Football Needs To Be Relearned
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Football Needs To Be Relearned

"It's like playing billiards with human people, where the players bounce off of each other. And that's not football."

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Football Needs To Be Relearned
Sporting News

A similar article was written back in October about head-to-head hits in the game of football, and it will be revisited here. The problem with football today is that players get hurt too easy with hits to the helmet and head. A helmet can only do so much to protect a player, and the issue is that when players get hurt from it, the get hit in the helmet area without the intention to wrap the arms to tackle from the player who made the hit. It is not just on offense and defense, but it also happens on special teams. Hitting someone in the helmet area without the intention to wrap the arms to tackle is spearing and considered a personal foul. For many years during the 2000's, it was flagged and penalized as spearing on the offending player, but it does not called nearly enough today. This is supposedly dubbed as clean football but it is far from that. It is not even football.

On the other hand, there will be some contact between helmets, and that is not to be denied. This contact is incidental, but the other kinds of contact with the helmet are, without question, intentional, and while there is intent to create attention-grabbing plays, it is hurtful to both the person receiving the hit and the person who initiates the hit. There is nothing wrong with grabbing attention with the play on the field, but there is a better way to grab the attention. It's tackling 101 when these players learned it in peewee ball.

The proper way to tackle is to wrap up. It doesn't get any easier than this. Consider the following examples on how to tackle.

1. Defensive player tackling offensive player

Let's say you're a 6'2", 215-pound safety and you're coming to bring down wide receiver running over the middle of the field, where the receiver is coming from the opposite side of the field from you. You're covering your man and when you see that the ball is coming to him and you're charging towards him to bring him down, you have enough time to bring your arms with you to tackle rather than to spear and possibly hurt both your opponent and yourself. You're already going to get plenty of attention since you're bringing him down immediately after he catches the ball, and he's going to feel it anyway. You, as the safety, are running full-speed and you see the receiver catching the ball. Face him as you run towards him and wrap your arms around him (as if you're giving him a big hug), grab him with your arms, and take him down. Those who decide to spear are performing two critical errors: They are not facing the receiver as they come into contact with him and instead turn their head away since they fear they'll get hurt, and secondly they don't wrap up. By turning away, they're avoiding the important component of wrapping up and they are obviously not facing the receiver as they run up to bring him down. This is especially important in a one-on-one context but it is especially useful when multiple players are coming to bring down the same player.

2. Offensive skill player blocking a defender

Let's say that you're a wide receiver or a running back trying to do a peel-back or crack-back block on a defender, The most commonly seen course of action is to try and light up the defender who is trying to come up to tackle the ball-carrier, If you ask the author, that should be flagged every time. There is intent to light the guy up and the way the hit is performed, the player making the block doesn't use proper blocking technique, which is to face the defender and push him to get him further away from the play. Instead of using proper blocking technique, this player spears the defender that tries to tackle the ball carrier.

3. Return on Special Teams (Punt and Kickoff Returns or Field Goal attempts) or a turnover

Let's say that you're a blocker on the return team, or "gunner" on the kicking team. On those "highlight-reel" plays, the blocker on the return team or the "gunner" (a player on the kicking team to prevent a return touchdown) feels like there's a need to level someone to make a highlight-worthy play, especially if the defender is not looking. But a better way to do that is to just wrap up and take him down (if you're trying to end the play) or to just extend the arms and push the opposing player away (if you're trying to spring the ball carrier with a block). These "highlight-reel" plays are focused on making a big hit to light up the ball carrier when it really isn't necessary. The ball carrier is running full speed and so is the defender. The way that these hits are done is like two billiards balls bouncing off of each other, or two pin-balls hitting each other. That is not football.

The real problem here is the players' stubbornness to the true reality that football is not football anymore. Instead, it's like playing billiards with human people, where the players bounce off of each other and that will never work. Football is a contact sport as it is, but it is not supposed to be played where players bounce off of each other when trying to tackle. Players hide behind the absolute joke of an excuse that the game is too fast for proper tackling. It is absolutely not too fast for proper tackling. Instead of hiding behind the excuse that the game is too fast, they need to think more critically as they're pursuing the ball. They're not thinking critically and instead, they're thinking, "Gotta light'em up when the ball gets there", and that's utter bologna. By lighting the player up, they're more often throwing heads at the ball carrier in order to tackle, using the helmet as a weapon. The helmet is not a weapon, nor is it supposed to be a weapon, but rather is, and is supposed to be, a form of protection. This protection is being taken for granted and rendered useless because of the way players try to "tackle". In the above examples, the key to playing clean football is to extend the arms to make a proper block or tackle when on special teams or offense, and to wrap up when tackling on defense. Watch the following examples.

Appropriate play for defensive player tackling offensive player:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHxxLTeUFRU

(Watch between 3:49 and 3:56; replay at 4:05 to 4:11) - Lito Sheppard is the Vikings' player (in Purple #29) and Larry Fitzgerald is the Cardinals' player (in White #11). Notice how Sheppard brings his arms out to tackle Fitzgerald and doesn't lead with his head. Sheppard's helmet dips but he doesn't have any intent to hit Fitzgerald high.

