Bucs Have Heeded Pleas To Wrap Up
August 25th, 2022
Bucs co-DC Kacy Rodgers.
Regular readers of this here website or faithful listeners to the “Ira Kaufman Podcast” know Joe has long and hard harped and hollered and slammed empty pints of Bromosa on the bar about why the Bucs don’t practice wrapping up.
Or at least demonstrate on the field of play they practice proper tackling.
It is appalling to Joe that the NFL in general, and too often the Bucs, don’t wrap up on defense. Joe is convinced one reason the Bucs lost to the Rams in the playoffs last year was dudes just trying to splash Rams ballcarriers and not wrapping up, allowing way too much YAC and first downs.
Joe just cannot understand why professionals cannot fundamentally tackle. Joe hears former Jets suit and linebackers coach Pat Kirwan often say on SiriusXM NFL Radio that teams cannot practice tackling because of limited hitting allowed in practices.
Joe always felt this was a copout. Joe learned in high school how to tackle properly using tackling dummies — daily drills wrapping up July through November. And Joe’s old coach played in the NFL.
Well, today was the final practice the pen and mic club were allowed to watch in its entirety until next year. And Joe saw manna from heaven only feet away.
Defensive linemen went through a drill with tackling dummies and wrapping up!
(All but the first 30 minutes of practice were off-limits to reporting. But Joe has cleared this story with Bucs media relations before publishing.)
It was a wonderful sight: Bucs practicing wrapping up. Hallelujah!!! Joe was so happy and so relieved. Joe actually said out loud while looking at the canopy ceiling “Thank you, Jesus!” Joe was so overwhelmed and felt like stopping at Jesuit on the way home and having one of the priests say a private mass (for a modest donation).
Finally, someone at One Buc Palace must have been hearing Joe’s many pleas. Now if Joe learns the Bucs’ defensive backs are put through the same drill, Joe might just have to smoke a cigarette.
Please Bucs, have the entire defense do this. Daily. It can be done.
August 25th, 2022 at 12:57 pm
Tackling in pro football, has become what free through shooting has been for decades in the NBA, a lost art.
August 25th, 2022 at 12:58 pm
*free throw, damn predictive text
August 25th, 2022 at 1:03 pm
No diggity.
Suh.
August 25th, 2022 at 1:09 pm
Agree, Joe. Tackling has been poor. Got to get better. A good sight to see at practice for sure.
August 25th, 2022 at 1:11 pm
If a tree falls in a forest but Joe wasn’t there to see it did it really fall .
August 25th, 2022 at 1:18 pm
Based on what I witnessed in the last game, the defense also needs to work on taking the right angles to make an open-field tackle. In some cases, they just flew by the person carrying the ball.
August 25th, 2022 at 1:24 pm
Joe,’
If it’s one brief drill this late in camp, ever get the feeling we’ve been had?
Now I have Bugs Bunny cartoons are playing in my head. lol
August 25th, 2022 at 1:32 pm
Bob makes a great point. Poor angles. We’ve got Devin White and Jane Tryon who specialize in poor form. Didn’t White make just one tackle on blitzes for the entire season?
It’s a piss poor number.
Watch LVD or Winfield to see how its done.
August 25th, 2022 at 1:36 pm
One thing:
Tackling dummies in high school do not move as quickly as world class NFL athletes.
Not sure why we want to compare that. The missed tackles that I see are mostly when those world class athletes are making elite moves. Lot easier to square up a dummy than those athletes.
I agree with Pat Kirwan. The simple drills are fine in one respect, but when trying to do things at levels that few others can, you have to challenge yourselves that way. i.e. you have to practice tackling at full speed when the offense is going full speed.
August 25th, 2022 at 1:40 pm
Very true. But it does get guys in the involuntary habit of wrapping up.
August 25th, 2022 at 2:01 pm
Tackling dummies or no tackling dummies the defense was atrocious last year in regard to tackling. I don’t care if you use the dummies or not. Fix it this year.
August 25th, 2022 at 2:04 pm
Joe I don’t think it’s a copout. Any skill that you don’t practice constantly, will erode. Tackling an NFL player, isn’t like riding a bike or making love. It’s a league wide problem. Tackling dummies don’t move. Until they invent a robotic dummy, that can move with the same speed and agility as an NFL player, the problem will continue. Another factor, is all the emphasis on creating turnovers. Guys are taught to punch at the ball, way more than in my day. There no way in hell the players go back to the old CBA rules regarding hitting. So, sadly I think the problem is here to stay
August 25th, 2022 at 2:05 pm
There’s
August 25th, 2022 at 2:19 pm
Wrapping up has been a problem. So has taking bad angles, trying to make a big hit that turns into a miss, and aiming to high when tackling. They just don’t put guys on the ground anymore during training camp either. Hard to be a good tackler when you can’t practice it on a live opponent.
August 25th, 2022 at 2:22 pm
Major pet peeve of mine.
Summer knocking the practice on tackle dummies… It doesn’t matter. At least we know the coaches are emphasizing it.
August 25th, 2022 at 2:33 pm
for those interested search for:
robotic tackling dummies for football
videos
you will find videos that are upto 6 yrs old of commercially available robotic dummies that can be and have been used and/or tested by nfl, college and hs teams in practice.
not sure how valuable the front 1-on-1 drills would be, but certainly provides opportunities for practicing pursuit and angles and wrapping up.
don’t know why more teams have not instituted them as a part of practice
jimm
August 25th, 2022 at 2:36 pm
Defense win championships let’s go defense!!!
August 25th, 2022 at 3:07 pm
Couldn’t have proved by me watching the Tennessee game.
I saw a lot of bad angles and not a lot of clean tackles, Sloppy.
August 25th, 2022 at 3:15 pm
Joe they may have heard some of your many pleas or the coaches finally got tired of watching missed tackles on film!! Either way a big win for the team and us fans!!!
August 25th, 2022 at 3:26 pm
The team should watch tape of Antoine Winfield Jr. tackling until their eyes bleed. That should do the trick.
August 25th, 2022 at 3:45 pm
You guys can’t be this dumb. Do you seriously think that the coaches don’t make this a constant point of emphasis. At some point it’s on the players. Sheesh
August 25th, 2022 at 3:45 pm
I cannot remember Winfield Jr. ever missing a tackle he should have made
August 25th, 2022 at 4:28 pm
AWJ making a sure tackle to prevent a touchdown is money in the bank.
August 25th, 2022 at 4:47 pm
PREACH!!!
August 25th, 2022 at 5:47 pm
Didn’t GMC tear his biceps a few times by wrapping up. It is a good way to get hurt sometimes.
August 25th, 2022 at 7:07 pm
Next, Joe, you’ll be telling us you get an erection for wood-laying.
Erection conditions:
1) Sacks
2) Form tackles.
I’m all in. Where do I sign up??
August 25th, 2022 at 9:24 pm
Tackling is a lost art in the pass happy NFL
August 25th, 2022 at 9:27 pm
Smash mouth football and pulling a guard sets up the pass … Gonna be needed until the OL gets up to speed….
August 25th, 2022 at 10:39 pm
joe, could you ask someone on the defensive coaching staff if they have ever investigated or considered using the MVP tackling dummies designed/created by dartmouth engineering.
these robots are remote controlled, go at up to 20mph, are padded and give defensive players the opportunity to practice wrap-up and tackling without the possibility of injuring an offensive teammate.
i’m just curious if they are aware. seems like there is no downside and they could be incorporated into some small part of defensive practice.