re: Can someone explain why Patrick Peterson is so bad?

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Unfortunately, OP, the only thing bad here is your statistical analysis.

First of all, a flat number doesn't tell us anything. We would need to know the rate of targets to touchdowns in order to contextualize the number of TDs he's given up. If he's been targeted 8 times per game (which a cursory glance at targeting data for the most-used WRs seems to indicate is normal), then since the 2012 regular season he's been targeted 352 times. How does 12/352 compare to the other CBs in the league?

Secondly, as already noted, Peterson consistently plays against the other team's best WR. So in fact, we don't even want to compare to other CBs in the league; we want to compare targeting rates with other CBs in the league that consistently go against other WR1s. Where's that data?

Third, why is this the lone metric of Peterson's success as a defender? Certainly the number of points allowed (which is effectively what this measures) is a useful stat, but it doesn't tell the entire story. We should also be looking for yards per attempt allowed (including penalties due to PI and holding) and comparing that to other CBs in the league that consistently go against other WR1s. It's unfortunately not possible to do a complete statistical analysis of Peterson's impact, because part of a cornerback's impact is innately negative (that is, arguably their biggest impact is in forcing teams to throw away from them, which can't meaningfully be interpreted by conventional stats); but it's possible to do a partial analysis that holds some weight.

This is not an example of such analysis.

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