The Chicago Bears got a ton of credit from several NFL people when they signed safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in free agency. People with deep knowledge of the game who understand the kind of player he is. Yet so many fans and some media came out and said the team downgraded from what they had in Adrian Amos last year. So why is that?
Most of it centers around the perception that Clinton-Dix can’t tackle. He lacks physicality and routinely couldn’t bring guys down. He was a player known for only one thing and that’s playing good coverage in the passing game. Something the Bears didn’t need with Eddie Jackson already on the roster.
Except as with many things regarding a player, it’s getting overblown. Look at the people most often perpetrating the “smear attack.” See what I did there? It’s mostly Packer fans who grew convinced themselves he was the big problem on that defense where there were so many others to choose from.
Every time he happened to miss a tackle, get stiff-armed by a good receiver, or blocked out of a play by a way bigger offensive lineman they’d declare he’s no good. Nobody is saying Clinton-Dix doesn’t have his bad moments, but to use those moments to define his career is wrong. The truth is different.
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Ha Ha Clinton-Dix tape and stats say he tackles just fine
Perhaps the biggest thing that has led to the belief Clinton-Dix can’t tackle is his style of play. He is a risk-taker. A player who believes in his instincts and trusts his film study and will take calculated gambles to make a big play. Sometimes it works beautifully. Others he gets caught out of position.
That said, when he’s asked to do his job on a given play he has shown he can do it well enough.
Then there are the numbers. In 5,552 total snaps to this point in his career, Clinton-Dix has made 394 tackles and missed 43 of them. By comparison, Amos has played 3,736 snaps with 238 tackles and 35 missed. Think about that. Clinton-Dix played almost 1,800 more snaps in his career and only missed eight more tackles.
Or what about Landon Collins? The three-time Pro Bowler just got a massive $84 million contract from the Washington Redskins to essentially replace Clinton-Dix. He’s played 3,988 snaps in his career with 352 tackles. Thus far he has missed 51 of them. Nobody is talking about him having issues.
The point here is the simple question. When it comes to tackling, is Clinton-Dix a liability? The answer is no. He’s not great, mind you but in this defense he doesn’t have to be. If he is constantly having to make tackles in the first place, it means the front seven isn’t doing its job.
By contrast the Bears got a top coverage safety and emerging leader
Nobody will argue that when it comes to coverage, Clinton-Dix is one of the best. Since being drafted in 2014, he has 14 interceptions and 28 passes defended. He hasn’t had fewer than three interceptions in a season since 2015. That includes last year when he had three in the first eight games before Green Bay traded him to Washington.
Also lost amidst that unfortunate divorce was the fact that Clinton-Dix had already been emerging as a team leader.
After that game in 2017, the Packers managed to go 3-4 without Rodgers available. Clinton-Dix was a huge part of those victories. He had a season-high nine tackles against Tampa Bay in that overtime win and the next week delivered a key interception to help outlast Cleveland. Unfortunately it proved fruitless.
Rodgers returned for the key game of the season against Carolina and threw three costly interceptions that led to a 31-24 loss and killed their hopes of making the playoffs. Of course, nobody in Green Bay will talk about that. Now Clinton-Dix has a chance to get his word in with his former team.
One can bet they won’t be talking about that tackling issue when this season is over.
