Last year, many Packers missed tackles because there were guys that were loading up to make the big hit. This year, I didn’t put much stock into the tackling effort following the first preseason game because the Collective Bargaining Agreement doesn’t allow any true tackling in practice.
What bugs me is that the defensive fundamentals aren’t there. Against Baltimore on Thursday night, how many times did defenders get embarrassed simply because they couldn’t wrap up? And granted, there are no stats for wrapping guys up, but doing the little things is what separates average defenses from good ones.