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If it seemed at times like the Raiders were simply not tackling on defense last season, that's because they weren't. According to numbers put together by Pro Football Focus the Raiders ranked 29th in the NFL in tackling efficiency.
The rating formulated by missed tackles and the Raiders as a defense had a missed tackle an average of every 8.0 snaps or 12.4%. Only the Jacksonville Jaguars (12.6%), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13.3%), and New Orleans Saints (13.6%) were worse.
If you were looking for the major culprits, look no further than the linebackers. Both Miles Burris (7.3) and Sio Moore (7.2) were among the bottom ten at their respective inside and outside linebacker positions.
Some might be shocked to see Moore here. Especially considering he is actually a shade worse than Burris in tackle efficiency.
Moore is a bit of a boom or bust player. Quite often if he doesn't make the big tackle, he doesn't make it at all as smart runners will use his overzealousness against him. Remember, this is not a complete judgment of a player, merely the consistency with which he makes tackles. Moore makes a lot of big plays and is considered a bright spot on this Raiders defense. He simply needs to add some more discipline and sound technique to his tackling and that number is easily fixable.
Burris' issues are more noticeable because missing tackles is only a part of his failings. This doesn't account for those times he can't even get near the player to attempt a tackle because he is out of position or caught up in a block. Some of the issue was playing out of position at middle linebacker.
No other players in the Raiders defense landed in the bottom ten in tackle efficiency at their position. Though cornerback Tarell Brown was in the top ten with a tackling efficiency of 14.0.
Tackling is something the coaches in Oakland have been preaching a LOT in recent seasons. It has been a recurring problem and a major contributing factor in their failures. Many losses can be traced to missed tackles or even a single missed tackle.
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