Redskins Talk About Practicing Tackling
In yesterday's links post, I wrote briefly about an Associated Press article that put forth the idea that not tackling in practice was leading to shoddy tackling in games. Here's a quick excerpt to give you the flavor of the thing, but it's really worth reading:
Sure, [not tackling in practice] keeps everybody healthy, but some Sundays can look pretty ragged. Many players get a chance to tackle at full speed only during exhibition games. It shows once the regular season begins.But one thing I noticed as I read it through is that most of the quotes come from people who definitely aren't missing tackles on Sundays: coaches. Since missed tackles have been a problem for the Redskins defense at points this year, I thought it would be worth asking some of those guys for their thoughts on this article's premise.
"It shows a whole bunch," Redskins safeties coach Steve Jackson said. "That's one of the fundamental skills. A lot of people don't tackle now because of the salary cap. You lose a guy because of a tackling drill, you're the dumbest guy on the planet."
The players I talked to were almost unanimously opposed to tackling in practice, although their reasons varied.
Cornerback Carlos Rogers:
Would tackling in practice improve tackling in games?
"I don't think so. I think, defense, you get yourself more in position. You know what I'm saying? You can't just take a guy to the ground like you're in college. You hit a guy here, you got too many injuries that can occur. You can't tackle a guy like that, because we need him more on Sunday than anything.
"Here I think we just always make sure we're in position. Once we watch film, you'll kind of know if you'd make the tackle. You wrap him up, you should have your cavalry coming.
"As a DB, you do more things with leverage. You're in Cover 2? Make sure you're outside the guy. Don't let him beat you outside if he catches the ball, because you've got everybody else coming from inside. And I think those are things we practice on, the fundamentals of making sure you're in the right position.
"Even with passes, you know, a lot of guys 'catch' passes in practice. But we know we're right there, that should be a hit or a knockdown or a caused fumble."
"I don't think so. I think, defense, you get yourself more in position. You know what I'm saying? You can't just take a guy to the ground like you're in college. You hit a guy here, you got too many injuries that can occur. You can't tackle a guy like that, because we need him more on Sunday than anything.
"Here I think we just always make sure we're in position. Once we watch film, you'll kind of know if you'd make the tackle. You wrap him up, you should have your cavalry coming.
"As a DB, you do more things with leverage. You're in Cover 2? Make sure you're outside the guy. Don't let him beat you outside if he catches the ball, because you've got everybody else coming from inside. And I think those are things we practice on, the fundamentals of making sure you're in the right position.
"Even with passes, you know, a lot of guys 'catch' passes in practice. But we know we're right there, that should be a hit or a knockdown or a caused fumble."
Safety Kareem Moore:
Would tackling in practice make any difference to tackling in games?
"No. Tackling is, like, an attitude. If you want to tackle you can tackle. You just got to, man, go out there and tackle. Period. You made it this far, man, you know how to tackle."
"No. Tackling is, like, an attitude. If you want to tackle you can tackle. You just got to, man, go out there and tackle. Period. You made it this far, man, you know how to tackle."
Defensive tackle Anthony Montgomery:
This article suggests that tackling in practice would improve in-game tackling. Do you--
"They're wrong. It's an attitude. When you approach a guy, you either got the want-to to get him down or you don't, you're one of them guys who closes your and drop your head and you're gonna miss tackles. But a guy like London Fletcher, he has attitude when it comes to tackles; you don't see him missing many tackles.
"Attitude, though. You been tackling since you was eight years old; you gotta have the attitude to go tackle.
"Now, at the same time, you gotta give credit to the guys with the ball, too. They get paid to make you miss. A guy like Darren Sproles ain't gonna be an easy tackle. But sometimes, it's not about, like, 'Aw, they shoulda practiced tackling 'cause he missed that tackle.' This guy just, he's a shifty guy and got moves."
But is not tackling in practice essentially practicing missed tackles?
"Nah, that's a high school excuse or something. You a pro. Ain't no rememberin' nothing. When you approaching a guy, you need to be goin' to hit him and come with bad intentions. That's a high school excuse."
"They're wrong. It's an attitude. When you approach a guy, you either got the want-to to get him down or you don't, you're one of them guys who closes your and drop your head and you're gonna miss tackles. But a guy like London Fletcher, he has attitude when it comes to tackles; you don't see him missing many tackles.
"Attitude, though. You been tackling since you was eight years old; you gotta have the attitude to go tackle.
"Now, at the same time, you gotta give credit to the guys with the ball, too. They get paid to make you miss. A guy like Darren Sproles ain't gonna be an easy tackle. But sometimes, it's not about, like, 'Aw, they shoulda practiced tackling 'cause he missed that tackle.' This guy just, he's a shifty guy and got moves."
But is not tackling in practice essentially practicing missed tackles?
