Mike Macdonald says emphasizing the fundamentals of tackling is key to Seahawks’ success

Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald says his team’s success on defense stems from hard work at the most fundamental part of playing defense: Making tackles.

Macdonald said at a pre-Super Bowl LX press conference that everything the Seahawks do is predicated on being sound when tackling the ball carrier.

“We drill the fundamentals of tackling and finishing every day,” Macdonald said. “We do it as a team, we do it in our warmup before games. It’s part of our DNA and the guys take a lot of pride in it.”

Macdonald, who was a defensive coordinator before he became a head coach, said Seahawks outside linebackers coach Chris Partridge is the key to the emphasis on tackling. Partridge reminds players of the acronym EAT for “effort, angle and tackle.”

“I have to give just about all the credit to Chris Partridge,” Macdonald said.

For all the complex offensive and defensive schemes that NFL teams have, there’s nothing more fundamental to football than blocking and tackling. Macdonald knows that’s how championships are won.