Mike Singletary was a great tackler during his Hall of Fame career as a Chicago Bears linebacker.
Now that he’s the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, he’s not pleased that his own players don’t tackle the way he did.
Singletary thinks some of his players focus so much on making a big hit that they don’t bother to wrap the ball carrier up and take him to the ground. Singletary wishes his guys would get back to basic form tackling.
“We have some guys, they don’t just want to tackle, they want to blow people up,” Singletary said. “We’ve got to do a better job breaking down and just making the tackle.”
Singletary said Dashon Goldson, a third-year player who has started all 11 games at free safety this season, tries too hard to drill opposing receivers. As a result, Goldson sometimes misses tackles he should make.
And in comments that are likely to frustrate Singletary, Goldson acknowledged that was true, but said he didn’t think it was a big deal.
“It’s all about attitude,” Goldson said. “It’s not really a concern. We just know we’ve missed a few. We make a lot, too. We make a lot more than we miss, so that’s always good.”
For Singletary, that’s not good enough. He wants his players to make them all.
