Birds have to tackle an annoying problem
Schwartz disappointed in team’s tackling vs. Rams
PHILADELPHIA » The most significant thing about the Eagles’ victory in Los Angeles Sunday was that they lost Carson Wentz for the season.
The second most was that they won the NFC East.
The third most was that they scored 43 points.
The fourth most, Jim Schwartz would address Tuesday.
Simply, it was: When did the Birds forget how to tackle?
“The last couple games, it hasn’t been up to par,” the defensive coordinator said. “The Rams made a lot of big plays on play-actions deep down the field, and one of our objectives in that game was to prevent those kind of things. We actually did a pretty good job preventing the big plays from deep-down-the-field stuff. But we countered that by missing some tackles in the run game
“Our style of play dictates that we must be good tacklers. And if we don’t, we’re going to give up yards and give up points. And those are obviously points we don’t want to give up.”
– Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
and on some short passes, and they still got those explosive plays. And they are an offense that thrived on explosive plays.
“Our style of play dictates that we must be good tacklers. And if we don’t, we’re going to give up yards and give up points. And those are obviously points we don’t want to give up.”
The Eagles won, and victories camouflage all, the Birds had particular difficulty tackling Todd Gurley, who averaged 7.4 yards on 13 carries, rushing for 96 yards and two touchdowns.
“I spent some time in Detroit and saw a lot of Barry Sanders,” Schwartz said. “And there were a lot of really crappy tackling defenses that played Barry Sanders. When I was a kid, Walter Payton was out there and every week he was going against a crappy tackling defense.
“You have to give some credit to the opponent.”
Schwartz having provided that credit, he did recognize that the trend has been building. Solutions? “We do a lot of tackling drills and things like that,” he said. “It’s certainly not full speed. You can simulate some things. One of the things that really helps us defensively is (special teams) Coach (Dave) Fipp. He does a lot of tackling drills in his special teams. Those are all defensive drills, anyway.
“But there’s no substitute for live tackling and tackling guys to the ground. Honestly, at this point in the season, I don’t know that you really need to do that. I think our biggest emphasis is on team defense and pursuit angles. There’s going to be some individual tackles. Something busts through the front and the safety is going to have to get a guy on the ground.”
At 11-2, the recently diminished tackling is not likely to dent the Birds’ regular season. Schwartz knows, however, it must improve.
“Our standard is high,” he said. “I’ve said this a bunch of times: Tackling is not an individual thing. There’s form when it comes to tackling and technique and all those different things. But tackling is a team game. And we’re at our best when if one guy misses, the next guy is there to clean it up.
“To be a good individual tackling team, you need to be a good team tackling team. That’s where we’re at our best. That’s where we need to get back to.”
*** Schwartz was looking forward to seeing Sidney Jones practice. The secondround draft choice has been cleared for a return to the field after missing the entire season with an Achilles’ injury.
“He’s worked really, really hard at putting himself in this position,” Schwartz said. “He’s had a big injury. He’s been diligent. He’s been consistent. He’s kept a great attitude. And all that will serve him. But we’ll just have to see how it is on the field because we can’t judge him based on any other rookie or any other veteran player. He’s at a completely different spot.”
*** Wentz officially was placed on the injured reserve list Tuesday with a torn ACL. Offensive coordinator Frank Reich is confident the Birds will make a smooth transition to Nick Foles.
“Because he’s really smart, he’s accurate, and he’s got a strong arm,” he said. “Our offense is about being fast on your feet and accurate with the football. And Nick is all those things.”
To replace Wentz on the roster, the Birds signed free agent defensive end Bryan Braman. Beginning in 2014, Braman had played three seasons with the Birds, mostly on special teams, before going to New Orleans as a free agent. The Saints waived him after an injury settlement.
*** Though Foles has not played many, if any, firstteam practice reps this season, he is convinced he will have no timing issues with his wide receivers.
“I’ve watched them run their routes all year,” he said. “I’ve been able in practice at different times to throw those routes. So you just sort of build that data base. I am not always going to be able to get the reps Carson gets. But I am always standing behind the play. I am always watching film. I am always watching his drops. I’m always doing the drops in the background.
“You talk to them, find out what they like, how they feel, what we will see this week. It will come very fast.”