The Green Bay Packers struggled with tackling last season and again during the preseason, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise to see many of those issues come up in last Sunday’s 31-23 win over the Chicago Bears.
The Packers spend time in practice working on tackling form, but it hasn’t translated to the games. Matt Forte and Jacquizz Rodgers gained another 54 yards after contact or totally missed tackles against the Bears.
Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers said it’s not good enough.
AUDIO: Dom Capers says the Packers have to do a better job :15
The Packers get no breaks. They’ll face Marshawn Lynch and the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday night. In the NFC Championship game last season, the Packers allowed Lynch to rush for 77 yards on eight carries, including a 24-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Mike McCarthy said the Packers weren’t as assignment-clean as they needed to be. McCarthy said, “We really didn’t handle the outside zone with the flat footwork that we struggled with against Philadelphia in the preseason, and it was an issue again for us yesterday. “That’s a point of emphasis because obviously we’re going to see it again this week with Seattle.”
The Packers are hoping to get safety Morgan Burnett back from a calf injury, but they might not be as fortunate with starting inside linebacker Sam Barrington, who re-injured his ankle against the Bears. Barrington was wearing a boot on his right foot and needing crutches on Monday. It doesn’t seem like Barrington would be ready to go against Seattle.