This is a football basics review for Miami Hurricanes. They had 16 missed tackles vs. Duke on Saturday. They also gave up 5 sacks and 15 pressures, so their blocking needs work also. The breakdown can be found here. Were they blindsided because the Duke staff had some former Hurricane coaches? Maybe. Could the coaches have made adjustments? YES! Did they? No. I will highlight form tackling here as the coaches may not want to overtly offend the team. The players will sigh and say that they know how to tackle and have been doing it since Pop Warner or Xtreme League. But, when there are so many missed tackles, I challenge any player who thinks they “know” how to tackle. Coach Hayes Football channel on Youtube has a great film session on the missed blocking assignments and tackles.
Football basics on tackling
From the website, youthfootballonline.com, here is their breakdown on proper tackling technique:
Tackling successfully and safety all starts with proper technique.
- Approach ball carrier, chop feet and get under control. You never want to be caught flat footed. Aiming point is the inside hip of the ball carrier. We do not use the term “break down” because breaking down will get defenders caught flat footed.
- Stay low. Sink the hips, eyes on belt buckle. Sink the Hips and Sky the Eyes.
- Tackle through. Explode through the target with head up. Contact must be made with shoulder pads (same foot, same shoulder). Feet need to be active (chopping) and underneath you. Shoot hands up, wrap up, and grab cloth.
- Drive through. Many kids will make the mistake of stopping their feet on contact. Teach your players to shoot and drive through the ball carrier.
Summary: Approach the ball carrier, chop feet, aiming point is the inside hip. Engage ball carrier with shoulder pads (same foot, same shoulder), and head up. Tackle through the ball carrier, do not stop feet. Grab cloth and finish the tackle. This is how to tackle with proper tackling technique!
The key phrases in their that the Hurricanes defensive players have forgotten is to “wrap up,” “drive through,” and “explode through the target.” In many plays, the players tried to shoulder tackle the ball carrier. In other plays, they allowed the Duke blockers to dominate them and push them to the side.
Football basics on blocking
Many of the blocking issues were missed assignments and improper adjustments. The Duke players “teed off” on Jake Garcia and Tyler Van Dyke. This was the fault of the coaches that should’ve caught this obvious weakness. I’m not claiming that this would’ve been corrected in the game but I think it would’ve “plugged the hole.” Instead, the play just got more and more sloppy. Coach Mario Cristobal in the post-game press conference grew stone-faced at a reporter asking if there were players who didn’t play hard in the game. There is no way to prove intent here. NO WAY. Coach Cristobal said it right when he talked about going back to work. That will separate the lazy players from the players who care. If the coach starts to investigate who played hard and who didn’t, the season will be lost. Read James Taglenti’s breakdown of the Texas A&M toss sweep to see more fundamental football breakdown on this site. The Hurricanes coaches should read the article.
Model tackling after this Hurricane great
I always remember Jonathan Vilma’s two tackles against Nebraska in the 2001 National Championship Game. He had two form tackles against Nebraska. One was on a reverse by player Ben Zaijcek and another on running back Darahnn Diedrick. The best thing about the tackles is that they weren’t targeting the offensive player. It was a hard, forceful form tackle done at the perfect moment. Vilma wrapped his arms around both players like vice grips. The player had no opportunity to break the tackle. The player was going down to the ground. For all the flash that current players love to highlight on Hudl or the loud, projectile hits, the best ones are the most obvious and basic–perfect timing, strength and form.