JK: What about Handling and Passing for the defense ratings?
Parrot: They do play a role, and again less for Man to Man than for the other tactics. Interestingly, 3-2 increases the weight of the Passing skill substantially, whereas 1-3-1 emphasizes Handling (less strongly). So these skills must have a component where good Passing maybe helps to intercept pass attempts, and good Handling is quick hands that can put the ball handler under pressure. And a defensive tactic can re-enforce that.
From the famous "The Parrot Monologues"