One of the Oregon State football team’s defensive issues from the first game was tackling. They didn’t do it well enough.
Players and coaches knew it, so they worked on getting better during the bye week. The expectation is that tackling will be better Saturday against Louisville.
“That how its,” LB Dwight Roberson said of the team’s first-game woes. “The first game there are missed tackles and then everyone knows the speed of the game. I know we will get better.”
That leads to questions. What was the problem? Do the Beavers practice tackling enough?
OSU doesn’t practice tackling during spring practice or training camp. The only time they finished plays were during the two scrimmages.
“It would be better for a defense to finish more, but we try to work hard at practicing fast and getting to the ball.” S Lance Mitchell said. “After that it’s the easy part getting the man down.”
The reason for not tackling in practice is to keep everyone healthy. A few years ago I wrote a detailed story on the what and whys about this. I’d link it, but all the older GT stories were lost with a server change a year or so ago.
Part of the reason for the defensive slow starts is because of the tackling deal. As Roberson pointed out, once players see the speed of the game they improve. Just look back at previous seasons. Defenses always get better by the end of the season.
“It will get better,” Mitchell said. “It’s the first game of the season. That’s what we do. We play defense and tackle.”
What was worked on during the week of was positioning to get in the right position to tackle since most of a tackle is positioning.
“When you have everyone running to the ball, if one misses another one is coming,” Mitchell said. “If we all get to the ball we’ll have a better day.”
I believe this is a major reason for OSU’s slow starts. Do you think the Beavers should tackle more during training camp?
17 comments
angrybeaver says:
May 18, 2012
Having zero or one viable backups at key positions limits what a head coach can do during spring and fall camp preparation. The Beavers usually field a quality starter at every position, but behind that starter is always a walk-on or some guy who needs three years of seasoning to even become a backup. They've been able to have successful seasons because they've avoided injuries at key positions, or the injuries they did have were at the one position of depth, quarterback. Riley knows depth is either bad or under-developed, so he pampers his starters during camp, and when the season kicks off, they're not ready.
In short, recruiting quality depth that doesn't need three years of development (i.e. avoid wasting scholarships on "reaches" like the Kameron Krebs or Rory Ross's of the world) will lead to faster starts.
http://angrybeavs.com
beaverteeth says:
May 18, 2012
Having three walk-on offensive lineman this year starting speaks volumns about recruiting and quality of players. Yes, once in a while you get a diamond in the rough and we all know who those players are but the running game is key to winning. And those big guys up front were getting push back alot especially in the TCU game and Quiz was being stuffed over and over. I think there are times when a big back like Ryan McCants can help in these situations if he could be trusted to hold onto the ball.
angrybeaver says:
May 18, 2012
This is a great point. It's hard to win in football, be it NFL or college, without two backs. Every great team has a change of pace back, or a bruiser, to compliment the featured back or loosen the defense. Riley relies waaaaay too much on Quizz. He's done this with lesser backs, too, so don't say it's because Quizz is so great. Great players (a) need rest and (b) don't always have great runs. If Riley doesn't trust his depth then he needs to recruit players he does trust.
tradernum1 says:
May 18, 2012
I think it's a bigger issue than just pre-season tackling. Thinking about past Boise State games, the past two Civil Wars and the TCU result makes me queasy.
ean says:
May 18, 2012
Seems like they either need to tackle more in practice or open up the season verse easier opponents. This will be a great team if they show the same amount of improvement as past teams because that TCU game was a whole lot better than some of the opening games I can remember like Penn State, Cinci, Louisville and so on.
JackBeav says:
May 18, 2012
I'm just going to go pull my hair out now. That's the easy part once I see my team failing to do their easy part.
JackBeav says:
May 18, 2012
Imagine how much this coach would be vilified in Corvallis if he spoke of his team in this light. Note page two for your tackling question. http://articles.mcall.com/2010-09-14/sports/mc-pe…
You may be on to something. I never knew we didn't tackle in camps. I thought we were like everyone else and had red jerseys for the untouchables. That's like not shooting the ball in hoops practice and expecting to do well once game time rolls around.
OSU4life says:
May 18, 2012
I think if we recruit better players and establish better depth at every position, then injuries won't factor in as much. I agree with angrybeaver too! I think if we can recruit more team speed, and faster players, there won't be a big fall off with the #1's or #2's!
Jayson_L says:
May 18, 2012
Much easier to make an argument for lack of tackling in camp leading to slow starts then worrying about hurting key players. There is a big difference between giving some guys colored jerseys so they don't take a lot of hits and not finishing plays at all. Seems like some contact could maybe be beneficial.
