Kurt: Missed tackles is a bit of a subjective statistic. As you mentioned, PFF has the Cowboys down for 43 missed tackles on the season, but the NFL’s Next Gen Stats lists 40 while Pro Football Reference has only 20. And you can bet the Cowboys themselves likely have something completely different from those online outlets.
Regardless, missed tackles is definitely a problem for this team right now. Any time an opponent converts 10 of 14 third-down tries and 5 of 6 red-zone opportunities, as the Packers did on Sunday night, tackling is likely a contributing factor, if not the main reason. In fact, according to Next Gen Stats, Dallas had a whopping 18 missed tackles in the game. If they cut that number just in half, are we looking at a different outcome? One would think so.
Unfortunately, I’m not sure how Brian Schottenheimer and the coaching staff fix the issue, especially during the season. Padded practices are limited, and even then guys understandably aren’t bringing their teammates to the ground. With 13 games still to play, they shouldn’t be adding additional pain to already sore bodies anyway. And how much can you improve by hitting a stationary dummy?
In truth, each of these players already knows how to tackle and has been good at it to some degree in the past. They’re in the NFL, after all. Instead, improvement may simply come down to want-to. As in, do they want to take on that 223-pound running back barreling at them? Or do they have the recognition and speed to get into proper position to stop a receiver in the open field?
In other words, as much as the coaches can practice technique, scout opponents and design schemes, tackling success will only be achieved by the determination of those players on the field.