"Nah, that's a high school excuse or something. You a pro. Ain't no rememberin' nothing. When you approaching a guy, you need to be goin' to hit him and come with bad intentions. That's a high school excuse."
Cornerback DeAngelo Hall:
Would tackling in practice improve tackling in games?
"Obviously, if you don't practice something you're not gonna to be great at it, but we don't practice live tackling.
"It would be kind of hard, too, to keep banging and banging. You can get banged up. All these guys making all this money just keep banging up against each other in practice just so you got some good practice tackles. There's so much more to this game than just that.
"Tackling's got a lot to do with just want-to, it's not just technique and to practice at it.
"I mean, I missed a couple and I've got fingers that are so [jacked] up I can't grab and hold on to nothing. So if I can't hit you and shoot you down it is going to be hard for me to pull you down. And all you do is hurt 'em even worse if you keep practicing."
"Obviously, if you don't practice something you're not gonna to be great at it, but we don't practice live tackling.
"It would be kind of hard, too, to keep banging and banging. You can get banged up. All these guys making all this money just keep banging up against each other in practice just so you got some good practice tackles. There's so much more to this game than just that.
"Tackling's got a lot to do with just want-to, it's not just technique and to practice at it.
"I mean, I missed a couple and I've got fingers that are so [jacked] up I can't grab and hold on to nothing. So if I can't hit you and shoot you down it is going to be hard for me to pull you down. And all you do is hurt 'em even worse if you keep practicing."
The only dissenter? The only guy who wanted to go out there and hit people in practice as well as in games? Brace yourselves, because this is going to come as a complete and utter shock, but ...
Safety LaRon Landry:
There was an article the other day that suggested that tackling in practice would improve in-game tackling. Do you think that's true?
"I mean, I agree, man. I think that tackling should be repped to a certain extent.
"To me, this is the NFL. I mean, from middle school to high school, they don't have no comparison to the league. You step the game up, and each level gets more competitive and the players accrue more value.
"Under Saban, we tackled on Monday through Thursday. Only day we didn't tackle was Friday, which was no pads. So, I mean, you tackle the scout team. You bring them to the ground.
"We done it when Les Miles came. We did it under Bo Pellini. Under Coach Will Muschamp. I mean, we tackled all the time.
"And it was fun. For the scout team too, it was fun.
"I think that's how you do get your feels, that how you do get your edge coming into Sunday.
"If you got guys running down the seam, and they looking for the go [route], looking back over their shoulder, you can't hit a guy like that. But they running the dig, they should protect themselves as well, understand that they're gettin' hit, you know? 'Cause come gametime they gonna tell the defender, 'Hey, man, you can't hit me like that.'
"It prepares the offensive guys as well as the defensive guys. It's a two-way road to me, and I don't see the problem with it. It becomes a problem when it's too extensive."
"I mean, I agree, man. I think that tackling should be repped to a certain extent.
"To me, this is the NFL. I mean, from middle school to high school, they don't have no comparison to the league. You step the game up, and each level gets more competitive and the players accrue more value.
"Under Saban, we tackled on Monday through Thursday. Only day we didn't tackle was Friday, which was no pads. So, I mean, you tackle the scout team. You bring them to the ground.
"We done it when Les Miles came. We did it under Bo Pellini. Under Coach Will Muschamp. I mean, we tackled all the time.
"And it was fun. For the scout team too, it was fun.
"I think that's how you do get your feels, that how you do get your edge coming into Sunday.
"If you got guys running down the seam, and they looking for the go [route], looking back over their shoulder, you can't hit a guy like that. But they running the dig, they should protect themselves as well, understand that they're gettin' hit, you know? 'Cause come gametime they gonna tell the defender, 'Hey, man, you can't hit me like that.'
"It prepares the offensive guys as well as the defensive guys. It's a two-way road to me, and I don't see the problem with it. It becomes a problem when it's too extensive."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-06-2009 @ 5:28PM
fsaunders said...
MeAngelo: "I mean, I missed a couple..."
"missed" would suggest that an effort was made.
We wouldn't want all of those "money" players to get banged up in practice. That might impact their impressive ability to effectively execute on gameday... uh....
Either go find 10 more LaRons - or trade him to a team with the same level of swagger he has.
MeAngelo and Los - as effective in the secondary as Cerrato is in the draft room.
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11-07-2009 @ 11:04AM
dcoon said...
Fsaunders - hhmm, if deangelo and carlos are that bad in the secondary. Why do we have the #2 pass defense in the league? Secondly, you say go get 10 LaRons? Landry has underachieved this season like crazy. I think Landry is a great safety, but you seem to forget that he misses stuff too. He's missed numerous tackles this season due to looking for the big hit. So if you want to criticize one, criticize them all. I'm sure if you were out there, you could do so much better...
