Steelers to analyze ways to improve tackling on heels of season-worst performance

Mike Tomlin likes to tackle issues when they arise with his Pittsburgh Steelers, but what about when the issue to tackle is tackling itself?

The Steelers had a season-high 14 missed tackles last Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks and are among the NFL’s worst at bringing ball carriers to the ground.

With the Steelers conducting just one light practice before players scattered for a five-day break during the bye, Tomlin put the onus on his coaching staff to fix the issue.

“I think part of good coaching is eliminating known issues,” Tomlin said. “I’m challenging the staff to make our known problems disappear and lead the charge in that regard.”

The bye week provided a chance for introspection before the Steelers resume practicing next week when they prepare to play the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 31.

Although the Steelers defeated the Seahawks, 23-20, in overtime, for their second consecutive win, they couldn’t hold onto a 14-point halftime lead. Missed tackles were prevalent when Seattle opened the second half with touchdown drives on their first two possessions and a tying field goal drive on their third. Three came on a 41-yard reception by Seattle tight end Gerald Everett that set up the second touchdown.

According to Pro Football Focus data, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick led the charge with three missed tackles. Safety Terrell Edmunds, inside linebacker Devin Bush and cornerbacks Cam Sutton and Joe Haden had two each.

It was just the second time this season the Steelers reached double digits in missed tackles. They had 12 in the Week 2 loss to Las Vegas.

“Our tackling needs to be sounder and surer,” Tomlin said. “Understanding our leverage of the ball relative to other defenders, not only what it is we’re doing but how it fits into the bigger picture.”

The 14 missed tackles were jarring because the Steelers looked like they were making improvement the previous week when they were credited with only three against Denver.

For the season, the Steelers have accumulated 47 missed tackles, per Pro Football Focus. Another site, Pro Football Reference, has that number at 45, with only five teams exceeding that total.

Through six games, Fitzpatrick has a team-high eight missed tackles. He had 11 for the entire 2020 season. Linebacker Joe Schobert and Haden have six apiece. Defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs and Sutton have four, with Edmunds, Bush and outside linebacker Melvin Ingram III registering three missed tackles each.

“It comes down to doing our jobs and not doing too much,” said outside linebacker Alex Highsmith, who has two missed tackles for the season. “If everyone does their job and is in the vicinity to make the plays, that will make it easier for us and allow us to have less missed tackles. If we continue to do our jobs, we’re going to get better.”

The question that NFL teams face, particularly in the middle of the season, is how to practice tackling when contact is limited because of the collective bargaining agreement. In an effort to reduce injuries, the CBA limits padded practices in training camp to 16. During the regular season, teams are permitted to hold just 14 padded practices over the course of the entire season and can have no more than three over the final six weeks.

Asked how the Steelers can work on tackling when hitting is limited, defensive coordinator Keith Butler pointed to the nearby tackling sled.

“It helps a little bit,” he said. “Everybody says, ‘Well, they’re pros,’ and all that stuff. Yeah, they’re pros, but you still need fundamentals. You still need to practice fundamentals all the time. … You’ve got to pay attention to that, particularly in an off week for us.”

In the lone practice he scheduled during the bye week, Tomlin used a two-minute session as a way for his defensive players to get into proper position to make tackles.

“It’s understanding spatially your relationship to the ball relative to others,” he said. “There’s no need for a man to get outside of you if you have help inside, if you understand the knowledge of the help and things of that nature. We’ve got to keep the ball constricted, and part of it is knowledge as much as it is physical. You get an opportunity to work on tackling approaches even when you’re dressed in helmets.

“We did a two-minute drill. We dumped many balls down during the course of that drill. We had zone defenders converging on that ball carrier. Boy, that is an awesome tackling opportunity in that drill because it’s a leverage-based thing, and it allows guys to make plays within the construction of a defensive scheme.”