Ike Taylor covers the Panthers’ Kelvin Benjamin in a preseason game last month at Heinz Field. — GETTY
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
Well, ‘Hm-hah!’ as the late, great Myron Cope used to exclaim.
What did we witness at the Steelers’ Monday practice, their first since being obliterated on both sides of the ball in Baltimore, other than defensive players performing the rough equivalent of calculus majors learning to work an abacus?
“We tackled,” defensive lineman Cam Thomas was telling me, almost by way of confession, afterward at his stall. “That was pretty much it. We worked on our footwork, our leverage and …”
And tackling. Honest to Mean Joe, Jack and Dobre Shunka. They worked on tackling.
Not that this should either surprise or disappoint anyone. If anything, it’s an infinitely more commendable response to the rancid work Thursday against the Ravens — 16 missed tackles, just two tackles for losses, zero sacks, zero turnovers, 157 yards rushing against — than how Mike Tomlin thoroughly dismissed my question on that count after that game.
So maybe the coach just didn’t feel comfortable going public with such an embarrassing proclamation. Or maybe he genuinely didn’t notice his men being unable to wrap up anyone until watching the film. Whichever the case, it all played out on the South Side at the first opportunity.
“I guess the good thing,” Lawrence Timmons said, “is that you know it’s something you can work on. There are little things like running your feet through tackles, making sure you’ve got forward momentum to hit someone and take them down.”
Abacus, baby!
“That’s our whole focus, to make sure we’re lining up ball-carriers and executing,” Jason Worilds said.
To Worilds’ inestimable credit, he managed at least a sheepish grin when I asked how an NFL team feels about practicing such a thing.
“Well, right. You would hope that you could tackle. But I do think there’s more to it at this level. It’s not just about wrapping up. It’s about lining people up, going at the right angles, making sure we get to the ball-carrier to take him down.”
The brunt of the criticism post-Baltimore was on the line, and not without cause: Other than nose tackle Steve McLendon, everyone graded poorly. Yes, even Cam Heyward despite his six tackles. On most plays, they were just blown off the ball, no one more than Thomas, whose minus-6.7 grade from Pro Football Focus was the worst of any player at any position on either side Thursday.
I went to Thomas on Monday to ask what he and the line must do to improve:
The line has been bad, no question. And some of it, as Thomas and others suggested again Monday, has to do with a lot of young players being involved.
But I’m not buying that in total, and here’s why: No one had more missed tackles than Timmons’ eight. Yes, he also had 14 successful tackles, which is wonderful, just as it is that he was in position to make 22. But there’s nowhere to hide from eight whiffs. Same goes for Troy Polamalu’s four. And Ike Taylor’s two. And Mike Mitchell’s two. And, since he just got paid like an accomplished vet, let’s also toss in Cortez Allen’s five misses that included four in alleged run support.
Oh, and the only rookie in the equation, Ryan Shazier, actually fared quite well with 13 tackles, nine solos, only two misses and two QB hurries.
Methinks some scapegoating of the kids might be at hand, no?
More, methinks this scapegoating might be keeping a far better option for the line, Stephon Tuitt, tied to the sideline as a result. Tuitt, after a terrific camp, has played a grand total of 16 snaps so far.
Both need to be rectified immediately by Tomlin, Dick LeBeau, John Mitchell, whichever voice can speak loudest to make it happen. If not, none of this will change. It isn’t one or two players. It isn’t the rookies. It’s across the board — the run defense is ranked No. 32 of the NFL’s 32 teams, the pass rush 30th, and the defense overall dead last — and that should be outright terrifying in advance of traveling Sunday to take on Cam Newton and Carolina.
“It’s going to take time to get this right, but unfortunately, we don’t have time,” Brett Keisel said. “We don’t have time for this to be a natural progression. It needs to happen now. It needed to happen yesterday. When you come to work, you need to be focused on doing your job. And you need to be focused on executing your job.”
And that entails?
“It’s about getting back to the fundamentals of football, which you sometimes can get away from as a pro. We did that today, out there with just shoulder protection, we were going back to the little things. Like two-hand touch. Get two hands on the guy. If you get two hands on him, you should be able to get him in the ground. “
September 15, 2014
Column: Crazy little thing called tackling
by Dejan Kovacevic • Columns • Steelers
Ike Taylor covers the Panthers’ Kelvin Benjamin in a preseason game last month at Heinz Field. — GETTY
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
Well, ‘Hm-hah!’ as the late, great Myron Cope used to exclaim.
