Packers: Poor tackling will cripple the franchise’s defense this year

Packers and poor tackling have become synonymous.

After last Thursday’s first preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Packers had many things that they did well.

Brett Hundley looked like the additional year in the Packers’ system is delivering results.  Four turnovers by the defense is an impressive stat.  Winning the turnover ratio wins games.

Yet, there were a few things that they need to clean up.

It was the first preseason game so most of these issues should be happening to some extent.

We get that.

It was their first game situation of the year.

The thing that stood out most was the high number of missed tackles Thursday night.  If not corrected over the next few weeks the Packers may be looking at their Achilles heel for the 2017 season.

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We can reflect back to last season and see that the defense had its challenges.

There was a lot of up-and-down play from most of the guys that played in 2016.  Some of it was attributed to numerous injuries. Some of it was guys having to play different positions. Some of it was inexperience.

There always seemed to be one challenge right after another for that side of the ball.

After watching the game against the Eagles it seemed like the most notable thing that caused problems for the defense was the high number of missed tackles.

If you wanted to know how many, just ask any defensive coach this week.

They all did press conferences on Wednesday and they could all tell you the glaring issue was the poor tackling.

During his time behind the mic, defensive coordinator Dom Capers noted his defense had 16 missed tackles against Philadelphia.

He expressed his concerns for that high of a number, and followed it up by saying that as the game progressed the tackling got better.

You could tell the coaching staff noted this after reviewing the tape of the game. Head coach Mike McCarthy, assistant head coach Winton Moss, Capers, safeties coach Darren Perry, and cornerback coach Joe Whitt Jr. all talked about how tackling was the big issue.

This is something the coaching staff needs to correct immediately.

It is obvious that tackling will be a strong focus as the team practices this week and beyond.  It has to be.

The last thing a defense wants to be known for is bad tackling.

The cause is either a lack of aggressive types on defense or some guys not liking the contact. It could also be guys getting caught out of position on some plays or taking bad angles.

It could be a lack of conditioning or mental preparation. It could be any or many of these things that contribute, but it is the coaching staff’s job to get their guys ready to play the game at a level that allows the team to win consistently.

They have a lot of younger guys that will be asked to contribute this season, a fact that allows the team to get to where they want to be. They will all need to be able to make that critical tackle to stop the opposing offense and get the Packers offense back on the field to do what they do best.

Every player on the Packers’ roster has the tools to make this defense as dominant as it needs to be. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be on the roster.

Next: Packers roster breakdown: Outside linebackers

Adding rookies Josh Jones, Kevin King and Montravius Adams will bring with it the expectations that they play and perform well and maybe even start at their respective positions.

If the Packers are truly focused on getting to the Super Bowl this year in Minneapolis this year the tackling must improve.

Luckily they have three more preseason games to turn this around starting with the Redskins this Saturday in Washington.