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An examination of Pratt’s film shows that he is an excellent tackler Youth Michael Jordan Jersey , but needs development in one key area."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections #BITESIZEFilm RoomRoster Transactions and ContractsOrange & Black InsiderSalary Cap And CBAFilm RoomFilm Room: Germaine Pratt is a tackling clinicNew,67commentsAn examination of Pratt’s film shows that he is an excellent tackler, but needs development in one key area.EDTShareTweetShareShareFilm Room: Germaine Pratt is a tackling clinicJames Guillory-USA TODAY SportsGermaine Pratt did not get much pre-draft buzz, but his film is amongst the best in this year’s class of linebackers. Perhaps the reason he slipped through the cracks to some extent is that he was only a one-year starter at the WILL backer position, but what a year it was. Pratt was super productive for the Wolfpack with 104 tackles and 6 six sacks in his senior campaign.The Bengals need an injection of speed at the linebacker position. Pratt is a converted safety who ran a 4.57 at the combine. He has the speed to make plays on both edges from the middle backer position. The clip below demonstrates his closing speed when pursuing the ball carrier on the perimeter.Of course, the biggest problem the Bengals defense had last year was tackling and the linebacker position may have been the worst tacklers on the team. Pratt however, is an excellent tackler. In fact, he was statistically one of the best tacklers in this draft class.In this first clip, Notre Dame has driven the field and has NC State’s backs against the wall in a goal-to-go situation. Pratt plays tight to the line, and as soon as he sees a crease, he shoots through it and tackles the running back for a loss.In this next clip, the quarterback keeps the ball and attempts to run to the defense’s right. Pratt bends his knees, lowering his hips just before contact. This loads his hips like a spring. On contact, he extends his hips giving him power, and he keeps his feet moving which allows him to drive the quarterback back into the backfield. Notice also how he keeps his head up. This is key, because it allows him to account for any cutbacks the rusher may attempt by keeping his eyes on him. When a defender lowers his head, he takes his eyes off of the ball carrier, which often leads to missed tackles. On this play White Michael Jordan Jersey , the offense attempts to get to the edge on the defense’s right with a jet sweep. They release an offensive lineman up to the second level to block Pratt. Notice how Pratt strikes the lineman with his hands, and gets extension. This allows him to get his eyes on the runner. If you slow the clip down, you can actually see the moment when the ball carrier is deciding whether to cut inside or outside of the block on Pratt. If Pratt simply shot through in one direction or the other, he would essentially be blocking himself. Pratt is patient and waits for the ball carrier to commit, then he disengages from the block and makes the tackle.In this clip, Pratt is lined up on the line of scrimmage to the bottom of the screen. The run play goes to the opposite side of the formation. Pratt’s role here is the “cutback play” and he executes this assignment perfectly. He inserts himself into the box, staying on the running backs inside hip. When the back crosses the line of scrimmage, Pratt engages his hip and makes the tackle.Here, Pratt is lined up five yards off of the slot receiver, The offense is running a slip screen and believes that they can get an offensive lineman up to the second level to block him. They are mistaken. Pratt reads the screen and bursts into the backfield, running the play down, and tackling the receiver for a loss.Pratt matches up well with running backs in the passing game. Here, the offense slips the back out into the flat quickly and shoots the ball out to him. Pratt is able to break quickly and make the tackle for a short gain.Pratt did not have any interceptions in his senior season, but had two as a junior and four total in his college career. In the clip below he does a great job of matching up with the receiver, then gets his eyes back to the quarterback and is able to make a play on the ball.Unfortunately, his reactions in coverage are not always great. Take the play below for example. Pratt is the outside linebacker on the top of the screen. He recognizes that the slot is releasing wide and does not attempt to chase him in zone coverage. Pratt even seems to be communicating with other members of the defense. This is all very good. He levels out and gets his eyes to the quarterback, and he appears to make a great read, breaking right as the quarterback starts his throwing motion. However Tyler Eifert Jersey , his first step is a bit lateral rather than directly at the receiver. This rounded cut causes him to get to the spot just a bit too slow to make a play on the ball. He does, however, make the tackle for no additional gain.Here, we see a similar issue in man coverage. Pratt matches up with the receiver as he releases vertically up the field, but struggles to change direction as the receiver breaks off his route. You can see Pratt as he watches the receiver cut, but he does not sink his hips and cut with him immediately, which opens up a window for the throw.Pratt may need a little work in