What did we witness at the Steelers’ Monday practice, their first since being obliterated on both sides of the ball in Baltimore, other than defensive players performing the rough equivalent of calculus majors learning to work an abacus?
“We tackled,” defensive lineman Cam Thomas was telling me, almost by way of confession, afterward at his stall. “That was pretty much it. We worked on our footwork, our leverage and …”
And tackling. Honest to Mean Joe, Jack and Dobre Shunka. They worked on tackling.
Not that this should either surprise or disappoint anyone. If anything, it’s an infinitely more commendable response to the rancid work Thursday against the Ravens — 16 missed tackles, just two tackles for losses, zero sacks, zero turnovers, 157 yards rushing against — than how Mike Tomlin thoroughly dismissed my question on that count after that game.
Remember that?
So maybe the coach just didn’t feel comfortable going public with such an embarrassing proclamation. Or maybe he genuinely didn’t notice his men being unable to wrap up anyone until watching the film. Whichever the case, it all played out on the South Side at the first opportunity.
“I guess the good thing,” Lawrence Timmons said, “is that you know it’s something you can work on. There are little things like running your feet through tackles, making sure you’ve got forward momentum to hit someone and take them down.”
Abacus, baby!
“That’s our whole focus, to make sure we’re lining up ball-carriers and executing,” Jason Worilds said.
To Worilds’ inestimable credit, he managed at least a sheepish grin when I asked how an NFL team feels about practicing such a thing.
“Well, right. You would hope that you could tackle. But I do think there’s more to it at this level. It’s not just about wrapping up. It’s about lining people up, going at the right angles, making sure we get to the ball-carrier to take him down.”
The brunt of the criticism post-Baltimore was on the line, and not without cause: Other than nose tackle Steve McLendon, everyone graded poorly. Yes, even Cam Heyward despite his six tackles. On most plays, they were just blown off the ball, no one more than Thomas, whose minus-6.7 grade from Pro Football Focus was the worst of any player at any position on either side Thursday.
I went to Thomas on Monday to ask what he and the line must do to improve:
The line has been bad, no question. And some of it, as Thomas and others suggested again Monday, has to do with a lot of young players being involved.
But I’m not buying that in total, and here’s why: No one had more missed tackles than Timmons’ eight. Yes, he also had 14 successful tackles, which is wonderful, just as it is that he was in position to make 22. But there’s nowhere to hide from eight whiffs. Same goes for Troy Polamalu’s four. And Ike Taylor’s two. And Mike Mitchell’s two. And, since he just got paid like an accomplished vet, let’s also toss in Cortez Allen’s five misses that included four in alleged run support.
Oh, and the only rookie in the equation, Ryan Shazier, actually fared quite well with 13 tackles, nine solos, only two misses and two QB hurries.
Methinks some scapegoating of the kids might be at hand, no?
More, methinks this scapegoating might be keeping a far better option for the line, Stephon Tuitt, tied to the sideline as a result. Tuitt, after a terrific camp, has played a grand total of 16 snaps so far.
Both need to be rectified immediately by Tomlin, Dick LeBeau, John Mitchell, whichever voice can speak loudest to make it happen. If not, none of this will change. It isn’t one or two players. It isn’t the rookies. It’s across the board — the run defense is ranked No. 32 of the NFL’s 32 teams, the pass rush 30th, and the defense overall dead last — and that should be outright terrifying in advance of traveling Sunday to take on Cam Newton and Carolina.
“It’s going to take time to get this right, but unfortunately, we don’t have time,” Brett Keisel said. “We don’t have time for this to be a natural progression. It needs to happen now. It needed to happen yesterday. When you come to work, you need to be focused on doing your job. And you need to be focused on executing your job.”
And that entails?
“It’s about getting back to the fundamentals of football, which you sometimes can get away from as a pro. We did that today, out there with just shoulder protection, we were going back to the little things. Like two-hand touch. Get two hands on the guy. If you get two hands on him, you should be able to get him in the ground. “
Bulletin boards across Charlotte, take heed!