Tackling has recently become a significant issue for the San Francisco 49ers defense. According to Pro Football Focus, the team missed 14 tackles in the first three games of the season. However, they recorded 17 missed tackles in Week 4 against the New England Patriots and 12 more on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals—a total of 29 missed tackles in just the last two games.
The 49ers currently have a team tackling grade of 46.3 from Pro Football Focus, ranking 24th in the NFL. They need to address this problem if they hope to secure wins in their challenging three-game stretch before the bye week, especially after a 2-3 start to the season.
Defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen addressed the issue with reporters on Wednesday. Although he didn't offer an immediate solution, he believes he has pinpointed the reason for the tackling struggles.
"I think we miss tackles sometimes because we're aggressive," Sorensen explained. "We do coach our guys to take their shots. If you make me a cut-up of those tackles, I'll tell you if it's a good or bad one, to be honest. We play aggressive, we play violent.
"I think sometimes [LB] Fred [Warner] shows up with quite a few missed tackles, but if a guy stops his feet and they're having to take time and that guy loses a yard, but you kind of fall off, and now we've got two other guys coming, then that's not a bad missed tackle."
Analytics actually show that Warner, known for his ferocity on the field, isn't having a tackling issue. Pro Football Focus credits him with only two missed tackles this season, none since Week 1.
Warner is having a career season, and some argue that he deserves to be in the conversation for NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He holds a tackling grade of 78.0, a defensive grade of 94.1, and a coverage grade of 93.5—all career highs.
Interestingly, the 49ers player with the most missed tackles this season is defensive end Nick Bosa, with seven, followed closely by linebacker De'Vondre Campbell, who has six.
"Sometimes [missed tackles are] a little bit different," Sorensen continued. "I'd have to quantify it by looking at tape. Then I could probably talk you through if they're good or bad or not."
