It's the Tackling, Dummy
Leslie Frazier knows why the Vikings defense has been disappointing throughout the first half of the season, and now finds itself ranked just 18th in the league:
“We had far too many missed tackles and it really led to some explosive plays that we want to cut down on going into the second half of the season,” Frazier said. “That’s probably the No. 1 area that we want to improve on. If we can do that, we’ll achieve a lot of our goals.”
Frazier added, “We’re doing some good things with our run defense and think it’s headed in the right in the direction. But our pass defense has to improve, in particular being able to tackle after people make a five-yard checkdown. Limiting the yards after the catch is one thing we keep harping on.”
Getting specific about the Vikings’ shoddy technique, Frazier pointed up the bad angles defensive players have been taking, and noted that guys haven’t been wrapping up as well as he’d like. What makes this all the more irksome, to me, is that before this season the Vikings were one of the best tackling teams in the league.
So, how exactly does a team go from being notably proficient in a particular area of the game to glaringly deficient?
Laziness, I suspect, is the main culprit. Which falls partly on the players and partly on the coaches.
At least we know that Frazier is emphasizing this area. Now it’s up to the players to pay attention to what Frazier is telling them, and clean up the things that need to be cleaned up. Cause the way we’ve been playing defense, if we get the Saints in the postseason…there ain’t gonna be no Super Bowl for the Purple.
I saw a great Jared Allen video on bestoftheweb.com
November 12th, 2009 at 9:12 pmI saw a great Jared Allen video on bestoftheweb2009.com
November 12th, 2009 at 9:13 pmBest defensive end in football= Jared Allen. Also to add to that, Da Bears lose again, and if Dallas knocks off Green Bay this week, after we beat Detroit, the Vikings will be 8-1, the Bears and Pack 4-5, do i hear NFC North Championship? Is this getting too easy or what? Ok, i’ll be patient and wait till we win the next-3-in-a-row-at-home 10-1. Bring on them Cowboys and Saints in the playoffs, here we go Super Bowl, here we go!!!
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