What did you guys think about our fundamental tackling skills?
It seemed to me like a lot of the plays we had the right guys in the right place, but we couldn't make the tackle.
Awful. If we could tackle we would have won the game. I hope Neil puts a fire under the butts of the defense and gets the players' arms around the ball carrier.
It is likely we just got "out-stepped" on a lot of the potential tackles. We are probably a step slower than the coaches would like, but they have to work with what they have. Some of it I would assign to having no one of comparable speed or shiftiness to practice against. We had the same problem against Mich St last year. Now that we have seen it, the players know what they must do to play on Tulsa's level and they WILL improve. All competitors improve by pitting themselves against better competition. They will look better against later competition because of it.
BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:It is likely we just got "out-stepped" on a lot of the potential tackles. We are probably a step slower than the coaches would like, but they have to work with what they have. Some of it I would assign to having no one of comparable speed or shiftiness to practice against. We had the same problem against Mich St last year. Now that we have seen it, the players know what they must do to play on Tulsa's level and they WILL improve. All competitors improve by pitting themselves against better competition. They will look better against later competition because of it.
I agree about being a step slow on some plays, but there were many other plays where the Tulsa players just slid right through our defender's grasp as if they were greased. I'm guessing watching the film won't be a pleasant thing for our defensive coaches.
It was bad but most of what I saw was arm tackling. Things that can be corrected. Yea, that NFL draft pick was pretty damn fast but I think he will make most defenders miss all season.
you would have thought they were getting paid to throw the game by not tackling since they were in such good position & yet literally could not / would not tackle. FRUSTRATING!
Its called being athletic. Don't have enough athletes on defense minus will dunbar and joe henderson. Hoover has more athletic safeties now than matt taylor.
All we have heard for over a year is how Callaway is a fundamental blue collar coach. We have been told we will see a team that will play hard and it will be built from the ground up. How long does it teach a player to tackle? Is Callaway a hard nose coach that teaches his players the fundamentals? If so when do we learn to tackle? He was a great line coach in the SEC yet the team that he is the head coach of has trouble run blocking. The junior college players that we signed (which I strongly disagree with signing more than a few jr college players. I understand the thinking but disagree with their logic) this year have had little impact after one game. This is the first game and the tackling can be corrected. hat bothers me is UAB had months to get ready for this game. The first home game against a C-USA team in years. Callaway can be a good coach and deserves a chance to prove that he can be. He has made numerous mistakes since his hiring but he has also installed amazing discipline. The verdict is still out. The first game was one step forward and two steps back.
Quote: If we could tackle we would have won the game.
That's almost as obvious a statement as "If we score more points, we will win the game."
Tackling practice usually results in some injuries. We are all ready short handed. Hopefully, instead of beating up on each other, more concentration will be dedicated to the mental aspects (head down, eyes up, stick the runner right in the sternum, etc).
If there's a bright side, I often saw players in position to make plays. Anyone who doesn't see that as an improvement over last year wasn't paying attention.
I agree, the players were in position all day to make the tackles, but couldn't get the arms around Tulsa. Looking at as the bottle is half full, this is a step up from last year!
Rocket City Blazer Wrote:I agree, the players were in position all day to make the tackles, but couldn't get the arms around Tulsa. Looking at as the bottle is half full, this is a step up from last year!
Sounds like a job for "door drills". In high school, the coaches would set up a door design to stand upright on its own, then a running back and a defender would approach the door half speed, one from each side (half speed to cut down on injuries). Once the defender saw the RB, he would approach the RB then "lock up" on him. It was good practice for working on your tackling form.
we did the same thing in last years opening game. in position to make the play, but couldn't tackle. a trend? I hope not.
we improved from mich st to fsu [last year]. let's check back after fau.
blazerfan13 Wrote:Its called being athletic. Don't have enough athletes on defense minus will dunbar and joe henderson. Hoover has more athletic safeties now than matt taylor.
I said this when the change happened.
Playing Tulsa in the first game was a bad idea.
Their offense made us look silly. For those who hoped the QB change would be enough, you got your answer Saturday. All the QB had to do was put the ball in the WRs hands and they did the rest.
Oh well, atleast Tennessee got what it deserved for making the change happen.
L
Taylor falling down on the last touchdown, was the last I want to see of him. Daniels should be the starter, and some else should be given the change to back him up. I still remember Matt getting run over in the Michigan State game.
I think the LBs will miss Terry Thomas. I hope someone can step up and take his place.
The tackling part can be addressed, This team will finish must better than last years.
We just need to keep our heads up. we didn't look that bad. We have enough "Players" to win some games!!!
Tackling cannot be corrected. Either you are a good tackler or you are not. Either you have a knack for making plays or you don't. Its no coincidence that two years in a row our guys are there to make plays and don't. Its called not having enough good players that have consistency in making plays, period. That boils down to recruiting and depth, something we currently lack. I guarantee every single one off our defensive players have been taught the proper fundamentals in tackling, like every other D-1 player this year, but being taught and actually doing it are two different things. There's a reason we were last in rushing defense last year and tackling is part of it. Bottom Line: We need better players in the coming years.
blazerfan13 Wrote:Tackling cannot be corrected. Either you are a good tackler or you are not. Either you have a knack for making plays or you don't. Its no coincidence that two years in a row our guys are there to make plays and don't. Its called not having enough good players that have consistency in making plays, period. That boils down to recruiting and depth, something we currently lack. I guarantee every single one off our defensive players have been taught the proper fundamentals in tackling, like every other D-1 player this year, but being taught and actually doing it are two different things. There's a reason we were last in rushing defense last year and tackling is part of it. Bottom Line: We need better players in the coming years.
I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you and it's been since my freshman year in high school since I was in a football practice so I really don't remember the fundamental tackling techniques, but I would think tackling is like anything else in that you have to practice over and over and over for the length of your career to be the best you can be.
There were times in the game Saturday though that we were in position, but it appeared we couldn't mentally make the decision to go for the tackle but appeared to be waiting for a better opportunity. Now is that something that is coachable? Can you coach up an aggressive attitude? I hope so.