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Missed tackles irk Sparano

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Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter vividly remembers the two tackles he missed Thursday against the Buccaneers.

Both times, he shed his blocker, forced the runner inside and moved into perfect position.

"I could have made both of those tackles. No excuses there," Porter said Saturday. "Just tackle the guy. I tell my son the same thing. You don't have to make the prettiest tackle."

Porter was just one of several Dolphins defenders to miss tackles against the Bucs, a recurring problem magnified earlier this preseason when Carolina running back DeAngelo Williams slipped four tacklers for a 25-yard touchdown.

"We know when we play bad," Porter said. "A lot of guys were upset [Thursday]. I couldn't wait to go in there to watch the two plays I messed up on and a lot of guys felt the same way."

Coach Tony Sparano's reaction: "They should beat themselves up over missed tackles. It's part of the business. If you're a defensive player, you've usually been born a defensive player, you need to tackle. Get them on the ground."

The Dolphins typically don't tackle during practice, strictly wrapping up guys instead of taking them down to the turf to avoid injuries.

Tackling will be a point of emphasis in the Sept. 13 season opener against Atlanta and running back Michael Turner, who rushed for 1,699 yards last season and led the league in yards after contact.

"We've just got to hunker down and make sure we get those tackles," safety Yeremiah Bell said.
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/other/sfl-dolphins-porter-tackles-0830sbaug30,0,6274519.story
 
Tackling always looks shotty when teams don't tackle during practice going into preseason. I do hope that our guys can get used to contact in a hurry though because Turner is not easy to take down. Hopefully Roth can get back on the field soon, he is one of our better tacklers. I believe by gameday week 1 though Sparano will have this teams mind in the right place and they'll be ready to actually wrap up and finish tackles.
 
this happened last year..I hope they really do learn from this because they emphasized on this last year and didnt do too well still.
 
Never liked the 'Don't bring them to the ground' philosophy employed by Sparano... Especially early in camp... From a coach who stresses fundamentals... there is a WORLD of difference between being 'in position' to make the play and making it.

Tackling was a weakness throughout last year... We should have learned that lesson. JMO.
 
I will take a few missed tackles per game to keep our injuries to a MINIMUM anyday. Besides, tackling is something that can be worked on from week to week. If we lose Ferg or Ginn or even Penny, that would be a much bigger blow to our team.
 
The Dolphins defense didn't start tackling well until the 3rd game of the season last year.

I hope that issue doesn't rear it's ugly head again this year because we play two offenses that have a lot of firepower in the first two weeks. If you miss two tackles on Gonzalez and Turner, it's going to the house.. And if you miss on Reggie Wayne and some players on that Indy Offense, it's going the distance as well.

Next thing you know the Dolphins are 0-2 and everyone is in panic mode.

I don't know why Sparano can't at least have one or two practices a week where there's all out tackling. You can still limit injuries and still keep their tackling form by being responsible.

Nobody is saying they should tackle in every practice session. They practice 10 times a week with two-a-days, just having two sessions out of the ten where there is tackling involved, would go a long way.

It's better than not tackling at all.
 
Greyboy said:
The Dolphins defense didn't start tackling well until the 3rd game of the season last year.

I hope that issue doesn't rear it's ugly head again this year because we play two offenses that have a lot of firepower in the first two weeks.

I don't know why Sparano can't at least have one or two practices a week where there's all out tackling. You can still limit injuries and still keep their tackling form by being responsible.

Nobody is saying they should tackle in every practice session. They practice 10 times a week with two-a-days, just having two sessions out of the ten where there is tackling involved, would go a long way.

It's better than not tackling at all.
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Gotta agree with you. I always felt that good defenses were based around aggressive attacking players who loved contact... That is something that should be nurtured even at the risk of injury IMO.

I'm not saying they should ignore or welcome injury but they should find a balance. Part of the reason for having such a rigorous offseason and camp is to stay fit to avoid injury wherever possible when contact is unavoidable. Guess Matt Roth missed that memo. :lol:

I have always kind of scratched my head at why some are so unwilling to 'risk' Ted Ginn on return duty... If he is your best... Use him. The guy did it successfully throughout college and yet got injured celebrating a TD!!! Who could have predicted it?

The fact is... football is a violent sport, no avoiding it.

There are three guarantees in life... The sun will rise... The sun will set and your squad will suffer injuries. It is why depth is so crucial. JMO.
 
I also have this weird superstition... As soon as you fear injuries... You get them.

I think it has something to do with playing tentative... :lol:
 
Does any one know if the Steelers and Ravens tackle in training camp ?

Their front sevens were healthy last year and dominated. I don't remember either of those teams missing a lot of tackles last year.

If those teams didn't tackle, then it would make for an interesting discussion.
 
Spiff said:
Honestly, I can't remember tackling being an issue late last season.
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On special teams. Really you don't remember how many games were kept close because we would allow big returns? We were still signing guys at the end of the season in hopes of shoring it up. (Erik Walden, Derek Smith, William Kershaw)
 
TheDon74 said:
On special teams. Really you don't remember how many games were kept close because we would allow big returns? We were still signing guys at the end of the season in hopes of shoring it up. (Erik Walden, Derek Smith, William Kershaw)
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He was talking about "late" in the season. The special teams did a lot better on kick coverage over the last 5 games when they put in some of the guys you listed there.
 
Greyboy said:
He was talking about "late" in the season. The special teams did a lot better on kick coverage over the last 5 games when they put in some of the guys you listed there.
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Thats true good point
 
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