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- Aug 28, 2011
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Just before the season opener with NC State, Jim Mora made an interesting statement. He thought the fall camp was good and the players had learned to practice with intensity without injuring their teammates. They came into the first game healthy and, according to Mora, ready to go.
One thing they were not ready to do was tackle. Estimates on the number of missed tackles were between 17 and 27. Time after time NC State players would simply run through Husky defenders. It was a missed tackle-fest. It was one of the worse tackling performances in the history of the Rent.
It is absolutely fair to say that the game would have been very competitive or even a victory with competent tackling. So how does a team, coming off a bowl game, open the season with such a performance? This one falls directly on the coaching staff. Tackling is the singularly most important defensive skill. If you can't tackle --scheme doesn't matter. If you can't tackle --you cannot win. So how did the coaching staff fail so miserably to teach tackling?
Nothing can be done about last year's opener. But if it happens in 2024, it is a firing offense. Something has to change in the preseason. Priorities and methods have to be reassessed. Tackling has to be treated as the fundamental basis of the defense. However they taught it -- IT DID NOT WORK!
Looking back on the season, the missed tackles in the opener set the tone. Looking forward to the damage that will be inflicted on the Huskies in the portal. Fundamentals must be addressed. Nothing can be taken for granted. And nothing is more fundamental than tackling. Get it fixed.
One thing they were not ready to do was tackle. Estimates on the number of missed tackles were between 17 and 27. Time after time NC State players would simply run through Husky defenders. It was a missed tackle-fest. It was one of the worse tackling performances in the history of the Rent.
It is absolutely fair to say that the game would have been very competitive or even a victory with competent tackling. So how does a team, coming off a bowl game, open the season with such a performance? This one falls directly on the coaching staff. Tackling is the singularly most important defensive skill. If you can't tackle --scheme doesn't matter. If you can't tackle --you cannot win. So how did the coaching staff fail so miserably to teach tackling?
Nothing can be done about last year's opener. But if it happens in 2024, it is a firing offense. Something has to change in the preseason. Priorities and methods have to be reassessed. Tackling has to be treated as the fundamental basis of the defense. However they taught it -- IT DID NOT WORK!
Looking back on the season, the missed tackles in the opener set the tone. Looking forward to the damage that will be inflicted on the Huskies in the portal. Fundamentals must be addressed. Nothing can be taken for granted. And nothing is more fundamental than tackling. Get it fixed.
