Tackling technique...

[BuddyLee]

You are in the minority, you loose. Live with it or turn it off.

Perhaps in this thread.

Most involved with the league disagree vehemently.

You know buddy, it is really easy to sit there and biatch about the lack of pure brain scrambling carnage when you are propped up in your lazy boy and the only chance of injury is if you get a cramp reaching for your cheeto bowl. You sound very Romanesque.

Sorry, I won't just sit back while the game is manipulated for the offense...again.

You know, the same players who were "scrambled" came out to actually defend the defenders. If anyone has anything to gain it's the offensive players. However, they defended these hits.

Oh, and it's Chex Mix bowl.

 

[itsbob]

I am watching a renaissance of real football where talent and execution are returning to the game.....

....Give it a chance. You might actually like real football where talent, technique and effort and intensity are far more important than the 'ability' to hit someone with the crown of your helmet, endagering both players for no benefit to the game.

Badminton is a sport..

Badminton Racket Warehouse-Home

Jus sayin..

 

[BuddyLee]

This week an average of 52 points per game were scored. That's second most in league history.

Coincidence?

 

[itsbob]

Yeah, we're all losing so much not seeing guys get taken out in neck braces hoping the feeling will come back in the extremities. The game is really gonna suffer with less concussions.

:eyeroll:

Alpinestars has invented a riding suit with a "recharging" air bag system. The rider crashes, the airbags inflate, 20 seonds later they re-arm, re-package and reset themselves, so a rider can re-mount and continue to race.

If these are successful will the NFL follow suit. Every play we'll have to wait for all the players airbags to re-set?

 

[Larry Gude]

This is football where injuries happen every day. You're not going to stop concussions.

Watch baseball.

That's correct but, this will cut them down, especially the severity. And baseball gives me a concussion.

 

[BuddyLee]

That's correct but, this will cut them down, especially the severity. And baseball gives me a concussion.

It may cut them down but there also may be other injuries which are more prevalent because of this rule.

I saw more defenders going for the leg hit this week than any other.

 

[Larry Gude]

Alpinestars has invented a riding suit with a "recharging" air bag system. The rider crashes, the airbags inflate, 20 seonds later they re-arm, re-package and reset themselves, so a rider can re-mount and continue to race.

If these are successful will the NFL follow suit. Every play we'll have to wait for all the players airbags to re-set?

There already are air helmets, shoulder pads, flak jackets and so forth. Add flak jackets, knee braces, etc, etc. To not advance the technology of the game would be as silly as those who, I am sure, argued that leather helmets would ruin the game.

We don't allow clipping. Late hits. Roll blocks, head slaps, horse collar tackles, chop blocks etc, etc, etc. Players train to use better technique, strengthen themselves, improve their body. However, you can't train to absorb helmet kill shots and you can't train to survive giving one.

It's amusing to see people crying out for 'purity' when the game has laundry lists of common sense improvements over time. All this is is a long over due, common sense player safety rule change.

 

[nomoney]

I also want them to have something in their melon besides goo when they hit their 40th birthday. :shrug:

Why? You hoping to go to Chris Johnson for orthodonic advice when he's 40? Maybe Ray Rice, ask him to write a thesis on crime prevention?

Seriously, no ones put a gun to these guys heads and said , "hey boy ...you either go un pick my cotton or you get yo ass out on that there football field".

If you got paid millions of dollars to play a game, you'd put up with a concussion or two as well. Yes, some of the head shots are a little crazy, but some were very questionable. They're just making it a pussy ass sport like baseball now. Heck, while they're at it they should put a speed limit on NASCAR. 70mph should be it. You know, to be safe.

 

[kwillia]

This just in:

"Due to recent events and injuries during last night's Dallas game, the NFL is now the NFFL... National Flag Footbal League. We thank your for your continued support of our sporting events."

 

[Zguy28]

Better a busted knee than to be shambling around like Muhammad Ali when you are 60.

 

[Zguy28]

It's amusing to see people crying out for 'purity' when the game has laundry lists of common sense improvements over time. All this is is a long over due, common sense player safety rule change.

