Sunday, for just the second time this season, the Patriots had double-digit missed tackles: 12, to be exact, matching their season-worst in that debacle at Dallas. This time, it didn't come back to haunt them, although many of those misses made their way onto the lowlight reel to start the work week. Hope you guys enjoyed the win because we sure as hell didn't enjoy your attempts to get some of the Bills playmakers to the ground.
When we spoke to him on Tuesday, linebackers coach Jerod Mayo called it an anomaly. As someone who played the game at a high level and was as sure a tackler as you'll find, I wanted to get his thoughts on the art of tackling and if it was as much about mindset as the physical skills because, in this era, full-contact practices are few and far between - only 14 padded practices are allowed in-season.
"Yeah, one thing that is held true, or at least the way I think about tackling, is knowing where your help is," said Mayo. "Like obviously you can go through - all right - wrap your arms around this guy, bring your feet, get him to the ground - like that happens every once in a while, but honestly when you go against - these are NFL players, fast and elusive players - you have to take a shot at some point. So, if we take that shot, you have to know where your help is. That help could be the sideline, or that help could be the pursuit players coming from inside out. So knowing where your help is definitely is something that will help with that."
In talking to a handful of players, that clearly is a message that has taken root in the locker room. Myles Bryant, not the biggest guy, has been a pretty sure tackler during his tenure with the Pats.
"I think one is understanding who you're going against - the kind of player and runner you're going to see," Bryant said. "You look at the NFL; there are so many different guys, shapes, and sizes. Small guys with wide legs that you know are hard to bring down and power backs, and these tall skinny guys who are a little more twitchy are much faster. So, it's understanding who you're going against; two, it's also understanding where your help is. If I'm an outside curl flat defender, I know I got my hook player coming in and that defensive end coming in. I can hold my leverage outside, and I might just be like, shoot my shot, just go in there, don't have to slow down and just shoot my shot because I know if I miss, then these guys come in and help bring the guy down."
Bryant said, "shooting your shot" is encouraged, depending on the circumstance. And the coaches will be more forgiving in those instances if a player plays it smartly.
"If my help is 20 yards away, and now it's one-on-one, I gotta break down and make the tackle," he said. "But now, if my help is five yards away and I shoot and miss my tackle on the guy, and he gains extra yard, ok, It's not the end of the world, you know what I mean? So it's just a matter of understanding where the leverage is, where the help is, and trying to just funnel guys in."
No one on the Pats has been a more forceful tackler, a more impactful tackler than Jabril Peppers. He's forcing fumbles and delivering snot bubble-inducing hits but somehow managing - generally - to do it legally in a league that has restricted defenders, practice time, and the types of practices you can have (editor's note: Peppers did get drilled with a big fine in the win over the Jets).
"We work on it a lot here," said Peppers. "But you know, I've been a couple other places, and it's not like college where you have a lot of live practices and live tackling drills and things like that. Some places do it in a league, but for the most part, it's hard to simulate that, and you only have but so many padded practices."
"You know, we emphasize a lot on just body posture body, body control, taking the right angles, and you can do all those other things without the contact," said linebacker Jahlani Tavai. "One of the main guys that do it really well is - we're gonna talk about him a lot - is Jabril, using him as a model because at practice he'll literally run full speed, take the right angle, and then he'll get down to a rep position and, you know, imitate making the tackle."
Against a team like the Dolphins, so much of what they do is about getting their best athletes - Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and Raheem Mostert - the ball in space. The Eagles did an excellent job of limiting the yards after the catch by rallying to the point of attack. There were a couple of screens where the Philly defense had as many as seven defenders within striking range, but all were conscious of where their help was. The Pats must approach Sunday similarly if they want to duplicate that success.
"That's how you avoid missed tackles, really, by just having nothing but a good swarm of lunatics trying to make a play," Tavai told me, smiling as he said it.
LAMAR JACKSON MAKING DECISION-MAKERS LOOK FOOLISH
There was a great skit on Saturday Night Live called the "Chris Farley Show" where the host - the late, great Farley - would ask the guests' do you remember when...?' As I've watched Lamar Jackson put up MVP-type performances week after week, I asked the same thing: do you remember when Lamar was available on the franchise tag (hence, a possible trade), and none of the other 31 teams had any interest? God, that was so stupid (he typed in his Farley voice). How much different would the Falcons, Commanders, Saints, or the Patriots look if this guy was their quarterback? I'll answer that - considerably better than they look right now, and in some cases, they don't look so bad to begin with.
Finally rid of the Greg Roman offense, which went stale shortly after Jackson won his first MVP in 2019, the quarterback who was supposed to burn out and fade away much like the more mobile QBs of the last two decades, instead is aging like a fine cheese, which makes sense because he got all the cheddar this offseason when he signed a five-year, 260-million dollar extension to remain in Baltimore.
