Here is how new DC Lou Anarumo can help the Indianapolis Colts’ defense improve in this key area.
One specific area where the Indianapolis Colts’ defense has to improve is in their tackling.
According to Next Gen Stats, the Colts were the only team to have four players record at least 100 tackles, but the efficiency wasn’t there. The Colts gave up a league-high 1,183 yards after missed tackles and had 10-plus missed tackles in all but six games.
From a pure quantity standpoint, no team missed more tackles than the Colts did in 2024, and it wasn’t particularly close.
During OTAs and minicamp, contact is not permitted. Even once training camp begins, there is relatively limited opportunities to hone in on this fundamental, yet key aspect of playing football.
So, how can new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo get improved tackling out of this Colts’ defense this season? Well, it starts with teaching the players how to position themselves correctly to make the tackle.
“We’ll just take what we’re building from here, in the spring, and bring it over to training camp,” Anarumo said during minicamp. “There’s a number of different ways, I’ve always said coaching the DBs for a long time, tackling is about timing and angle and that’s all the non-physical part of it. We can handle the first three-quarters of the tackle by just getting in a good position, and then we drill the remainder of it both now and in preseason.”
To state the obvious, sound tackling limits yards after contact in the running game and yards after the catch in the passing game. This can then reduce explosive plays for an offense or turn what would have been a 3rd-and-2 into a 3rd-and-6, which should result in the defense getting off the field more often.
When Colts’ defenders are asked about Anarumo’s defense, a common word we hear to describe it is “aggressive.” That change in play-style can hopefully have players better positioned to make tackles, along with there being more players around the ball carrier to help bring him down.
“It’s generally the way it’s been over the years, with less tackling during training camp, you go through the first couple preseason games, it’s a little rusty,” Anarumo said of tackling. “Even in the first couple of games, you don’t want it to be, but generally by Week 3 or Week 4, you gotta be humming in terms of being a good tackling defense, and that’s how we’ll evaluate it.”
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