T.J. Edwards Says Eagles Have to Focus on Tackling in Detroit

Missed tackles were the bigest issue in the preseason; will the defene be ready vs. Lions?

PHILADELPHIA - The most troubling part of the Eagles’ 1-2 preseason wasn’t the record, but the inability to tackle consistently.

It’s easy to figure out why. Nick Sirianni hasn’t allowed his defense to tackle to the ground all summer. Now, there are rules in place, laid out in the CBA, but the practice of tackling to the ground has not been totally outlawed. Not yet anyway.

The Detroit Lions have been doing it as evidenced on Hard Knocks, where Dan Campbell’s hard-nosed style of coaching is on display.

The difference between the Eagles’ approach and that of the Lions is stark and is even more interesting considering that the countdown to the Eagles’ opener in Detroit has reached single-digit days.

Will the tackling be improved by then?

Linebacker T.J. Edwards is the Eagles’ leading returning tackler, making 125 of them last year, five behind Alex Singleton who is now in Denver.

Edwards was asked on Thursday if the tackling will be up to par for game one or if it will it take some time to get the technique down.

“It's definitely one of those things that you have to be focused on,” he said, “but I think you know, what we do a good job of is making sure that we're not just tagging off on the running backs. We're in a position to where if we have to fit up, we can fit up and it's believing.

“We preach it every single day about just making sure our form is right and making sure our leverage is right. Because we don't want to go out there first weekend and miss a bunch of tackles. So, it's something that we got to be conscious of and our coaches did a good job of hammering that in."

Sirianni puts a lot of stock in joint practices, as do many other of the league’s coaches. The Eagles were supposed to have four, two against the Browns and two against the Dolphins, but ended up having only one in Miami after a stomach virus erupted in the Dolphins’ locker room, forcing them to call in sick for the second one.

“I think we’ll be ready,” said veteran DT Fletcher Cox. “I think coach knows what he’s doing. He did those joint practices for a reason. When you look at it, it’s kind of like playing a game with the reps we get. Obviously, it’s not live, but the reps that we get, it’s a lot. It takes a lot out of you.

“I think coach is being smart just trying to protect the players knowing that we went through, obviously against Cleveland, the two days of loaded reps, then one against Miami last week. I think they’re doing a good job at it, and we have to continue to trust them and get ready for Week 1.”

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.