Spring Break
The Daily OrangeFB | Tackling top priority as SU defense prepares for Akron
By John Clayton
Posted: 9/2/08, 11:25 PM EST Section: Sports
Greg Robinson generally shuns hitting during practice.
The Syracuse head coach would rather avoid the risk of his players getting hurt and missing game action.
There's a flip side to that strategy. When the Orange defense entered its season opener Saturday at Northwestern, it had gotten few chances to actually work on tackling during summer camp.
The rustiness showed. Syracuse's defenders repeatedly whiffed during the second half of Saturday's 30-10 defeat, allowing the Wildcats' offense to take control of the game.
"We had a number of missed tackles," Robinson said during his Tuesday press conference. "These missed tackles were situations when we had three or four people around the football making contact. But sometimes, they made contact with each other as opposed to make contact with the ball-carrier."
Robinson also speculated his tacklers were over-excited about their first game and were "trying too hard."
Many of SU's tackling woes came against Northwestern tailback Tyrell Sutton, who terrorized the Orange to the tune of 185 all purpose yards.
Sutton and the rest of Northwestern's offensive weapons repeatedly got past the first and second levels of the Syracuse defense. Hence why two of SU's top three tacklers were its safeties, senior A.J. Brown (11) and sophomore Randy McKinnon (8).
"We made some mental errors," said linebacker Mike Mele, who had seven tackles. "Technique wasn't that great, tackling. We just got to improve."
But how exactly does the Orange fix its tackling deficiencies before Saturday's home opener against Akron?
One thing's for sure. Robinson won't deviate from his practice philosophy.
"I just don't know you can go live enough," Robinson said. "Maybe that's just my paranoia of getting too many people get banged up during camp ... I think that film really is something that can help our players."
He better hope so. Akron's offense, though a far cry from Northwestern, showed some flashes in its opening day loss, 38-17, at Wisconsin. In particular, Zips quarterback Chris Jacquemain went 22-for-36 for 227 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Syracuse head coach would rather avoid the risk of his players getting hurt and missing game action.
There's a flip side to that strategy. When the Orange defense entered its season opener Saturday at Northwestern, it had gotten few chances to actually work on tackling during summer camp.
The rustiness showed. Syracuse's defenders repeatedly whiffed during the second half of Saturday's 30-10 defeat, allowing the Wildcats' offense to take control of the game.
"We had a number of missed tackles," Robinson said during his Tuesday press conference. "These missed tackles were situations when we had three or four people around the football making contact. But sometimes, they made contact with each other as opposed to make contact with the ball-carrier."
Robinson also speculated his tacklers were over-excited about their first game and were "trying too hard."
Many of SU's tackling woes came against Northwestern tailback Tyrell Sutton, who terrorized the Orange to the tune of 185 all purpose yards.
Sutton and the rest of Northwestern's offensive weapons repeatedly got past the first and second levels of the Syracuse defense. Hence why two of SU's top three tacklers were its safeties, senior A.J. Brown (11) and sophomore Randy McKinnon (8).
"We made some mental errors," said linebacker Mike Mele, who had seven tackles. "Technique wasn't that great, tackling. We just got to improve."
But how exactly does the Orange fix its tackling deficiencies before Saturday's home opener against Akron?
One thing's for sure. Robinson won't deviate from his practice philosophy.
"I just don't know you can go live enough," Robinson said. "Maybe that's just my paranoia of getting too many people get banged up during camp ... I think that film really is something that can help our players."
He better hope so. Akron's offense, though a far cry from Northwestern, showed some flashes in its opening day loss, 38-17, at Wisconsin. In particular, Zips quarterback Chris Jacquemain went 22-for-36 for 227 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
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