Exactly, I mean why not go back to leather helmets and no tackling allowed below the waist like in old days? Oh yeah, let's make sure we legalize dangerous stampede plays like the wedge and ban the forward pass too.

 

[nomoney]

This just in:

"Due to recent events and injuries during last night's Dallas game, the NFL is now the NFFL... National Flag Footbal League. We thank your for your continued support of our sporting events."

Great, now there is going to be a drastic increase in injured fingers (sprains, breaks). How are they going to combat that???

On the other hand maybe Dallas will actually win a game or two.

 

[BuddyLee]

Better a busted knee than to be shambling around like Muhammad Ali when you are 60.

They better ban soccer then. That ball can hit the head with some serious force. Especially with the players being faster and stronger today.

 

[Tilted]

I agree with Buddy Lee.

Some of these hits aren't the result of players trying to injure or hit someone in the head. When you're coming in at high speed and trying to hit a moving target, you can't control the small moves that target makes. If it shifts a tiny bit this way or that way, or moves its head down a little, you make contact in a way you weren't intending. That's not necessarily the defenders fault, it's also on the offensive player - they're trying to play the game and evade defenders themselves.

As it is, everything favors the offense. It has gotten ridiculous with the defense not being able to try to stop the offense. You pretty much have to start pulling up if you get close to the quarterback, just in case they throw the ball before you make contact or decide to do that BS slide thing which, for whatever reason, briefly transports them from the football field to a ballerina stage in so far as the rules go. When a runner is heading for the sidelines - same thing, the defender pretty much has to pull up and risk them making a move to gain extra yardage, or else risk a penalty for having touched a target moving 20 mph a half second after its feet happened to touch white paint (never mind the fact the defender needs to be watching the torso of that target, not their feet).

Defenders need to be allowed to try to make plays and not be hesitant about everything they might do because bodies might shift a tiny bit and all of a sudden a great play becomes a penalty (and suspension), not because the defender did anything wrong or intended to injure, but because of the nature of the action. Players should be penalized and possibly suspended for trying to hurt other players. However, when they're trying to make plays - hit hard, knock balls loose, remind receivers that the defense owns the middle of the field and coming in that area might result in getting knocked on their asses - and injuries, or unfortunate contact, just happens to happen, you can't punish that. Offenses have so many options - if defenses can't take some possiblities away through intimiditation, they're sitting ducks. Why would great young athletes coming up today want to play defense, when they're being told they can't play at full speed - that they can be suspended and lose money and will always have to play with 'I better hold back a little' in the back of their minds?

The surest way to get a fast moving target that is coming at you (or tangentially at you) to the ground is to deliver a powerful hit. When you just try to line them up and wrap them up, a slight move by them turns your solid wrap up into an arm tackle that might easily get broken (by a fast moving target).

Another factor is the helmets they're wearing - it seems they've gotten so good that the players have a dangerous sense of invulnerability. The natural instinct to protect they're head seems to be a bit suppressed (for both the offensive and defensive players).

 

[BuddyLee]

Football, the full-contact sport.

Yeah right.

 

[rich70]

Then watch MMA where the goal, the job, is to knock people out. This is football and there is proper technique and then there is the thug ball that has been getting worse the last few years with all the improper tackling technique where guys are using, intentionally, the crown of their helmet in order to try and put people out of the game. Because it was being let go.

I am watching a renaissance of real football where talent and execution are returning to the game. The hit that took Romo out is case in point. Perfect tackle. No head shot. No concussions. No sickening shots of peoples mouth pieces flying through the air as the lights go out.

Give it a chance. You might actually like real football where talent, technique and effort and intensity are far more important than the 'ability' to hit someone with the crown of your helmet, endagering both players for no benefit to the game.

In the words of Gene Hackman from The Replacements, "Thats why girls don't play the game"

All these rule changes, girls might as well as start playing the game.

 

[Otter]

I agree with Buddy Lee.

Some of these hits aren't the result of players trying to injure or hit someone in the head. When you're coming in at high speed and trying to hit a moving target, you can't control the small moves that target makes. If it shifts a tiny bit this way or that way, or moves its head down a little, you make contact in a way you weren't intending. That's not necessarily the defenders fault, it's also on the offensive player - they're trying to play the game and evade defenders themselves.

