quote:
-- (On Charles Woodson) I don't know if it's the new haircut but he looks great moving out there. Charles always keeps himself in shape. Never a concern for us. He brings so much experience to our football team.
--- (More Woodson) Charles' role with our football team may change somewhere between 6-8%. Don't want to get into schemes. We're not recreating the wheel with him. Our responsibility to make sure he's in position to make plays. ...Maybe 10%.
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quote:While the new rules on contact during training camp may make it difficult for teams to work extensively on tackling, Whitt said his position group already knows they’ll be in for a rude summer awakening in that area.
“We’re going to hit. We’re going to put our face on people, and that’s that whole group. And they understand that, too. That’s been clear,” Whitt said. “\I’m going back to how I coached in college. We’re going to have a drill called the ‘Come To Jesus Drill,’ and we’re going to get that solved. We will get that solved. We will tackle. You don’t have to worry about that. Or we won’t be out there, one of the two.”
Shields was the worst offender of the group, and it got so bad that in the loss to the Giants, defensive coordinator Dom Capers replaced him with Jarrett Bush on early downs because Shields was such a liability as a tackler.
Coming off a thoroughly disappointing year after being so good as a rookie in 2010, Shields has been put on notice, Whitt said.
“I’m going to give him every opportunity once we put pads on to see if he wants to do it or not,” Whitt said of tackling. “He’s going to have every opportunity.
“The guys who are going to tackle will be out there. The guys who won’t will watch.”
quote:Originally posted by Iowacheese:
quote:Originally posted by Iowacheese:
quote:Originally posted by PackLandVA:
He saved the flag in Chavez Ravine!
quote:But according to Whitt, the blame for Shields’ disappointing sophomore season rests not with Shields, but with him.
“Sam’s problem was me. I did a poor job with Sam. I did a poor job with him. I took for granted that he knew or was going to know some things,” Whitt said. “He’s still a young player. He’s now a three-year defensive player. And I did a poor job with him. Like I said his rookie year, if he plays poor, well that’s on me. He didn’t play as well last year, and that’s on me. He’s going to play better, because I understand how to coach him and not take for granted some things that a guy who’s played on defense a little bit longer just understands just from playing it. I did a poor job with him.”
One of the reasons Shields was such a vital part of the Packers’ Super Bowl XLV-winning defense was Whitt’s coaching. To teach Shields, who’d spent his first three years in college at Miami (Fla.) playing wide receiver, he used flashcards to teach him the defense.
When reminded that players bear responsibility for their performances, too, Whitt replied: “They do have responsibility, and I hold him accountable in that (cornerbacks) room. But I don’t think coaches do enough saying they made mistakes, too. I didn’t do a good enough job with him. That will be taken care of.”
What Whitt also vows will be taken care of is Shields’ apparent unwillingness to tackle. He missed 10 tackles according to ProFootballFocus.com last year, and while he also appeared to guess and gamble more in coverage, it was his poor tackling that was the greater concern among the coaches.
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Shields acknowledged his poor tackling, saying: “My main focus that I have to work on is my tackling. I don’t... the covering and all that wasn’t bad. Only thing that was stopping me was tackling, and that’s something that I have to keep working on that I haven’t worked on. I’ve been a receiver. So I’m going to work on it this offseason – however I can to help me tackle. Coach Witt is helping me work on that and it’s getting better.”