Lay off. The defense has played well all season, its not their fault the offense is making them stay on the field so much with turnovers and lack of first downs. I've seen quite a difference in DeAngelo from his past to now, he actually tackles with his body now and wrapping up instead of arm tackling. He's actually quite aggressive in tackling. He was not that for the Falcons.
I'm sick of listening to "fans" piss and moan and bash EVERYONE on the team. It's ridiculous. Either you're a fan, or you're not. I'm not always happy with the quality of play, but I still am a fan and can see some positives in what they do. Get over the losses and move the hell on. You all seem to think its so easy to do everything in the NFL. Actually be a fan for once, and support the team, rather than complain about the negatives. Of all things to complain about with the team, the defense is not really one of them...
11-06-2009 @ 6:31PM
dready1rasta said...
C'mon man, you don't expect Pimp Daddy Haberdasher to get grass stains in his threads do you? Can't be fly with grass stains don't cha know.
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11-06-2009 @ 7:05PM
gmc57hotrod said...
To keep a skill sharp it must be practiced however a player of Fletcher caliber in his position stays sharp because thats what he does week in and out, play after play and I agree its his attitude its in his blood. He is a solid asset. If the coach wasn't tied up in play call and in blinders with focus only on QB he could see that some players need additional time to hone the skill. He would see the ones that lack the skill on tape and call them to it on practice day. Fingers hurt or not a good shoulder to the knees will work just fine. I hope Zorn will start seeing the big picture now and start head coaching. If we start in Atlanta with the fire we showed in the final quarter with Philly we will win the game. I wonder if Zorn had them practice ball protection or is that to high school. It lost the game last week and it looked high school. A hard good tackel to me is more football than a pretty catch, run, kick or throw any day. The heart of football is seen in the tackel and this is what is lacking.
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11-06-2009 @ 9:42PM
samoskinz said...
Wow, I didn't know they don't tackle during practice!!! No wonder they play cold during Sundays. Tackling is an attitude yes, but it is not only in the head my friend, you gotta get some hits to really prepare yourself or else, come gameday, what you are thinking and what actually happens become 2 different. See games vs Giants and Rams. Poor tackling technique and angle and plain falling off tackles.
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11-06-2009 @ 9:55PM
Eric B said...
love landry's outlook.
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11-06-2009 @ 11:45PM
Mike said...
I can't remember where I read it at but I read an article some time ago and they were comparing teams that tackle during practice and teams that don't tackle during practice and the teams who tackled were MUCH better teams record wise and had more success on defense. I think it was about college teams but can't remember where I read it.
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11-07-2009 @ 8:56AM
cruisinrog said...
I think Landry's right-you got to have attitude. They should make London Fletcher their tackling coach. BTW, if he doesn't make the Pro Bowl this year, there's no justice in the NFL.
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11-07-2009 @ 6:52PM
pryce_inc said...
I wrote a blog about London, you should check it ou.
11-07-2009 @ 9:04AM
ksshipe said...
This is a great blog.....let's focus on defense....what are they 5th in the league and stay on the field 75% percent of the time...let's not mention JC because it's not his fault. His O-line is peicework...his running game is not good. He is in the wrong system. cooley is hurt. the play calling doesn;t fit his style. what else have I heard. Let's not forget the sore ankles. Oh and what about the systems. how many now 4. We can't expect him to be an good with all of this going on. Something tells me if we had a better QB all the sudden the running game would pick up. No more 8 in the box. Sacks would go down because a good QB makes quick decisions and has a quick release. I have a feeling drew bress would find a way to score a few more points in the same situation. Hey that's just me. I laughed my ass off when the article on JC today compaired him to Matt ryan. Beleive it or not apperently Campbell has better rating than Ryan. Granted Ryan is a second year player and shouldn't be as far a long. But If I had my choice I would trade Cambpell and what ever else they wanted (minis Haynesworth) for Ryan. Something tells me Atlanta wouldn't even consider it. And the reason is as you watch Ryan play. He makes big plays at big times. Campbell on the other had makes all his completions when it really doesn't matter. Rarely does he make a throw when it mattters. He is a bum. Join me to end the Campbell experiment. Bye the way matt Rayan has thrown for nearly 300 more yards and has less than half the sacks ol slow release cant read defense has. Let's not even talk about touchdown passes. Let's stop looking at all the excuses Campbell has for failing and start excepting the fact that he is a mid level College QB that has got all teh breaks and after five years in the league still looks like a confussed rookie with a slow release and poor reads.
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11-09-2009 @ 4:45PM
Skinsfan43 said...
Now what do Jason Campbell have to do with tackling in practice, you Jason Campbell haters need to go and get a life, Let's see Brees get back there with the OL we have and see how many plays he make, For all of you that know the game so well and know that he is not a leader and he can't complete this and that, I'm sure you all could do better, that's why you all are here on this blog because you all are so good, it doesn't matter how good a QB is, if he don't have protection he is not going to make throws. Again stop hating on Campbell and get a life.
