I think this deserves its own thread. Tackling was as bad as the beginning of 2016. I honestly questioned Pry back then. But he managed to turn it around. We need to get back to the team tackling mentality rather than individuals trying to make the single tackle and whiffing or trying to strip the ball.
Tackling was horrendous
- Thread starter ejb25
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Honestly didn’t see any attempts to strip the ball.....just saw an awful lot of plays where it looked like the App St player would get an extra 3-5-10+ yds because the PSU player or players simply didn’t wrap up and finish a tackle.
Franklin called out the poor tackling in today’s PC. Thank gawd. I think he ducked the topic in the past. He said that “he made a note to change the camp model re:tackling next year”. I love when coaches are honest and not defensive. Hopefully, this means that they’ll be working on tackling this week.
Swarming the football saved their bacon in the first three qtrs. Too many guys left on an island in the fourth really exposed their poor technique.
This is what I like about Franklin as well. Not afraid to tell it like it is or admit to problems. And he does it without throwing any of his guys under the public bus. I do wish he was more forthcoming about injuries, but I guess there are reasons behind the secrecy.
Could not agree more.regarding tackling.in general. Arm sweeps have become the way of many programs nowadays. Wrapping-up seems to be a thing of the past.. Taking the proper angle when tackling is optional and seemingly without proper instruction. Using the shoulder as taught years ago seems something no longer practiced in the Northeast. By way of comparison I live in the Southwest and sense in their players a greater desire, ferocity, and passion for the collision aspect good tackling demands.. The potential for injury seems a price most are a sacrifice many are no longer willing to opt for and a primary reason for extended offensive drives and time-of-possession issues in far too many pivotal contests. Good tackling requires a highly exorcised emotional and mental state of mind...
I saw a bunch of bad angles and not turning runners inside toward pursuit. I saw a lot of reaching, not much breaking down under control. Saw poor footwork, too much diving, and not a lot of keeping heads up on a swivel.
36 tackled well though. Most of them were downfield too far, but 3 or 4 of them were no gains or short gains. 4 had some good sticks but had one series where he was personally responsible for both a 4th down conversion by a backup, then a touchdown when he missed an assignment in coverage.
9 looked really good in the few series he played and he did not miss. I'd love to see more of 9 this week and I want to see 11 playing with the 1's.
I'm done with 6, he's incapable of understanding how to play football. Stick him on special teams where he doesn't have to think and be done with it. He's been lost now for 2 years and 1 game and that's not going to change.
Also, 23 missed at least 4 tackles and one of them was on that KO return for a TD where he was point blank and nearly whiffed entirely.
A lot of tackling is desire, and "want to". Dan Connor was maybe the best tackler I've seen in modern PSU history. He never missed and when he hit someone, they went straight down, every time. He wasn't the fastest, wasn't the smartest, didn't have the best instincts, but WHAM and the runner went directly down. THAT'S what we need on this defense the most.
36 tackled well though. Most of them were downfield too far, but 3 or 4 of them were no gains or short gains. 4 had some good sticks but had one series where he was personally responsible for both a 4th down conversion by a backup, then a touchdown when he missed an assignment in coverage.
9 looked really good in the few series he played and he did not miss. I'd love to see more of 9 this week and I want to see 11 playing with the 1's.
I'm done with 6, he's incapable of understanding how to play football. Stick him on special teams where he doesn't have to think and be done with it. He's been lost now for 2 years and 1 game and that's not going to change.
Also, 23 missed at least 4 tackles and one of them was on that KO return for a TD where he was point blank and nearly whiffed entirely.
A lot of tackling is desire, and "want to". Dan Connor was maybe the best tackler I've seen in modern PSU history. He never missed and when he hit someone, they went straight down, every time. He wasn't the fastest, wasn't the smartest, didn't have the best instincts, but WHAM and the runner went directly down. THAT'S what we need on this defense the most.
I don't know. Is tackling really that complicated? Aim for the nuts, wrap up around the legs, and don't let go. Do I have it wrong? (My sport is golf.)
If this is the proper technique then I could see why it would not be a popular thing to work on in practice.
If this is the proper technique then I could see why it would not be a popular thing to work on in practice.
Nobody's mentioned this but 1) Tackling tends to be more spotty at the beginning of the season because players haven't been tackling much in preseason practice. 2) There is even less tackling in practice than there used to be, practices are less physical than they used to be because the emphasis is on preventing injuries.
Tackling will get better as kids don't like watching the whiffs on TV come Sunday. Don't forget there were a ton of fresh faces out there as well. Psssssst, this isn't unique to one school or coach either.
I am not as concerned about the tackling, as I am the want and desire to take on a block to get to the ball. Watch #7 on this play, he gets blocked and stays blocked which is not a good thing for your starting ILBer. There are probably at least 5 more plays similar to this you could show (not cherry picking here). Also watch 36 on the snap of the ball he flips his hips and looks up the #2 inside receiver as the double blitz comes from the field. This is the same D App state threw a TD pass against, so I dont think this is a blown coverage.
It's face mask in the numbers, wrap, grab their butt if need be, lift, keep feet moving, and put them on the ground as viciously as you can. When getting up use any part of the opponents body to push off on to create an uncomfortable feeling (ie. pain) to regain your position to feet. Then say " It's nice to meet you" Repeat
INDEED tboyer. When coaches made the decision several years ago to lessen physicality during practices in an effort to minimize injuries to compensate for lack of roster depth, I predicted it would lead to shoddy tackling and even more injuries. Conducting practices sans pads @ half and three-quarter speed does NOT allow the players build up the confidence to STICK their targets with wrapped arms; it's not a NATURAL instinct to tackle someone weighing 230lbs. and running straight at you with a full head of speed (unless your nickname is Mad-Dog, Scrap or such)... it's a learned behavior through repetition to discover that your pads do provide surprisingly capable "armored" protection provided you are using good technique. Same goes for judging attack angles... The kids get used to judging the angles at three-quarter practice speed and then get "fooled" a few critical times during games played at REAL speed. Such ill-preparedness can also increase the propensity for injury, in my opinion.
It took almost half the season to get the tackling corrected in 2016. I'm guessing it will take just as long maybe longer considering all veteran players lost on D.
Pry does a good job with aggressive attacking mentality but not so much with fundamentals.
Wish Franklin would get a known and proven linebacker coach.
Pry does a good job with aggressive attacking mentality but not so much with fundamentals.
Wish Franklin would get a known and proven linebacker coach.
CJF said something to this effect in his press conference, and said he made a note that they might need to increase the time spent on real tackling in next year's camp. He said it's hard to find the right balance because of the injury risk, but based on the ASU game he felt they probably need more time allocated to it.
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tackling is as much want to, as it is how to. There appeared at times to be a lack of want to.
