Bingo! That's how you're supposed to tackle.mvscal wrote:Never saw that but our coaches definitely drilled that danger into us. I'm not sure how they teach kids to tackle in Georgia but, in Texas, the mantra was, "head up, wrap up and drive through the ball carrier."BSmack wrote:I saw a kid break his next trying to tackle that way. It happened right in front of me at football practice. He was damn lucky he only suffered a hairline fracture and "only" had to spend the next 6 months in a body cast and halo.Papa Willie wrote:I can remember several hits I was involved with where I was going to plant my head in stomach...
Sure sometimes the ball carrier drives through you but at least you won't break your neck.
My freshman year in college, I saw a kid make a tackle leading with his head into the back of a TE. Result was that he snapped his neck and has spent the last 40 years in a wheelchair....and it was his own fault.
The current helmets are awesome pieces of protection for the players compared to the helmets worn when I played but, unfortunately, they are so good that players feel safe in using them as the tip of a missile when they launch their head-to-head hits. The NFL needs to enforce the rules that have been on the books for years and penalize with the only thing that players listen to...suspensions. They can change the culture of the game but it will not happen overnight. They aren't going back to leather helmets or removing the facemask because of liability issues. Helmet manufacturers routinely get sued now, so you can imagine what would happen if they reduced the safety of helmets. The only answer is to strictly enforce the rules as written and wait for the players to realize it's not worth taking the kill shots.
I heard one player being interviewed who described players as "gladiators". This just in, you stupid fuck, you're athletes playing a fucking game....you're not a gladiator entering the arena fighting for your life. Or at least you shouldn't be. That's why football has rules.
