One change was evident in the Seattle Seahawks’ Week 1 win over the Denver Broncos: Seattle’s tackling was much better than it has been in recent seasons. Seattle limited yards after the catch and seemed to pounce on the ball in a way the Seahawks haven’t seen in the last decade. Cornerback Riq Woolen thinks he knows why.

For all the greatness Pete Carroll brought to Seattle and the excellent defense he built over the past few seasons, tackling was a major problem for the team and Carroll was either unable or unwilling to fix it. Since Carroll is a defensive-minded coach, you might assume tackling would be a priority for him, but Woolen said that’s not the case.

According to Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic (paywall alert), Woolen indicated that the team is practicing a lot more than it did under Carroll. Of course, new head coach Mike Macdonald is all about reps, and then more reps. And then more reps after that. Practice doesn’t make perfect, but if you don’t practice tackling, problems arise.

Dugar reported that Woolen said, “We practice tackling every day. It’s a big focus here. You can just tell it’s natural for everyone. Everyone just goes in there and we try to bring the guys down. Sunday showed how much tackling practice we’ve had.”

Some NFL coaches may assume that players were taught tackling technique since elementary school and then worked on their form throughout their careers until they entered the league. Woolen makes it seem as though Carroll didn’t think tackling needed much more work. At least not enough.

The Seahawks have been weakened in recent seasons by their run defense allowing too many spectacular plays and disrupting runs as a result. The problem wasn’t isolated to any one position group. With the exception of linebacker Bobby Wagner, every Seahawks player was inconsistent in bringing down ball carriers. By Week 1, that problem had almost completely disappeared, which is one reason the Broncos were limited to just 3.3 yards per play.

Of course, one good game doesn’t mean the tackling problem is completely solved, but since there was such a big difference between what the 12s saw in Mike Macdonald’s first game and Pete Carroll’s last couple of seasons, the Seahawks have obviously tried to address the problem. Let’s just hope it’s not a major problem for the rest of the season either. A better tackling defense from Seattle could mean the team gets into the postseason and becomes dangerous there.

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