Eagles Corners Were Atrocious At Tackling Last Year
by JasonB on Feb 13, 2012 4:18 PM EST
in Philadelphia Eagles News
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PrintOver the weekend, Pro Football Focus released their look at cornerback tackling in 2011. I was prepared for the Eagles group to be subpar, after all, I did watch this team last year... but I didn't think it was quite this bad.
Asante Samuel is a familiar name amongst the worst tackling corners in the league, but amazingly, he was the best of the Eagles top trio this season... and that's not a compliment to Asante.
According to PFF, Samuel, Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie & Nnamdi Asomugha all finished in the bottom 11 in terms of tackling efficiency. They say that Eagles cornerbacks missed one fifth of the tackles they attempted last season.
Asante Samuel finished 11th from the bottom missing a tackle every 5.3 attempts. DRC was fourth from bottom missing a tackle every 4.6 attempts (although that includes only 7 misses). Finally, Nnamdi Asomugha was the second lowest in the league missing a tackle every 4.3 attempts.
Only the Redskins Kevin Barnes was worse.
Obviously that's an area that has to get better. However, it is worth noting that a poor tackling secondary isn't necessarily a death knell. The Green Bay Packers had three corners in the bottom 20 as well, including Charles Woodson, who is often lauded for his tackling and was in the role the Eagles supposedly wanted Nnamdi Asomugha to play at the start of last year.
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Re-posting:
I think [edit: some of the] blame here is on Castillo… except for Asante’s case. Asante is just not consistently going to make the effort to make a proper tackle (again, tackle – not a ‘hit’), so that’s expected. Nothing’s going to change that. However, as the article states, Nnamdi’s poor tackling numbers probably were so high because he playing in a lot of different spots unlike he was in the past. In the past, Nnamdi was hardly thrown at, which left less opportunities for him to make tackles. Same kind of thing with DRC – who is not a good fit as the slot CB. DRC was put in a position that was not his strength, where he was forced to tackle more.
My argument is that Castillo put players who couldn’t tackle well (Nnamdi, DRC) into positions where they would need to tackle more (when he moved them to the slot). This, to me, is an example of putting your players in a position to fail.
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by PhiladelphiaEagles on Feb 13, 2012 4:20 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Agree that NA and DRC should never play in the slot again, even tho I like the coverage aspect of NA on a TE. What the Eagles needs to do is draft a guy suited for slot (Hanson was terrible this year compared to last year)
by Anders Jensen on Feb 13, 2012 4:25 PM EST up reply actions
Yea
but were any of them great tacklers previously. All of our corners have always been known for their covering skills. You want someone that tackles you have to look at guys from like Baltimore or Pittsburg. We have to get more tacklers period. Not the fault of our corners it is just what they are built to do.
I never blamed the CBs. I want my CBs to cover first, but if the receiver catches the ball, he can atleast slow him so the safety can help with the tackle.
Thats why I loved Brown when he was here, he could cover very well, but he could also tackle the WR when they caught the ball.
by Anders Jensen on Feb 13, 2012 4:31 PM EST up reply actions
That is said about as well as it could be said.
AR should have to wear a Flava Flav necklace until he learns how to manage a clock.
I am the proud target of temper tantrums.
Oh I am
not saying you did, I am just stating the facts of our corners. They are not tacklers and I am ok with that. Now we just need them to be coached at what they are good at and we will be good.
Maybe
but on the other hand if your 3 best cover guys happen to be poor tacklers, you would still put them in the game (even the slot) if your opponent is spreading the field in hopes you’ll be foolish enough to match a great tackler who couldn’t cover me against them.
I don’t think someone like Stewart Bradley even had the opportunity to tackle 50+ players, he was too far behind to get the chance.
"Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body."
― Seneca
They're pro football players
they should be able to tackle in all positions. I get you hate Juan or at least think he is a bad coach. I know you want to blame someone outside of players you like and admire but NA, AS and DRC aren’t good tacklers and don’t try to be. If they’re not hidden by the DC the will miss tackles.
At least one more year of Andy and Juan. If they don't win it all they both better be gone!
No way Eagles draft a LB in the first round 2012.
We will see if Spags was in the right place at the right time in the Gmens SB run. Or was that the fluke year and he really is just mediocre.
by MightyJoeBanner on Feb 13, 2012 9:11 PM EST up reply actions
"Fundamentals come first."
AR should have to wear a Flava Flav necklace until he learns how to manage a clock.
I am the proud target of temper tantrums.
by KByars on Feb 13, 2012 4:27 PM EST reply actions 9 recs
Except he had such a shortened offseason he couldn’t really focus on fundamentals, or anything else for that matter. It was a lose/lose situation for him. I can’t blame Castillo as much as I blame Reid.
2012 is the year of Philly sports teams.
It’s amazing that any teams won any games, what with the short offseason and all.
AR should have to wear a Flava Flav necklace until he learns how to manage a clock.
I am the proud target of temper tantrums.
exactly
now I give the short offseason some credence but these fools act like it was the only reason. Well get ready fools, this year will be much of the same!
