Veteran linebacker Alex Anzalone is hoping to win a starting job as an interior linebacker in Detroit’s defense for the second straight year. Anzalone started 14 games last year before landing on IR to end the year with a shoulder injury. He recorded 78 tackles, one sack and seven defended passes.
But missed tackles were a bit of a problem for Anzalone at times last year. He was credited with missing 21 tackles by Pro Football Focus, the third most among all linebackers last season.
“Well, look I think that’s something – he knows – it’s been addressed,” head coach Dan Campbell said. “I think you make a point of it. We know this, he’s a good enough athlete and he’s smart, and he practices his ass off, and he finishes. And so, it’s a matter of, ‘Hey man, we’ve got to acknowledge it,’ and he does acknowledge it.”
Anzalone acknowledged it Wednesday when speaking to reporters.
“It kind of is just a focus thing,” he said of the missed tackles. “When you through a season you get tired, you’re playing a lot, you just have to cue in to the technique and fundamentals of everything, your pad level, your drops, your tackling. I think that’s something definitely I want to improve on and something that can take me to the next level.”
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