Virginia Missed More Tackles In 2019, But That Wasn't Necessarily A Bad Thing

2 Comments

1. 

   12th Man May 16, 2020 at 2:22 PM ET

   I was expecting an explanation or, at least, a theory as to why the # of missed tackles was high. Without either, I'll speculate that at least some of those missed tackle attempts occurred when opposing QBs successfully avoided the initial attempt made by the 1st or only blitzer to get in reach of the QB. The article does state that by plan UVa's defense blitzed a lot last season. That would create more situations in which a speeding blitzer wasn't able to make sufficient contact to bring down a QB who reacted quickly to the oncoming defender. Even so, the offensive play might be interrupted enough that it would not succeed, so the missed tackle might not matter much. The harried QB might throw an incompletion or an interception, or might be sacked by another defender rather than getting to or beyond the line of scrimmage. Missed tackles and explanations aside, those 3 consecutive sacks of Hereford (or whatever the vpi QB's name is) after Delaney's FG put the Hoos ahead 33-30 near the end of the game was one of the greatest defensive series in UVa football history. That series emphatically sealed the victory.
   1. 

      Kris Wright May 18, 2020 at 8:21 AM ET

      Tried to present the case that teams with high sack rates and hurries seemed to have higher missed tackle numbers. Aaron Faumui being in the list is a good example of that - he pressured the QB a number of times but just missed a few of them, which were cleaned up by someone else. Faumui had a good pass rush grade as well so that's not a knock on him at all. The other play I think of that's a good example: the final FSU play at the goal line. Noah Taylor blew that final play up and forced the running back way out wide, which led to the stop, but he missed the initial tackle.