Can Capers Teach Them How To Tackle?

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Can Capers Teach Them How To Tackle?

Jan 21, 2009

At the end of a pretty pedestrian opinion piece, Michael Hunt actually makes an excellent point:

However the Packers arrange their front henceforth, something had to change. And you’ll know it’s working when running backs are no longer being tackled 12 yards downfield by safeties and the PA guy is calling A.J. Hawk’s name more than once a game... What's required are the proper assistants to motivate the grunts who will take a beating so that the outside people may be freed to greet the quarterback.

Well, that and players who can actually tackle.

It's the last point that is the biggest problem facing the Packers defense.

I wrote it back in September and it bears repeating - this is a terrible tackling team. (Watching the Atlanta and Tampa games again has been a splash of cold water in this regard...) No scheme that has been devised can cover up for a team that can't tackle the ball carrier. Capers, and more importantly, McCarthy, need to address this on the first day of training camp. The technique was allowed to get way too sloppy under Sanders and a return to basics is long overdue.

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Comments (6)

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Alex Tallitsch

January 21, 2009 at 12:26 pm

Amen.

January 21, 2009 at 01:36 pm

Somebody better.

January 21, 2009 at 01:50 pm

A few months ago SI had a poll asking other NFL players who were the worst tacklers in the NFL and Al Harris was ranked pretty high I think he was ranked second.

January 21, 2009 at 02:47 pm

Actually Harris is a cover guy and I'm not too concern with his tackling style (i.e. He's going away from the line on 90% of the snaps). Where I am concerned is the fact that we have sub-standard players in many posiitons on the front seven. Some may be inspired to tackle better, but the real problem is to dump the poor performers and replace them NOW. This is TT's problem and he better be working on it.

January 22, 2009 at 12:00 am

This seems like a league wide problem. Everyone is hitting high and not wrapping up. As a result no one is wearing knee, thigh, and hip protection anymore and no one can stop anyone. Everyone wants to throw a shoulder at someone and hope they will fall over.

Let's hit someone out there. And wrap your damn arms around them like you did when you started playing football. You did it before you were getting paid to do it not lets show you remember how.