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Jacksonville Jaguars: Missed tackles plague defense

By Luke Sims

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The Jacksonville Jaguars had a tough game on Sunday, losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-38. It was a winnable game on paper and on the field, but the trend of leaving opportunities on the field continued for the young Jaguars.

It isn’t opportunities on offense or defense that was most appalling during the loss, though. On Sunday, nothing left a worst taste in the mouth than all of the missed tackles. Whether just poorly timed or attempting to bring down a stud running back like Doug Martin with just an arm tackle, it was clear the Jaguars needed something to change.

Pro Football Focus has the Jaguars recording 13 missed tackles in the game. Others has the number even higher.

For consistent ency in looking at the numbers, it’s easy to turn to PFF. After looking at the cumulative missed tackles through five games, it becomes clear that missing tackles is a trend. The Jaguars have 52 missed tackles through five games according to PFF. If those numbers are a bit more “soft” than other measurements by coaching staffs, media analysts, etc. then it’s clear that there is a systemic problem for the Jaguars on defense.

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley is a defense-minded coach. He’s supposed to be implementing “Seattle South” with the Jaguars. Seattle’s defense, despite the team being 2-3, is a top-10 unit. The Jaguars are middle of the pack at best. So far, the Seahawks have just 40 missed tackles in their five games.

The Jacksonville Jaguars must get better across the board. The 2015 defense isn’t necessarily collapsing, but it is appearing to be undisciplined. Last season, the Jaguars averaged lass than 10 missed tackles per game, according to PFF. This year, they are slipping above that number. It’s an issue that comes from poor coaching.

Pointing fingers isn’t going to help matters extensively, especially since Bradley is such a key member of this Jaguars rebuild. Something needs to change, though. Defensive coordinator Bob Babich, a longtime friend of Bradley, doesn’t seem to add much value in my mind and wouldn’t be a shocking departure either during the season or at the end of the season if this trend continues.

Arguments can be made that the defense has delivered for the Jaguars, but until the unit cleans up its play and manages to limit its missed tackles, opposing offenses will find ways to take advantage.

Next: Jacksonville Jaguars Week 5: Weekly Superlatives

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