Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon hints NFL rules play role in team's poor tackling woes this season

The Arizona Cardinals find themselves successful different play without the playoffs, and portion it was owed to adjacent games not going their way, it’s been a slog ever since.

Head manager Jonathan Gannon’s squad has been declining connected defense, arsenic they’ve allowed 40 oregon much points successful 4 of their past six games, each of which person been losses.

One of the main culprits defensively is the Cardinals’ deficiency of tackling prowess, ranking the lowest of immoderate squad successful the NFL successful that category, per Pro Football Focus.

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Arizona Cardinals caput manager Jonathan Gannon pauses earlier answering a question during a quality league aft an NFL shot crippled against the Tennessee Titans Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, successful Glendale, Arizona.  (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

But Gannon believes that NFL rules person a portion to play successful his team’s struggles successful that field.

"How the rules are acceptable up, it’s hard to get amended arsenic a tackler being successful the NFL, I’ll accidental that" Gannon said, per ESPN.

With galore missed tackles connected portion successful the 40-20 nonaccomplishment to the Houston Texans this past week, marking 11 losses successful their past 12 games, Gannon told reporters tackling was a taxable of speech among his unit this week.

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He added that the Cardinals person tackling drills astatine practice, but believes determination is "no drill you tin bash that tin mimic a game."

ESPN Research recovered that the Cardinals person allowed 40 rushes of astatine slightest 5 yards aft archetypal contact, which ranks third-most successful the league.

The league, however, does bounds padded practices to conscionable 14 during the regular season, with 11 of them needing to beryllium successful the archetypal 11 weeks of the season. This is per the league’s 2020 corporate bargaining agreement.

With players needing to hone their skills successful the tackling department, and having small accidental to bash so, Gannon sees the deficiency of developmental opportunities with his squad.

Arizona Cardinals caput manager Jonathan Gannon walks onto the tract earlier an NFL shot crippled against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, successful Glendale, Arizona. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

"The rules are the rules," Gannon replied erstwhile asked if helium would similar to spot these rules changed.

Gannon adjacent said it’s similar telling PGA Tour prima Scottie Scheffler that helium can’t signifier his wedges.

"It’s acceptable up however it’s acceptable up, that’s fine," Gannon explained. "But to get amended astatine a skill, you person to signifier the skill. You signifier skill, you tin standard it, you tin standard the tempo, you tin standard however you bash it, but to signifier a skill, you request to signifier the skill.

"So it’s a conundrum I deliberation each antiaircraft guys look and there’s risk-reward to trying to signifier it with it nevertheless you acceptable things up."

Of course, each squad is successful the aforesaid presumption arsenic the Cardinals with the league-wide rules.

"A batch of radical deliberation you can’t signifier it, you amended conscionable get radical that tin tackle due to the fact that you ain’t going to assistance them astatine all," Gannon added. "That’s a thought process, too. To each their own. But it’s a challenge."

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With a 3-11 grounds and nary playoffs successful site, the Cardinals are evaluating everyone connected their roster successful these remaining 3 games, wherever Gannon and the remainder of the unit anticipation tackling, and each phases, amended to drawback their losing streak.

It starts with the Atlanta Falcons connected Sunday, who person 1 of the astir explosive moving backs successful the league, Bijan Robinson.

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