At least one more year of Andy and Juan. If they don't win it all they both better be gone!
No way Eagles draft a LB in the first round 2012.
We will see if Spags was in the right place at the right time in the Gmens SB run. Or was that the fluke year and he really is just mediocre.
by MightyJoeBanner on Feb 13, 2012 9:14 PM EST up reply actions
The wheels that will spin
On the justification machine this year will be epic. With a full offseason and training camps, Casey Matthews STILL would have been handed the starting MIKE position last season. Four shit preseason games didn’t change that, why would one training camp?
by UnclaimedFright on Feb 13, 2012 10:22 PM EST up reply actions
Can you imagine if half the team started on IR?
They may have ended up winning the Superbowl…
Formerly BWestFactor
FLY #7 FLY !
by ShadyMcVickFactor on Feb 13, 2012 10:51 PM EST up reply actions
+1000
And when the play doesn’t work. “Crap, coach, you know if we only had more time to practice that scheme… no, I don’t mean in the week leading up to the game, I mean five months ago.”
by UnclaimedFright on Feb 13, 2012 10:23 PM EST up reply actions
I wonder
how important corners tackling really is. Namdi had 52 attempts, and 12 misses, making him one of the worst. Compare him to one of the best with a similar number of attempts: Brandon Brewer with 55 attempts and only 3 misses. That’s 9 misses all season. Let’s assume each miss yielded 10 extra yards, that’s 90 yards for the entire year compared with the absolute best.
Compared with coverage skills, I would hazard to say poor tackling by the corners isn’t a big concern.
"Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body."
― Seneca
I think a miss tackle can often go for a TD, how often havnt we seen Nicks turn a 10 yard catch into a long TD because the CB couldnt tackle properly.
by Anders Jensen on Feb 13, 2012 4:41 PM EST up reply actions
You may be correct
but my point is looking at only the tackling aspect of the corners is short-sighted. You miss 100% of the tackles you can’t try, as Wayne Gretzky might say…
"Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body."
― Seneca
I threw up a little when I first saw that.
And it did not taste like chicken.
It's never easy being an Eagle fan........but I'll be damned if I ever stop !
We don't need the best players at every position,
we need players that play their best , at every position.
by JJeaglerooter on Feb 14, 2012 12:18 AM EST up reply actions
Its an issue though when both of your safeties though are below average/poor tacklers. Ditto the LBs. If the Eagles would have had safeties could even tackle consistently, this defense would have been a lot better this year.
Things that puzzles me is the people who think Coleman is a good tackler. Besides the size against RBs and TEs, he takes too many poor angles and misses too many tackles.
Arnt the ends supposed to force the play back towards the linebackers? I mean, that’s the reason why they’re so wide on a run play, right?
Hard to blame cover corners who are trying to play linebacker too.
I would like to thank my hands for being so great, for allowing me to type this post.
by corn on the kolb on Feb 13, 2012 5:07 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I wanna show you something...
It’s my “shocked” face.
I’m gonna re-post/re-word my thoughts from the fanshot about this here. I think this indicates that maybe Juan’s schemes weren’t that bad. Think about it — the LBs sucked at tackling, the safeties sucked at tackling, and the CBs sucked at tackling. Babin is a terrible run defender. Is it any surprise that this defense got shredded? The players were lazy, they relied on one guy to make the tackle instead of swarming to the ball. When they gang-tackled (first Dallas game) the defense looked fantastic. Maybe you can get on Juan’s case for not motivating the players enough, but the players deserve a lot more criticism than they’ve been getting, relative to the Juan-bashing.
Formerly DeSean10
36-5-20-JJ -- Forever Bleeding Green
Team Kuechly, J. Jenkins, Iloka
I’m not trying to randomly bash Juan. I think my argument that he misused his personnel somewhat (which just might be attributed to the fact that he lacks defensive coaching experience) is fair.
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by PhiladelphiaEagles on Feb 13, 2012 5:53 PM EST up reply actions
Not saying it isn’t. I agree that he misused the CBs early this season, but he learned/adapted quickly. I’m just saying that even with everybody in the right spot this defense might still suck, because nobody wants to tackle. Rolle and the front four were the only exceptions.
Formerly DeSean10
36-5-20-JJ -- Forever Bleeding Green
Team Kuechly, J. Jenkins, Iloka
His scheme isnt bad….its his play calling thats juvenile
Formerly BWestFactor
FLY #7 FLY !
by ShadyMcVickFactor on Feb 13, 2012 10:54 PM EST up reply actions
Defense....
The eagles looc the best on paper when it comes to corners but with out a consistent pass rush that means they often get caught in situations where they are forced to cover to long. Once they get some pass rush expect the eagles secondary to less the league in ints…… Also the dc has to use the best scheme for his talent. He has to figure out how to use nnamdi and drc to the best of there abilities. Basically with those two guys I would feel confident putn then in man cover situations against nearly any wr in the league. That’s a no brainer…..
