Defensive Fundamentals - aka Tackling

[IllegalContact]

The old BB defenses were always middle of the road in yards allowed, while top 5 in scoring.

this effect is overstated........the only time this kind of disparity existed was 2001

 

[upstater1]

this effect is overstated........the only time this kind of disparity existed was 2001

Well, I didn't say bottom of the league. I said middling. I think that should mean 9/10 through 19/20.

They've never been ranked lower in points given than yards given in BB's whole tenure. The average differential over 13 years is more than 8 spots difference in a league of 32 teams. This literally means that the average is that New England is in the top 3rd in points given up, but middle of the road in yards given up. This is what they average.

It's really fair to say that the Patriots, over the last 13 years, are right at the top of the league in points given up, but in the middle in terms of yards.


2000
20th yards
16th points

2001
24th yards
6th points

2002
23rd yards
16th points

2003
7th yards
1st points

2004
9th yards
2nd points

2005
26th yards
17th points

2006
6th yards
2nd points

2007
4th yards
4th points

2008
10th yards
8th points

2009
11th yards
5th points

2010
25th yards
8th points

2011
31st yards
15th points

2012
25th yards
15th points

 

[TheComeback]

saw exactly the same thing...plus the rest of the D secondary don't seem to KNOW how to tackle...I'm off the Patricia bandwagon, he's in over his head. I was calling HIS calls from a damn couch with my brothers...deep in their end, you don't rush three on 3rd and nine and let Fitz sit there for 7 to 8 seconds just having a ham sandwich and waiting for a double move to open up 30 yards downfield. How do they FIX this...I do not have a clue... I have NEVER seen a BB coached team come out of a bye and play like THIS defensively.

They will make the playoffs on the sheer sauckitude of the rest of the division...unless they manage to blow it by losing out...and with THIS defense that is NOT out of the question.

rushing three and dropping into coverage actually worked on a few plays, but hey, it couldn't be that the players just suck

their tackling will get better, they only practiced once over the bye week

 

[IcyPatriot]

One thing to point out is that between the required days off on the bye week and limited padded practices, these guys have had something like two days of padded practices the last two weeks. Combine that with a really shifty RB, and I can see how it'd be a problem.

... and we only have 2 more padded practices allowed this year.

On another note why on some pass plays do our guys stop rushing the QB?

Like they are content to just have a wall in front of the QB ... what good is this?

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Tom Curran counted 25 missed tackles and 159 yards after contact.

Jeff Tarpinian: You're fired!

Regards,
Chris

 

[Juddy]

They aren't really making an effort to tackle, the primary objective is stripping the football - this is obvious when you watch tape of all the games. The 'poor tackling' yesterday was a result of this and the ability of the Bills' skill players.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Eh, call it a bad day in the office for that department.

Tackling isn't normally a huge issue with this defense.

Believe me, we have bigger problems.

I donno... I think I'm with ctsjohn17 on this one. The tackling has been horrendous. Talib doesn't cure that. I thought it was the lack of practices under the new CBA as well but they should be getting "it" by now.

 

[Joey007]

I donno... I think I'm with ctsjohn17 on this one. The tackling has been horrendous. Talib doesn't cure that. I thought it was the lack of practices under the new CBA as well but they should be getting "it" by now.

It has been an issue with the secondary knuckleheads like Gregory, Chung, and Arrington, yes. But it hasn't been an issue with the front 7. Numerous times in that game, Fitz would throw sort of a screen off to Spiller. It looked like he'd get stopped for a minimal gain, but guys that normally make the tackles (Mayo, Spikes) would whiff on making the tackles, then Spiller would take off for a 20 yard gain.

Normally Spikes and Mayo, and often Hightower would be rock solid on those plays. But for some reason, the tackling was really poor last Sunday.

So while missed tackles from the secondary has become a routine, it was a just a bad day for the front 7 Sunday.

 

[supafly]

Well, I didn't say bottom of the league. I said middling. I think that should mean 9/10 through 19/20.

They've never been ranked lower in points given than yards given in BB's whole tenure. The average differential over 13 years is more than 8 spots difference in a league of 32 teams. This literally means that the average is that New England is in the top 3rd in points given up, but middle of the road in yards given up. This is what they average.

It's really fair to say that the Patriots, over the last 13 years, are right at the top of the league in points given up, but in the middle in terms of yards.


2000
20th yards
16th points

2001
24th yards
6th points

2002
23rd yards
16th points

2003
7th yards
1st points

2004
9th yards
2nd points

2005
26th yards
17th points

2006
6th yards
2nd points

2007
4th yards
4th points

2008
10th yards
8th points

2009
11th yards
5th points

2010
25th yards
8th points

2011
31st yards
15th points

2012
25th yards
15th points

It's amazing how good the 2006 and 2007 defenses were, when looking not only at the stats, but also the results too.

Even the 2008 and 2009 defenses were not that bad at all, from a sheer numbers standpoint.

The real slide started late in the 2010 season, which even then wasn't horrific until the NYJ playoff game. The 2011 and 2012 teams have been awful in many ways, even despite the "middle of the road" pts allowed and the SB appearance. They have yet to be able to solve this problem, and it's frustrating to watch the same mistakes over and over.

 

[captain stone]

The guy I was disappointed with was Jones who looked totally ineffective today. I hope he isn't hitting the rookie wall.

If Jones is hitting the Rookie Wall, then we are in deep doo-doo.

And while he might have played his worst game as a pro, he was still not as bad as fellow 1st-rounder
Hightower, who has pretty much sucked all year; or Mayo (a Pro Bowler? That's a joke); or Ninkovitch;
or Gregory (He + Wilson + Chung + Ebner = Safety fixed? Another joke); or Dennard, who was clueless
on the 4th/4.