How Giants Can "Tackle" A Major Problem

There are numerous statistical categories in which an NFL team doesn't want to be among the league leaders, and one such category is missed tackles.

Yet, here we are, the New York Giants, per Pro Football Focus, clocking in with 29 missed tackles through three games, which puts them in the top five league-wide with other offenders such as the Bears, Lions, and Rams.

At this rate, the Giants are on pace for 164.3 missed tackles this season, which would top last year's total of 136.

Tackling is a basic skill that many of today's NFL players learn way before they get a taste of the bright lights of the big-level game. Yet the Giants' technique has gone by the wayside, with players attempting everything except the class wrap-up tackling technique that coaches stress in practice.

So how do the Giants tackle the tackle issue they suddenly have developed through three games?

"It’s something we’ve got to practice, but then most importantly on Sundays, just got to be better," said safety Xavier McKinney, who is currently tied for fourth on the team (with cornerback Tre Hawkins III) with three missed tackles. "I think it’s pretty simple."

But if it were that simple, surely by now, the Giants, who racked up 16 of their 29 missed tackles on the year in their recently completed Week 3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, would have figured it out by now, right?

An argument could be made that the lack of tackling in the off-season, training camp, pre-season games, and in-season practices can dull a team's ability to tackle.

Except there are plenty of teams in the NFL, who don't have double-digit missed tackles, which throws cold water over that argument.

McKinney insisted that the missed tackles weren't why the Giants lost two games.

So what is the reason?

"I don't think we've started fast. I don't think that we've gotten—we don't have any turnovers. I think those are two of the big keys in my mind," he said. "Right now, we're just trying to figure out a way where we can be able to force these turnovers. For me as an individual, that's something that I'm constantly trying to figure out, is how to be able to force turnovers and get the ball back for our offense."

Tackling, especially on third down when a defense can get off the field, can help get the ball back for the offense. The problem with the Giants' tackling through three games has been shoddy technique--guys diving for ankles or simply not wrapping up or taking correct angles.

There is also the "want-to" aspect that has been missing in the first three games. The Giants have had, on occasion, guys who have played passively regarding tackling, at times looking like they wanted nothing to do with the physical part of the game.

Without that effort, that want-to, technique, and all the other issues just won't matter as much.

But let's say it's strictly a technique issue. The technique can be taught during drills, but based on what we've seen so far, it doesn't appear to be improving.

"I think it’s just something you bring to the forefront of your mind, and that’s the focus as we move forward throughout the season, that we need to perfect that, and we can’t exactly simulate it during practice, but we can drill it and get reps doing it that way, so that’ll definitely be an emphasis this week," said inside linebacker Micah McFadden, who has a team-leading seven missed tackles so far this season.

McKinney believes that while tackling needs to be improved, it's not the sole reason for the Giants coming out of the gate 1-2.

"I mean, we’ve got to tackle, but that's not why we lost two games," he said. "We’ve got to be better with it, but that's not why we lost two games, in my opinion. The fundamentals matter, and we’ve got to be a lot better in that aspect, which we will.

"But that's not why the games are going how they're going. (There’s) a lot of other different things that we’ve got to correct and be better with, and like I said, fundamentals matter, and they're always going to matter, and we’ll be better with it. I'm not going to stress too much over that because I know that we're a good tackling team."

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