After watching Football this weekend ...

[1StrongBlackMan]

and watching player after player, going out with concussions and other injuries resulting from "Blow up" hits ... it came to me. A single, relatively simple, and easy to enforce, rule change could be instituted that would make Pro (and college) inmeasurably safer.

I played Defensive Back (Safety in High school and Corner in college) 30+ years ago. Back then, we, too, relished the "big hit", but we were taught "form tackling", where you hit with your shoulder pads and your head up ... but most importantly, you were taught to hit and wrap. In fact, leading with your helmet was a 15 yard penalty and (as a Defensive Back and with my coach) getting caught on film hitting someone without attempting to wrap the ball carrier up, meant wind strints until you puked ... even if the ball carrier went down, and even if you forced the fumble.

This weekend passed, I watched (primarily) defensive back getting running starts and just launching themselves where they thought the ball carrier would be ... they, generally, made no wrap up the ball carrier; just make the big hit and hope that the ball carrier went down, jarred the ball loose, or the hit knocked the ball carrier into someone else who could grab them ... and I counted 17 instances where the D-back, filled the gap; but because they were going for the big hit, completely missed the tackle or the ball carrier bounced or spun off, or huddled the D-back and kept running. (Yeah, I counted)


But the fact is, you can't blow someone up AND wrap them up (that's why you can play rugby, without pads). So I would propose that hitting without attempting to wrap (like spearing) should be a personal foul and after two calls, the offender gets to sit out the rest of the game ... just like in high school (back in my day).

I think instituting this rule will reduce the incidence of concussions and leg/knee injuries from Big Hit tackles.

[JayhawkSD]

1. I could not possibly agree with you more.

I played linebacker, 50+ years ago, and the quality of tackling in the NFL absolutely appalls me. College is a little better, but not much.

Head up, feet still in contact with the ground, contact made with your shoulder above the knees and below the shoulders, wrap your arms and drive with your legs through the hit. You are still looking at the ball carrier when you hit him, and you are looking right into his eyeballs when you have him on the ground. You smile at him and you do not help him up.

One additional point, when you lower your head to hit with your helmet, you are looking at the ground. Hitting the ground is not useful, and when you are looking at the ground that is most likely what you are going to hit. You very seldom hit what you are not looking at, which is why pro football player miss more tackles than they make.

The same thing applies to launching yourself through the air to make a hit like a ballistic missile. "Ballistic" means "no longer guided." As soon as you leave your feet the runner changes direction and there you are, flying gracefully through the air like a ballet dancer and hitting nothing, while the ball carrier prances down field past you, making you look like an idiot. Keep your feet on the ground and your momentum under control and when the ball carrier changes direction so do you.

[trotsky]

2. But the big hits make SportsCenter highlights!

That right there is probably the biggest problem. For years sports media and the NFL itself promoted those blow-em-up big hits. ESPN, until recently, even had a special feature segment every week on their wrap-up program for the day highlighting the biggest hits of the day.

I think your suggestion is excellent. In conjunction, I'd also like to see the old rules about defensive contact come back. Make it OK to bump the receiver within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. Disrupt the routes, slow the players down just a bit, maybe some of those collisions won't be as fierce.

[a kennedy]

5. I love football, and I tell ya, I close my eyes at least half the time watching the game.....

and that horrible, horrible, s l o w motion video of the hits, I'm sick, can't and don't watch them. Ugh.

[JonLP24]

3. Some teams are better than others

This isn't a big problem in the NFC West (excluding St. Louis defense) where they fly to the ball, wrap up, and little second chance opportunities. Desean Jackson made many guys miss on the Cards D but that was due to his incredible speed. The big hits are there because forcing turnovers is crucial.

I don't like the idea of that sort of rule. Reason why there is a lot of leg injuries is because the smart thing (especially for smaller DBs) is to go low. Trying to go high--even wrapping up leads to a lot of broken tackles.

[DrewFlorida]

4. You make a good point, but. We would still need to do something about the offensive players....

who lead with their helmets, running backs, receivers running after the catch etc.