ClutchPoints
The 2025 season has been awful for the Arizona Cardinals. They sit with a 3-11 record and have given up 40 or more points in four of their last six losses. Head coach Jonathan Gannon has been known for his defenses during his time in the NFL, but this season, his defense fell apart. The defensive struggles also got to second-year player Max Melton. Gannon blamed the NFL’s rules for the defensive issues and for not being able to practice tackling as much.
When speaking to the media on Wednesday, Gannon said he believes the way the rules are set up prevents players from becoming better tacklers. He mentioned that the Cardinals obviously practice tackling drills, but there’s nothing you can do that can mimic a game, no matter how much practice you have.
“How the rules are set up, it’s hard to get better as a tackler being in the NFL, I’ll say that,” Gannon said.
According to ESPN, the Cardinals have allowed 40 rushes with at least 5 yards after first contact, the third most in the NFL. Arizona is also ranked 18th in yards allowed after contact per rush this season.
The NFL updated its rules in its new collective bargaining agreement, which was agreed upon in 2020. Teams are allowed only 14 padded practices, but 11 of them have to take place during the first 11 weeks of the season. Contact is prohibited during the offseason, which includes OTAs and minicamp.
Despite his complaints about how the rules are set up, Gannon did not say he would be lobbying for any changes.
However, Gannon did compare the NFL’s rules to the PGA Tour, telling Scottie Scheffler he can’t hit a wedge during the offseason.
“It’s set up how it’s set up, that’s fine,” Gannon said. “But to get better at a skill, you have to practice the skill. You practice a skill, you can scale it, you can scale the tempo, you can scale how you do it, but to practice a skill, you need to practice the skill.
“And so it’s a conundrum, I think all defensive guys face, and there’s risk-reward to trying to practice it with it, however you set things up. But you definitely have to be a good tackling defense to play good defense.”
Gannon does have a point, but for the Cardinals, it might not matter given how much they have struggled overall and how many players are injured.
The post Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon blames rules for putrid defense appeared first on ClutchPoints.
