It wasn’t just one missed tackle against Georgia.
It wasn’t even two or three.
Whiffing on potential tackles was an epidemic last Saturday in Atlanta and it cost the Ducks an embarrassing 49-3 loss to the No. 3 Bulldogs.
Of course, missed tackles weren’t the only thing that went wrong for Oregon, but that one basic fundamental was a significant issue not easily hidden on film.
It’s certainly a problem that needs to be addressed immediately or the 2022 season will be a long one.
According to defensive tackle Taki Taimani, the Ducks are working hard at correcting it.
“We had a lot of missed tackles on Saturday, but I think we cleaned that up a lot” said Taimani this week.
“We’ve done a ton of tackling drills this past week,…so I think it really helped and it’s just the way (Coach Dan) Lanning is preaching. A lot of it is going back to (practicing) live. He makes sure it’s done and he gets on us about it and I really appreciate that because that’s the biggest thing that kind of let us down last weekend.”
Taimani transferred to Oregon from Washington, of all places, to play in games such as Georgia. He voiced his disappointment this week on how the team performed against the Bulldogs, but mostly about how the team wasn’t able to show what it’s capable of.
“I wouldn’t say it was just one game because that game did mean a lot to us” Taimani explained.
“We worked our (butts) off this offseason and to go out there and just not have the outcome we want … not put our best foot forward because I know we’re a good team. We’re a really talented team. Georgia is too, but I felt like we didn’t show the whole nation the team we can be and the team we will be so that’s the biggest thing.
“We let it soak in on the flight home Sunday. We watched the film and now we’re all good. It’s a new week and time to really put on display what the Oregon defense and the Oregon offense are supposed to look like.”
It would be easy for the Ducks to allow that single loss to nag at them and let it fester, even to the detriment of the other 11 games ahead on the schedule.
Taimani said he experienced that type of situation in Seattle, but he says it’s different in Eugene and this one loss won’t define who they are as a team.
“At the end of the day, it’s not about the outside noise. It’s really about how strong our bond is,” Taimani said.
“It can test the team’s brotherhood and connection. That was the biggest thing for us. We can either sit here and mope about it and be like, ‘Man, we lost,’ but now it’s, ‘All right, how good are we really and how strong is our brotherhood.’ I think we really came back and wrapped our arms around each other. ‘We’re strong brother, we’ll be okay.
“It’s one game that doesn’t let us define it.’ Our bond is so good that we pick each other up and make sure we’re all okay, so that was the biggest thing.”
Feature Photo by Tom Corno of Ducks Sports Authority