Mark Cotney Has A Point

November 06, 2009 at 09:25am by Scott   •  No Comments »

In another old guy interview, former Buccaneer safety Mark Cotney discusses the tax advantages of a Roth IRAs and index funds in today’s economy.

Nahhh… of course he doesn’t. He talks about how great the 1979 team was, what the fuck else is he going to talk about? But he makes an interesting point when he gets to the subject of tackling.

“The defenses I see today are totally different, the way they try to rip the ball out and create turnovers. There’s such a premium placed on that. It’s almost like they don’t even mind missing tackles. They’re always breaking in front of the receiver, trying to get the pick and score a touchdown. If we would’ve tried some of that stuff, we’d be on the bench.”

Even though tackling has improved from the abortion it was at the end of 2008, I’m still seeing an awful lot of missed tackles. Guys are sacrificing the wrap-up in favor of the big hit, taking bad angles because they overshot the play to begin with, or just plain getting overpowered. Forcing fumbles is nice and all, but proper tackling should be one of those fundamentals that Raheem Morris keeps talking about. Try to strip the ball after you know you (or a teammate) will be able to bring the runner down; it doesn’t have to be an either/or proposition. It may not put you on a ESPN highlight show, but a solid tackle will keep opposing running backs (like, oh I don’t know, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, for example) from running down your throat.