Mailbag: How do they improve tackling?

(Editor's Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in 'Mailbag' presented by Miller Lite.)

Pro Football Focus lists the Cowboys as having 43 missed tackles. That's nearly 11 per game! And missed tackles seemed to be a big problem against the Packers on Sunday night. So how does Dallas go about fixing this problem? – Michael Gomez/Grand Prairie, TX

Nick: I don't buy into the "it is what it is" theory during the middle of the season. I still believe techniques can be taught and/or implemented and stressed in practice. That's a way to start. Getting back to the basics, or at least re-emphasizing them could help in this area.

I also think there are too many types of defenses, schemes and alignments right now. I don't fault Matt Eberflus for this because it's like he grasping at anything and everything to try and mix it up and show different looks. But it's also tougher for his own guys to grasp, especially when it changes so often. And therefore, in my opinion, things like that affect your tackling because all it takes is a guy or two slightly out of position and now he's not in the best spot to go make the tackle.

I think effort is there. Willingness is there to make the tackle. But too many times we're seeing guys caught out in the space and they're not wrapping up. Just a little more consistency in the defense and scheme, relates to less thinking and more reacting. I think that not only will help cut down on missed tackles but gets them off the field more. Against the Packers, they converted 10 of 14 third-down attempts and several of those were from missed tackles.

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.