As it is, everything favors the offense. It has gotten ridiculous with the defense not being able to try to stop the offense. You pretty much have to start pulling up if you get close to the quarterback, just in case they throw the ball before you make contact or decide to do that BS slide thing which, for whatever reason, briefly transports them from the football field to a ballerina stage in so far as the rules go. When a runner is heading for the sidelines - same thing, the defender pretty much has to pull up and risk them making a move to gain extra yardage, or else risk a penalty for having touched a target moving 20 mph a half second after its feet happened to touch white paint (never mind the fact the defender needs to be watching the torso of that target, not their feet).

Defenders need to be allowed to try to make plays and not be hesitant about everything they might do because bodies might shift a tiny bit and all of a sudden a great play becomes a penalty (and suspension), not because the defender did anything wrong or intended to injure, but because of the nature of the action. Players should be penalized and possibly suspended for trying to hurt other players. However, when they're trying to make plays - hit hard, knock balls loose, remind receivers that the defense owns the middle of the field and coming in that area might result in getting knocked on their asses - and injuries, or unfortunate contact, just happens to happen, you can't punish that. Offenses have so many options - if defenses can't take some possiblities away through intimiditation, they're sitting ducks. Why would great young athletes coming up today want to play defense, when they're being told they can't play at full speed - that they can be suspended and lose money and will always have to play with 'I better hold back a little' in the back of their minds?

The surest way to get a fast moving target that is coming at you (or tangentially at you) to the ground is to deliver a powerful hit. When you just try to line them up and wrap them up, a slight move by them turns your solid wrap up into an arm tackle that might easily get broken (by a fast moving target).

Another factor is the helmets they're wearing - it seems they've gotten so good that the players have a dangerous sense of invulnerability. The natural instinct to protect they're head seems to be a bit suppressed (for both the offensive and defensive players).

Voices of reason aren't allowed..

 

[Larry Gude]

I agree with Buddy Lee.

Some of these hits aren't the result of players trying to injure or hit someone in the head. When you're coming in at high speed and trying to hit a moving target, you can't control the small moves that target makes. If it shifts a tiny bit this way or that way, or moves its head down a little, you make contact in a way you weren't intending. That's not necessarily the defenders fault, it's also on the offensive player - they're trying to play the game and evade defenders themselves.

As it is, everything favors the offense. It has gotten ridiculous with the defense not being able to try to stop the offense. You pretty much have to start pulling up if you get close to the quarterback, just in case they throw the ball before you make contact or decide to do that BS slide thing which, for whatever reason, briefly transports them from the football field to a ballerina stage in so far as the rules go. When a runner is heading for the sidelines - same thing, the defender pretty much has to pull up and risk them making a move to gain extra yardage, or else risk a penalty for having touched a target moving 20 mph a half second after its feet happened to touch white paint (never mind the fact the defender needs to be watching the torso of that target, not their feet).

Defenders need to be allowed to try to make plays and not be hesitant about everything they might do because bodies might shift a tiny bit and all of a sudden a great play becomes a penalty (and suspension), not because the defender did anything wrong or intended to injure, but because of the nature of the action. Players should be penalized and possibly suspended for trying to hurt other players. However, when they're trying to make plays - hit hard, knock balls loose, remind receivers that the defense owns the middle of the field and coming in that area might result in getting knocked on their asses - and injuries, or unfortunate contact, just happens to happen, you can't punish that. Offenses have so many options - if defenses can't take some possiblities away through intimiditation, they're sitting ducks. Why would great young athletes coming up today want to play defense, when they're being told they can't play at full speed - that they can be suspended and lose money and will always have to play with 'I better hold back a little' in the back of their minds?

The surest way to get a fast moving target that is coming at you (or tangentially at you) to the ground is to deliver a powerful hit. When you just try to line them up and wrap them up, a slight move by them turns your solid wrap up into an arm tackle that might easily get broken (by a fast moving target).

Another factor is the helmets they're wearing - it seems they've gotten so good that the players have a dangerous sense of invulnerability. The natural instinct to protect they're head seems to be a bit suppressed (for both the offensive and defensive players).