coverage, but he can certainly rush the passers. In this clip he simply shows great athleticism. He is the inside linebacker off the ball on the top of the screen. He does not show blitz or creep up at all, instead waiting for the ball to be snapped to make his move. On the snap, Pratt comes off of the right side and bends around the edge for the sack.Pratt can blitz up the middle as well. Here the defense is running a blitz scheme that involves two linebackers twisting. The linebacker to Pratt’s left goes first to the inside, and Pratt then loops around outside of him. It works to perfection, as the running back picks up the first blitzer, but there is no one standing between Pratt and the quarterback. Pratt shows great athleticism to run him down.Pratt is exactly what the Bengals need at the linebacker position. He is an excellent athlete and incredible tackler. He is good in coverage, but improving some of his movements will prevent receivers from getting open on cuts. The Bengals need to get Pratt on the field in their base and nickel personnel groups as soon as humanly possible, INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Marvin Lewis expects his defense to play aggressively.It also comes with a danger — as the Cincinnati Bengals found out Sunday.They overcame the first-quarter ejection of safety Shawn Williams and three more personal foul calls during the season opener to hold on for a 34-23 victory after Williams’ replacement jarred the ball loose and returned a fumble 83 yards for a touchdown with 24 seconds left at Indianapolis“There’s a lot of stuff we can do better. Too many penalties in critical situations,” Lewis said. “We did a nice job with that all summer and now, today, it cropped in there Drew Sample Cincinnati Bengals Jersey , so it really could have hurt us.”Williams was tossed in the first quarter after helmet-to-helmet contact with Colts QB Andrew Luck — becoming the first player to be ejected this season.The NFL has sent a clear message to players everywhere that it intends to eliminate dangerous hits.And for a while, it looked as if the Bengals would pay a steep price with eight penalties, three of which led to first downs.Somehow, they managed to regain their composure, avoided any defensive penalties in the fourth quarter and overcome the loss of Williams to snap an eight-game losing streak at Indy.Oddly enough, Clayton Fejedelem, Williams’ replacement, wound up saving the game after Pro Bowl tight end Jack Doyle appeared to convert a third-and-15 into a first down by contorting his body around the Bengals 15-yard line.Instead, Fejedelem, the second defender on the play, delivered a textbook lesson by knocking the ball out, quickly scooping it up and sprinting down the sideline for the clinching score.“You don’t get time to hiccup or flinch,” Lewis said. “You’ve just got to keep playing.”The Colts learned that lesson the hard way, too.After taking a 23-10 lead midway through the third quarter, it appeared the Colts might finally end the second-half troubles from last season. This time, they unraveled again.A.J. Green split Indy’s two deep safeties — Clayton Geathers and Malik Hooker — for a 38-yard TD catch and after Adam Vinatieri’s rare miss on a 55-yard field goal, the Bengals capitalized by driving for Joe Mixon’s leaping 1-yard score to take the lead. Indy was called for three defensive penalties on the second series, including an inexplicable pass interference call on Geathers on third-and-15.“I thought we played good Drew Sample Jersey 2019 , just penalties in the end killed us,” Colts defensive end Margus Hunt said after recording two sacks against his former team. “We just need to keep playing football.”SECOND CHANCEDoyle has been one of the Colts’ most reliable players over the past few seasons.So the fumble was out of character and teammates quickly came to his defense, starting with Luck.“Jack cares about this game as much as any guy I’ve ever played around,” he said. “He’s an incredible person, an incredible teammates and he’s a great friend. So you give him a big hug. He’s going to be all right. He’s going to be fine.”NEW OFFENSESThe Bengals and Colts have new offensive coordinators and revamped offensive lines, and both showed promise after slow starts.Andy Dalton and Luck were each picked off on their first passes of the afternoon before settling down and delivering more typical performances.Luck was 39 of 53 with 319 yards and two touchdowns in his first regular season start since having shoulder surgery in January 2017. Dalton was 21 of 28 with 243 yards and two scores.Each was sacked twice.GIVING IT AWAYThe Colts lost seven halftime leads in 2017, falling one game short of matching the NFL record.And a coaching change didn’t help Indy find its finishing touch Sunday. The Colts gave up 24 points over the final 20 minutes, allowing the Bengals to spoil Luck’s long-awaited return.TOUGH GRINDWhile the passing games appeared to be in sync, the ground games left more to be desired.Mixon carried 17 times for 95 yards , but the Bengals only had three other rushing attempts and wound up with 101 yards.Indy, meanwhile, relied heavily on rookies Jordan Wilkins and Nyheim Hines in their pro debuts. Wilkins carried 14 times for 49 yards, while Hines had five attempts for 19 yards and caught seven passes for 33 yards.Both teams need to be more effective on the ground this season.