BCoop
by Bleu on Feb 13, 2012 5:53 PM EST via Android app reply actions
Oh that picture brings back bad memories
There's one life, one love, so there can only be one king.
- Nas
Top Tacklers
Anyone see who made this list from the Cleveland Browns? Maybe our scapegoat from 2010 wasn’t as bad as we all thought.
Yeah, Dmitri Patterson. Just because he’s a good tackler doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a good corner though… I actually wasn’t surprised by that because I thought he tackled well when he was here. He just had problems in coverage. I didn’t watch him play at all, but from what I’ve seen he had a decent year. I never wanted to get rid of him, since I thought he’d be a nice backup, but he isn’t a guy you could rely on as a starter based on his poor performances from 2010.
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by PhiladelphiaEagles on Feb 13, 2012 8:10 PM EST up reply actions
Dimitri Patterson was a damn good tackling corner.
I wouldn’t of minded keeping him around. He just had no business starting.
"it's like i tell my ex-wife, i never drive faster than i can see, and besides it's all in the reflexes." -Jack Burton, Big trouble in little China
I'm curious as to whether the stat is missing something
I wonder whether some of this comes down to the play of our linebackers for run plays. I imagine if our linebacking play is terrible, running backs are going to be less impeded when making their way to the second level. If they’re not able to disengage from blocks, then the lanes for the running backs are going to be bigger and open longer. So instead of being forced to try and tackle a RB who, because of the effect of the linebackers, would be running at 75%, they’re taking on a RB running top speed without the confines of a closing running lane. Who knows, I wonder though, always good to consider these (and allllll statistics) things in context.
by Patrick Bateman on Feb 13, 2012 8:27 PM EST reply actions
Tell me something we didn't expect....?!@?
All year we know we had sucko tackling.
Wait until our safeties are ranked… and then our linebackers.
Why is it that after a year of hearing after each game “we missed a lot of tackles”, and folks scream for the firing of Andy and Castillo as a result, that we still act shocked when a third party analysis comes in confirming that we sucked at tackling.
Perhaps they were too busy trying to learn whether they were playing man or zone, or who was playing on which formation? They just plain sucked at it all year.
So I’ll play spoiler for the rest of the off season … if it says “eagles” and “tackling” in the headline or in the first paragraph about the 2011 season?
It will say that we sucked at it.
NEXT!
by milroyigglesfan on Feb 13, 2012 9:08 PM EST reply actions
Right,
Because Andy Reid had nothing to do with the selection or training of those players.
by UnclaimedFright on Feb 13, 2012 10:28 PM EST up reply actions
i dont know why everyone is on Woodson's jock
He’s been a shell of himself the entire year. Wasn’t good in coverage, bad at tackling, and I’m sorry a few big plays here and there don’t make up for the rest
JoeD AKA The Voice Of Reason
This is not surprising
Basic fundamentals cost us our chance at a SB this year. I’ve never seen such horrible tackling, smh
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One of NA’s missed tackles was the result of him being taken out by Kurt Coleman in the first Giant’s game.
And this made him so mad,
Because he doesn’t need Kurt Coleman to help him miss tackles. He does that just fine on his own, Kurt, THANK YOU!
by UnclaimedFright on Feb 13, 2012 10:29 PM EST up reply actions
Yup. Maybe I have an irrational hatred of Coleman but I really don’t want him back as a starting safety next year. He’s too small to take on RBs/TEs, not a great fundamental tackler, mediocre in coverage and isn’t particularly fast or quick.
He’s a capable backup but he shouldn’t be starting in the NFL at S.
I like him as our 3rd safety.
Jarrett should be starting, but I like Coleman. He’s scrappy.
"it's like i tell my ex-wife, i never drive faster than i can see, and besides it's all in the reflexes." -Jack Burton, Big trouble in little China
and Roy Halladay can't hit a curve ball...
cornerbacks tackling is about tenth on my list of concerns, Brian Rolle is the only lb that shows consistent tackling ability. With every body else its a coin flip as to weather they are going to get the ball carrier to the ground. I’m really praying that Jarrette gets it together this year, he appears to be a great tackler, i hope that translates to the NFL.
by Mycatsnameismilk on Feb 14, 2012 12:36 AM EST reply actions
No one should be surprised?
Also the tile needs to be Eagles Corners Were ARE Atrocious At Tackling Last Every Year
Formerly number5
RIP JJ
"Make sure you bone her in the missionary position (you on top) and right when you put it in her tell her in a microphony voice that "The Eagle has landed," and before you blow your load start waving your hands like you’re flying and screech like an eagle." - DickMuffin
Fear Tebus(Tim 3:16)!!!
yeah, Yeah!
Where would Deon Sanders fit if he was still playing? Gonna be a lot more missed tackles being that any missed calculations results in a,MAJOR fine it fines…Offences dishing out all the pain, GeT Use To IT!!!!
by pragit on Feb 14, 2012 1:06 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Well in fairness to NA...
he’s so used to the ball never coming his direction that he probably never worked on tackling before. Time to change that.
Ed Snider is a crotchety old fuck.
That is all.
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