The problem is one of an action, the act of lowering your head in a face down position with the intent to contact the opponent with the crown of your helmet first. Not your forehead/face mask, as is taught, from day one, in a see what you hit fashion but, with a face down, top of head/crown lead where you do not see, that last split second, your target.

This makes the tackler at risk to spine injury and the tacklee at risk being hit with what amounts to a sledge hammer because of the narrow focus of the impact area and the force behind it.

This is ALL I am talking about and you can see it clearly when a player hits properly and when he chooses, CHOOSES to lead with his crown.

This is simple. This is clear. In one weekend every last player in the league tackled properly because they've been taught this their whole football lives. The ONLY reason they ever lead with the crown is because of the possibility of a KO hit and that it is allowed. They choose to take the risk to self and opponent as an, until now, accepted risk for the big payoff of being on highlights and getting a bigger payday.

It is now illegal and the players responded, instantly, because they know how to do this. It is a chosen, deliberate action in all the tackles that brought this to light.

There will still be crown hits, unintentional, in pileups and what have you because the situation is so volatile and variable. However, the lined up kill shots needed to stop and they did. In one week.

 

[Beta84]

Landry of the Ravens let up at the 5 yard line and allowed a Bills player to walk into the endzone. This in a close game and also involving a player who is known for big hits (Landry).

Harrison of the Steelers missed several opportunities whereby if the receiver keeps his balance is gone.

Our own Reed Doughty let up on a Chicago Bears reception, which led to a much larger gain than it should have been.

Just three examples of many to come.

That's what happens when you handcuff one side of the football field who is already chained down as it is.

Harrison didn't really miss any tackles. All he needs to do is not aim with his helmet, because he's the biggest offender.

The other two plays that you're giving examples of aren't related to the helmet-to-helmet hitting, but the other part of the issue that was overshadowed. The NFL put out a warning regarding hits on defenseless players and also added a list of repeat offenders regarding unneccessary roughness. There were numerous players who pulled up to prevent getting called on those hits -- not because of the potential helmet-to-helmet hits.

 

[Tilted]

The problem is one of an action, the act of lowering your head in a face down position with the intent to contact the opponent with the crown of your helmet first. Not your forehead/face mask, as is taught, from day one, in a see what you hit fashion but, with a face down, top of head/crown lead where you do not see, that last split second, your target.

This makes the tackler at risk to spine injury and the tacklee at risk being hit with what amounts to a sledge hammer because of the narrow focus of the impact area and the force behind it.

This is ALL I am talking about and you can see it clearly when a player hits properly and when he chooses, CHOOSES to lead with his crown.

This is simple. This is clear. In one weekend every last player in the league tackled properly because they've been taught this their whole football lives. The ONLY reason they ever lead with the crown is because of the possibility of a KO hit and that it is allowed. They choose to take the risk to self and opponent as an, until now, accepted risk for the big payoff of being on highlights and getting a bigger payday.

It is now illegal and the players responded, instantly, because they know how to do this. It is a chosen, deliberate action in all the tackles that brought this to light.

There will still be crown hits, unintentional, in pileups and what have you because the situation is so volatile and variable. However, the lined up kill shots needed to stop and they did. In one week.

You didn't see the defensive hesitancy that BuddyLee alluded to this weekend? You thought the defensive play was as good as ever? We might just have to disagree on that.

About the issue of 'leading with the helmet', it depends on the situation. When a defender is just running at someone and making a tackle without really leaving the ground, that's one thing. However, when a defender is coming in full speed and launches himself to get to the offensive player - making himself get close to horizontal in the air - I don't see how he can keep his head from coming down. The head can only go back so far relative to the spine angle, and in those situations it's natural to bring the head down so that it's in line with the spine - which means you're 'leading with the helmet'. People don't walk around with their nose pointing at the sky - it's an uncomfortable position, and in this case, it would be a dangerous position for the defender. Leading with the helmet is, to some extent, a function of jumping toward someone and creating a spine angle that is more horizontal.

I'm gonna go run full speed and jump face first the couch trying to hold my head all the way back. Wish me luck. I suspect I'll be okay though, as I won't be able to get my body as horizontal as NFL players can.


EDIT: Changed all the verticals to horizontals.