doug Martin) take on the contact and they're going forward for 3, 4 more yards. Like you always teach, wrapping up and not diving is something that's going to be big."

Worrilow will try his best to do his part. His teammates have to follow suit.