Pitt Emphasizes Better Tackling During Bye Week

The Pitt Panthers believe simple tackling technique is holding them back from their potential on defense.

PITTSBURGH -- One of, if not the most glaring issues the Pitt Panthers had last time out against Virginia Tech was tackling and the residual effects of failing to make 26 stops, according to Pro Football Focus, led to a 38-21 loss for Pitt. 

For all the heat the offense has taken for Pitt's 1-4 start, the defense has taken on some of the blame as well. But the Panthers believe the cure to their defensive ills is as simple as improving tackling. 

“I just thought we didn’t tackle well in the last game," Defensive coordinator. "Some of that is the age of certain players but others we just got to tackle better. We missed several tackles that would have made the game Saturday quite different."

In response to the tackling issues, the Pitt coaches made the bye week into less of a week off and more of an opportunity to fine-tune their hitting technique. 

It led to a group that is perhaps not as healthy following the off week as head coach Pat Narduzzi had hoped, but he believes the physical work they did will be worth it. So does Bates, who was helping lead the frequent tackling drills that have marked practice this week.

"At the end of the day, it’s getting on the guy and running your feet and wrapping up," Bates said. "Then most of it is just a finish and we do that with bags.”

Lovelace was one of the Pitt defenders that contributed to the missed tackle epidemic from Week 5 and he's seen the new emphasis on hitting in action. But like his teammates, Lovelace believes the Panthers are close to getting back on track. 

“Almost every period of practice is about tackling. There’s a lot of emphasis on thudding a guy up, keeping our feet running, getting a chest on him," Lovelace said. "Honestly, it wasn’t that bad. I feel like we just got to get there. We were laying out for a lot of tackles that we could have put our chest on.”

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