The Cougars have been terrible at tackling this year, missing tackles left and right in the majority of their games. We know they’re not doing well, they know they’re not doing well, but the question is why.
At CougCenter, I examined that question and gave some insight on the Cougar defense’s tackling problems using some video evidence.
On the run, you see all three factors of poor tackling at work. Players are well out of position as Havili hits the hole, cuts back and breaks into the second level. Later in the run, Daniel Simmons drops his head while going in for the tackle, deciding to make a bee-line towards the stands for a hot-dog instead. He looked down and never touched Havili because of it. Finally, you see the confidence issue. Chima Nwachukwu plays patty-cake with Havili down the sideline before throwing in the towel and taking Nolan Washington out of the play.
The Cougars spent the week practicing with live-tackling in an effort to find that killer instinct. We’ll see if it pays off this Saturday against UCLA.