Inappropriate play for defensive player tackling offensive player:


(Watch between 54:00 and 54:07, with the original play from 53:35 to 53:41) - Jonathan Nelson (in White #3) for Oklahoma ducks his head in an effort to tackle Jerrell Jackson (in Black #29) for Missouri, and the result is a missed tackle that resulted in a touchdown for the offense. Nelson also hurt himself on the play. Kirk Herbstreit said "textbook on how not to tackle". Herbstreit hit the nail on the head.

Appropriate play for offensive skill player blocking a defender:


(Watch 0:24 to 0:30) - Nick Toon is the Wisconsin player (in White #1) blocking James Rogers (in Blue #18). Watch how Toon uses his hands and extends his arms to block and spring his teammate for a touchdown, instead of trying to light up the defender with his block. This is what proper blocking is.

Inappropriate play for an offensive skill player blocking a defender:


(Watch 0:09 to 0:11) - Marvin McNutt (in Black #7) is the Iowa player who gets the 'block' on the Mizzou player (in White, I believe his name is James Harrison #11, it's difficult to tell) and the key is the way McNutt performs his block. He sizes up the defender instead of extending his arms to push him out of the way. It is an unnecessary tactic given that Coker (in Black #34, ball carrier) is already past the instance of the block and has enough speed to break away without it.

Appropriate play for a return on special teams (blocking) #1:


During the return, the other ten players for Wisconsin (in Red) block with the right technique and don't size up any of the Ohio State players in an attempt to spring David Gilreath (in Red #85) towards a kickoff return touchdown. This is the right way to block on a kickoff, especially with a big play, and Gilreath is speedy enough that a block that sizes up the defender is completely unnecessary.

Inappropriate play for a return on special teams (block):


After the field goal is blocked, watch the Baylor kicker Chris Callahan (in Green #40) and also keep an eye on Tony Lippett (in White #14) for Michigan State. The hit between these to happens at 0:20, but notice how Lippett is sizing up Callahan and is physically attempting to explode off the ground (0:19, replay at 0:47). He unnecessarily lights up Callahan and it's a disgrace that the 'block' didn't get flagged. Lippett, additionally, doesn't use proper blocking form and throws himself at Callahan to block him, and that's not blocking. It's launching.

Appropriate play for a return on special teams (tackle) #1:


(Watch from 0:03 to 0:10, replay at 0:29 to 0:35) - See how Joey Julius (#99 in White) for Penn State comes in to tackle Michigan's Jourdan Lewis (in Blue #26). Notice that Julius doesn't try to wreck Lewis, and that Julius brings his arms as if he will tackle.

Appropriate play for a return on special teams (tackle) #2:


(Watch around 0:50 to 1:00, replay at 1:05 to 1:11) Jeff Tarpinian (in Black #33) for Iowa makes the tackle on Michigan returner Darryl Stonum (in White #22), but he doesn't try to light up the returner, but rather makes the effort to use proper tackling form to bring down Stonum. He doesn't lead with his head, and brings his arms.

The overall concept remains the same for scenario 3, regardless of it is a plan on defense or on special teams. The appropriate plays seen above show how clean football is supposed to be played. Rarely is that seen in today's game, where instead, players who make tackles or blocks feel the need to size up the opposing player to get attention and play the game in a highly dangerous fashion. There's no excuse for these hits, as the proper form of tackling and blocking is a rudimentary skill. Yet it seems to be nonexistent in today's brand of football. Needless to say, players are putting themselves at an increased risk by the way they play now instead of playing the right way.

Incidental contact between helmets will happen, and of course, incidental contact is not intentional. But these inappropriate hits that are being made include intentional contact with the helmet, where the helmet is used as a weapon in an unnecessarily aggressive manner, to size up the opponent and possibly leave not only the player receiving the hit, but the hitter, seriously injured. It is an unnecessary hit since both sides are coming in at full speed already, and players are not supposed to be like billiards balls that bounce off of each other, like we see with most of these inappropriate hits.

This is a message to coaches of high school football and beyond, to remind them that the way they teach both tackling and blocking is coming up woefully short of what proper tackling and proper blocking is expected to be. This is also a message to officials to flag any type of hit that they see where a player making a block or a tackle doesn't use proper technique, every time. This is a message to the players of football that they need to relearn how to tackle and block. These inappropriate plays are all textbook on how not to tackle. Today's definition of 'tackling' is not what real tackling is. Today's definition of tackling is to try to light up any ball carrier, ball pursuer, or intended receiver, and try to make the big hit, and more often than not it ends up with a flag or the player fails to bring the ball carrier, pursuer, or intended receiver to the ground.

To play clean football, players need to know what is correct tackling and blocking technique. The correct way to tackle is to bring the arms and wrap up, like you're hugging the ball carrier. The correct way to block is to extend the arms and push the opposing player away from the ball carrier. (Offensive linemen do this really well.) That is how football is supposed to be played. Whatever way that it's being played today is not football, and it's certainly not clean.


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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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