I would like to see more depth also.
aaron_ says:
May 18, 2012
that is the eact reason you DONT schedule a TCU for the first game! Use a lesser opponent like UNLV or San Jose State, San Diego State for teh warm up. If you want to schedul a hard game like TCU have that one second or third. They need to start the season off with a tune up then go from there.
JuneauJim says:
May 18, 2012
Let's subtract the safety and the seven points given up at the end of the first half on Hekker's lousy punt. TCU scores 21 points – well under their 2009 average of 40.7. In 2009, TCU averaged 469 yards of offense a game!
The game wasn't won or lost based on whether Mike has the guys tackle in practice. It was lost on a lousy punt and a first time starter at qb who wen 9-25 and never, not once, passed the ball to Quizz.
The defense will be fine. Close games will be won or lost based on the qb's ability to get the ball to the playmakers and executing on special teams.
OSU4life says:
May 18, 2012
I can't wait for Saturday!!! I'll be at the game and I think the both the OSU defense and offense will be eager to make a statement! I think the "D" will be on fire, tackling, and looking to pop Louisville in the mouth! They will be focused and ready to go. I'll be arriving early though, (there will be a lot of traffic on I-5!) I want to see the team warm up! Hope to see Reser full by kickoff!
JackBeav says:
May 18, 2012
I think we're going to find ourselves with a lot of good depth at all the skill positions in the coming years… a lot. And the recruiting of quality defenders has seemingly increased as well. But watching our left side do an excellent impression of a folding chair on run plays has me worried about the o-line's future. Why recruit anyone for the trenches if walk-ons get the spots?
Much has been made of 'message board responses' to the defense's performance in Arlington. If it lights a fire under them, then kudos to all who participated in the ritual known as fandom. We want our boys playing with chips on their shoulders. I've had enough of the 'wait until next year' attitude I've known my whole life as a Beavs football fan.
If the hard work put in doesn't have the desired result, then it wasn't hard work. A pat on the back doesn't make a poor performance anything except excusable.
aaron_ says:
May 18, 2012
well put Jack.
CBvr says:
May 18, 2012
I think it is way too early in the seaon to think the sky is falling because of the amount of tackling in practice or what stage of the moon it was on game day. They played a tough team and obviously got beat. They were in the game up until the end and obviously looked good enough to get ranked at #25 with a 0-1 record. Lets see what transpires the next two weeks and then we will have a much clearer picture of what the potential of this team is. Go Beavs
JackBeav says:
May 18, 2012
I don't think anyone is arguing this point. I think what we're dealing with is an expectation to be prepared from day one.
You can bet that the team and coaches were much much harder on themselves after the close loss to TCU than any of us will ever be. Their expectation is to win every time they step on the field. Even the most die hard fan can't say that… yet.
I think the players have prepared better than in years past. And I think they are providing the motivation for improving immediately. This is a welcome departure from years past, and I think we all feel the season will reflect the players' attitudes.
While the coaches seem to be departing from their early season ritual rut earlier than normal, they still seem to be taking cues from the players. This team can be better than they expect themselves to be, and it's up to the coaches to make it so.
That's what this discussion is about.
osbeavs says:
May 18, 2012
I don't think it is a big deal that they don't finish plays as much at practice. They often go to "thud", which is very common in college/pro. Many high schools even do it. This team needs to do more than finish plays defensively, they need to get a chip on their shoulder. None of the players seemed to play angry at all. Often times we were late to tackles in that game because linebackers didn't get off of blocks. That indites two groups, the D-line and LB's. DL should be occupying some blocks so that not as many OL get to the second level to make blocks. Second, the LB's need to shed those blocks and make a play. It is not enough to have team speed, you have to be physical in your pursuit to the football.
Often people mention how much we develop talent, to me it seems like we aren't doing that well on the defensive side of the ball. Tackling and block shedding can be easily fixed. You practice those techniques in individual drills, if people really struggle at it, do it at walk speed (or even one step at a time). This is something we should definitely be doing in the spring, I don't know if we do it already. Anytime anyone struggles break down the skill into its component parts and work technique and build it back up into its overall skill. Overall, our defense is in a bad spot. They lack aggression, speed and desire. I am of the opinion that if a defense gets a personal foul or two in a game that is okay as long as they were making plays. The only players that I thought were worth mentioning from the last game were Paea and Mitchell. The rest need to step it up. Unfortunately, it starts with coaching. It is a grander scheme than simply finishing plays.