11-07-2009 @ 9:19AM
whinton16 said...
I think that they should practice tackling...Right after they practice ACTING like a real NFC East team that can beat a real team. Heads better role after this joke of a season ends...JOKE!
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11-07-2009 @ 9:29AM
illegalhands2002 said...
Hey, I'll go out there and get tackled by the guys in the secondary for free. The D-Line and LBs, I don't think I would enjoy as much. Really though, it is the secondary that is missing tackles. Yes, they do well in pass coverage, but the missed tackles vs. the running game don't count in those stats. How hard is it to keep your head up and make the tackle? If tackling is an attitude and a pure want-to feel, are we saying that we don't have the attitude or the want-to? Terrible. Otherwise, the defense has been great and I can't complain too much.
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11-07-2009 @ 11:02AM
eugjac said...
It's amazing how idiots take a tackling blog and turn it into a QB bash simply amazing, lack of intelligence always is easy to spot.
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11-07-2009 @ 5:31PM
dready1rasta said...
Ummmm....who posted a bash here on JC?
11-07-2009 @ 12:59PM
terryb1119 said...
i remember when i played pee wee football, high school football, what we did in the game dictated what we did in practice. if we tackled good in a game we didnt have to practiced extra on it . same with everything.once we started slacking off in the games we paid for in practice. these guys have it easy.
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11-07-2009 @ 12:42PM
Scott said...
Hey Matt,
This doesn't have anything to do with the Redskins practicing tackling (other than the fact that it is about the Redskins) but I just want to ask something. Is it idiotic to think that instead of the Redskins drafting a Quarterback in the Draft, that we could keep Colt Brennan and sign Chase Daniel from the Saints practice squad? We could maybe also bring In another guy (maybe a Kellen Clemens or a Tavaris Jackson) and have a QB battle to see who will start instead of just giving it to a guy like we did this offseason. Although I would like to see Jason Campbell step up and show that he can run this team, his time is running out and I doubt that he can take this team to the next level.
Thanks and HTTR
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11-07-2009 @ 6:57PM
pryce_inc said...
I think that people are nit-picking now. We have the #2 Pass Defense in the NFL, a top 5 Defense, and we are talking about tackling, because someone brought up the fact that we don't do it. Is that same person bringing up the fact that we don't practice playcalling in the Red Zone, because THAT'S something that we don't do well in games? Is someone posting something about Pass Protection, because that is something else we don't do well in games? Is someone bringing up our #2 WR's running good routes, because THAT is also something we don't do well in games. Leave that tackling thing alone.
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11-07-2009 @ 7:57PM
fsaunders said...
Can we dispense with the 2nd rated pass def myth, please. We have the 2nd rated pass def b/c our opponents have attempted the 7th most rushes/game in NFL vs. us. 8th most attempts total. 9th longest rush from scrimmage (67 yd TD). 4th most rushes in league of 40+. We're #2 b/c no one needs to throw on us.
btw, Our pass def has the LEAST attempts thrown on it (b/c of pourous rush d), We're DEAD LAST in NFL in INT's. 29th in pass att/ game. 21st in opponents completion %.
This is not b/c MeAngelo (or any of the other bums) are shutting down opposing WR's. It's b/c everyone's getting run over.
He keeps drawing attention to himself - I plan to keep pointing out that he's an overpaid, soft, lazy, weak player.
He needs to shut up and earn his salary.
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11-08-2009 @ 2:16PM
Steven Michaels said...
SNYDER, I could coach this team to a winning season. Zorn is a good guy but he is not a Head Coach. Your problem is you are allowing these OVERPAID half assed players run the team.
Get rid of CAMPBELL. The kid from Hawaii would have done better. Campbell is not a leader and he has no heart. They all
look like they are playing with such a lack of interest its disgusting. I am not a Redskins Fan / BUT I am a FAN of the NFL. You should be ashamed of what you are putting on the
same fields that players like Walter Payton,Dick Butkus, Reggie White, Bob Lily, Ken Stabler, Jim Brown, Johnny Unitas,Merlin Olsen, Roman Gabriel, Jack Snow, Carl Eller,
and a number of others that played not for the MONEY but
for the Love of the GAME. I would break that team up right now and start all over again. First with a new Quarterback : Take your pick they are all better than Campbell. Halfback: Get someone that wants to play and doesnt piss and moan all the time. Take a look at the kid running for ALABAMA. I am watching the game now and seeing how your Defense doesnt
tackle. The Falcon runners look like there in a PINBALL machine, bouncing of all your players that are scared to death of putting a shoulder into them.
If you have no more Pride in your team than what you are displaying, then SELL the Team and let someone that knows
Football and Loves Football buy it and bring the Team up to
NFL Standards. You and them are and Embarresment.
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