Name: How worrisome is poor tackling for Notre Dame football? 'One missed tackle is too much.'
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How worrisome is poor tackling for Notre Dame football? 'One missed tackle is too much.'

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Mike BerardinoSouth Bend TribuneSOUTH BEND — Halfway through the regular season, missed tackles remain a glaring issue on defense for Notre Dame football.While coordinator Al Golden has a scoring defense (13.0 points per game) that is tied for 14th with two-time national champion Georgia, the Irish have dropped from sixth last season to 85th this year in tackling efficiency, according to Pro Football Focus.After missing 99 tackles in 13 games last year, an average of 7.6 per game, this year’s defense already has 60 missed tackles (10.0 average) and is on pace for a 31% year-over-year increase.Nolan Ziegler:Redshirt freshman linebacker and his 'positive attitude' return to the fold for Notre Dame footballSaturday night’s opponent, No. 25 Louisville, ranks 10th in the country in yards per play, and Irish coach Marcus Freeman has warned his team about the breakaway threat of running back Jawhar Jordan.“We have to limit the explosive plays and we have to tackle,” Freeman said Thursday. “Those have been the two things we’ve talked about all week. That’s our keys to success.”Golden noted “some uncharacteristic missed tackles” in last week’s 21-14 win at Duke, calling those “disappointing.”“I’m talking about when we had opportunities in the open field, and we just did not trust our technique and bring our training to the game and we didn’t really press it,” Golden said. “We got crossed over a couple of times.”Cornerback Benjamin Morrison whiffed on a Riley Leonard quarterback scramble that went for 33 yards and set up the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. On Duke’s first scoring drive, one series earlier, safety DJ Brown missed a tackle on a 34-yard run by Jaquez Moore.“I think we work hard on it,” Golden said. “I think we’re tackling better than we were a year ago.”Brown’s 12 missed tackles led Notre Dame last year with leading tackler JD Bertrand next at 10. Through this year’s 5-1 start, safety Xavier Watts (9), linebackers Bertrand (8) and Marist Liufau (7) and Morrison (5) all are on pace to reach double figures.More:Notre Dame football will start Josh Burnham in place of Jordan Botelho (targeting)Ball disruption has been a focal point with Notre Dame already forcing six fumbles after forcing just seven all last year, but sound tackling is supposed to come first.“The actual live tackling that you tackle guys to the ground, you can’t do that, especially going seven weeks straight and all fall camp,” Freeman said. “We have to be smart in the way we practice. There are fundamentals to tackling. It’s not just live tackling.”Tracking, footwork and leverage are among the fine points being stressed behind closed doors.“We are constantly working on it and looking at new ways to attack it in practice,” Freeman said. “We’re always trying to improve as a tackling team. There are no perfect tackling teams in the country. One missed tackle is too much.”Follow Notre Dame football writer Mike Berardino on social media @MikeBerardino.

Mike BerardinoSouth Bend TribuneSOUTH BEND — Halfway through the regular season, missed tackles remain a glaring issue on defense for Notre Dame football.While coordinator Al Golden has a scoring defense (13.0 points per game) that is tied for 14th with two-time national champion Georgia, the Irish have dropped from sixth last season to 85th this year in tackling efficiency, according to Pro Football Focus.After missing 99 tackles in 13 games last year, an average of 7.6 per game, this year’s defense already has 60 missed tackles (10.0 average) and is on pace for a 31% year-over-year...

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How worrisome is poor tackling for Notre Dame football? 'One missed tackle is too much.'

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