Jackson ranks top 3 in the NFL in 2023 in wins (5), completion percentage (71.0), passing yards per attempt (8.1), and passer rating (101.9) among 32 qualified QBs. He's also been more productive through seven games in 2023 than the first seven games of his 2019 MVP campaign. The numbers would be even more eye-popping if not for a butter fingers game by his pass catchers in week five, costing Jackson well over 100 yards passing, a touchdown or two, and what should have been a victory.
After that debacle, the veteran signal-caller didn't call anyone out, instead saying, "(It's) self-explanatory. I don't need to say anything. Those guys feel how I feel. They want to make a play."
Jackson's maturity as a pocket passer was on display last year before an injury threw him out of rhythm. This year, he's taken another step forward in this Todd Monken offense and is squashing another narrative about him - that he can't throw the downfield consistently. In Sunday's rout of the previously red-hot Lions, he completed 8-of-10 throws on passes of 10 or more yards downfield, including hitting all three third-down throws, one of which went for a touchdown. That led to him being named AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
"I'm trying to win week-in, week-out," said Jackson. "If stuff like that happens, I feel like that's a team award. Without those guys, I wouldn't be the AFC Player of the Week. So hats off to my teammates."
The Ravens took a different approach to their pass catchers this year, adding Odell Beckham Jr. via free agency and drafting Zay Flowers in the first round. That has created more space for this offense that has long thrived on working between the hashes. Now? They're less predictable and more explosive. That's quite a combo, but one not possible with Jackson playing at such a high level. Trust me, it's a fun watch.
MAYBE HE'S NOT SO BAD AFTER ALL
Less than a year ago, Zach Wilson was seemingly nearing the end of his time in New York. Whatever faith that Jets locker room had in him was lost, and the coaching staff was also at their wit's end. He not only got benched for Mike White, but teammates wore t-shirts with White's face and the caption "Mike F'ing White."
Those were dark days. Then came the trade for Aaron Rodgers and a chance for Wilson to reset as the future Hall of Famer's backup. Four snaps into the 2023-24 regular season, Rodgers snapped his Achilles, and Wilson was thrust back into the spotlight. He seemed like the same quarterback and the angst amongst Jets fans was at an all-time high (which is saying something). But Wilson inexplicably found more solid footing against one of the best defenses in football this year - the Kansas City Chiefs. Now the Jets (3-3 coming off their bye) and Wilson have life.
"I think he feels that this organization is behind him," said Robert Saleh. "I think he feels that the locker room is behind him. I think he feels that the coaching staff is behind him, and on top of it, I think he sees that he's practicing really well. His teammates see that he's practicing well. Then you get to game day, and I think everyone sees that he's gotten a lot better. He still has a long way to go; he incrementally is getting better."
Wilson has career highs in completion percentage (60.4) and passer rating (73.4) this year, but let's not get it twisted. Those numbers place him 29th and 30th, respectively, in those categories. But that Chiefs game is a line of delineation (with a look at his last three starts).
- KC 28-of-39 (71.8%), 245 yards, 2 TDs
- Denver 19-of-26 (73.1%), 199 yards and 1 INT
- Philadelphia 19-of-33 (57.6%), 186 yards
Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett noted that Wilson has taken more ownership of the offense and has done a good job putting his stamp on what the Jets do and are trying to do. The head coach agrees.
"From a game-planning standpoint, it's been an open book with him starting with the Kansas City game where was, alright, let's see what he's got, and now he's proven week in and week out, and he's doing a really nice job," said Saleh. "Now, defenses dictate where the balls go and what you can and can't do offensively, but as far as game planning and trying to figure out, we're not trying to hide Zach at all. We're letting him play football, and the play designs and the game plan is one for our quarterback we trust."
Wilson will face a different kind of challenge this week in the blitz-heavy Giants, which he's struggled with not only this year but for the entirety of his brief career. But maybe this really is a different, more mature player now. He's certainly getting a chance to prove that.
NERD NUMBERS
- Since 1990, only 6.1% of all teams starting season 2-5 have made the playoffs (10 of 163). That percentage increases slightly (9.4%) for 3-5 teams.
- Baker Mayfield has played for 8 head coaches (including interims). That's the most HCs played for through 6 seasons by any QB in NFL history (and 3rd-most in an entire career by a QB drafted 1st overall – behind only Jeff George & Vinny Testaverde). The signal-caller he squares off with Thursday, Josh Allen, is now 21-5 in his career following a loss.
- Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud square off this weekend. This will be the 5th meeting between rookie QBs selected 1st & 2nd overall in the common draft era (since 1967). The QB drafted 2nd overall has won 3 of the previous 4 such games, with the only exception in 1998 when Peyton Manning's Colts beat the Chargers and Ryan Leaf.
- Beckett Giardi’s high school football career is coming to a close, but he’s finishing on a strong note - scoring two touchdowns Thursday on senior night.