NFL Must Place Emphasis on Tackling versus Hits

[PhoSita]

This week in his mailbag, John Clayton addressed the issue of low hits and the possibility that the league might take steps to eliminate such hits.

Tackling isn't an exact science. Defenders are coming at full speed trying to figure out where to make a tackle on a player who might be bigger. Ward was playing safety in the middle of the field. Had he let Gronkowski get behind him, the Patriots would have scored a touchdown.

He made the choice to hit low knowing he would be fined if he hit high. Unfortunately, Gronkowski became a victim of a physical sport.


The elimination of the low hit to go with the elimination of the high hit would be an injustice to defenders. Such a change would be the equivalent of adjusting the strike zone of a pitcher in baseball so he would throw balls instead of strikes 60 to 70 percent of the time.

John makes a good point -- creating this "strike zone" would make the jobs of defensive players even harder, and often these guys are moving at such high speed that they don't really have the ability to choose where they are going to make contact with an opponent in order to bring him down.  Especially when the size differential is enormous, as with Ward and Gronk, the defensive player just wants to do what is necessary to bring the other guy down.


Clayton can say that "football is a violent" sport, and he's right, but football in its current state is too violent.  A major culprit for that is the practice of defensive players not to tackle, using their arms, but rather to launch themselves like javelins at offensive players, felling them like deer.  To me, that is what was so dangerous about what T.J. Ward did on Sunday.

Regardless of where the defensive player is aiming, running at full speed and launching oneself into the opponent is dangerous for everybody involved.  Defensive players should be required to either make plays on the ball, preventing the catch or stripping it from the offensive player, or else get in position to actually wrap up or otherwise bring the opponent to the ground.

Sure, a catastrophic knee injury like the one Gronk suffered could still happen if a defensive player grabs a guy by the ankles or around the knees and the player's leg gets wrenched the wrong way.  But it would be much harder for that to happen while the player is in mid-air, taken completely unaware and totally unable to make any adjustments to avoid injury, like shifting direction or slowing down, as Gronkowski was.


Maybe the NFL doesn't care about an increase in knee injuries because it won't result in law suits the way that head injuries will.  But the NFL should care.  The sport is more interesting when the best players are playing, and it would be more enjoyable to watch if the defensive emphasis were on technique, positioning, speed, and fundamentals rather than brutal, bone-jarring hits at full momentum.

[CelticG1]

I do agree with you a bit but most people would consider that 2 hand touch football and they wouldn't be too far off.

I do agree that launching into someone at any speed at any part of the body is extremely dangerous. Problem is if they do change it to basically hand tackling you will be completely changing the sport. I guy like Ward or even a smaller guy would literally be hanging off of gronk as he dragged them down the field.

Its just tough. I think head injuries are aot more severe than leg injuries and football players who are saying the opposite just aren't thinking clearly. Some people think that the NFl has gone over board with protecting their players. I disagree I think its pretty good and reslonsible but you are definitely getting to the point where almost anything else would be over board

[PhoSita]

I do agree with you a bit but most people would consider that 2 hand touch football and they wouldn't be too far off.

I do agree that launching into someone at any speed at any part of the body is extremely dangerous. Problem is if they do change it to basically hand tackling you will be completely changing the sport. I guy like Ward or even a smaller guy would literally be hanging off of gronk as he dragged them down the field.

You're not wrong, but in my opinion the game needs to change.  It would be better if it changed.

As some others have suggested, there could be increased allowances for bumping / hand-checking / holding etc. further beyond the line of scrimmage to compensate some.

But yes, a player like T.J. Ward, if the only thing he brings to the table is vicious hits at full speed, would become obsolete.  I have no problem with that, honestly.

People will bemoan the fact that football is being turned into rugby or -- gasp! -- soccer, but an increased emphasis on finesse, agility, and technique over brute strength and violence would not be such a terrible thing. 

It would add to the proliferation of offense, sure, but I'd be willing to accept that if it meant that the best and most exciting players in the league are on the field, with longer lasting careers.


Who would you rather see out there, Gronk or T.J. Ward?  Bernard Pollard or Wes Welker?  Who is more entertaining?  More importantly, who generates more money for the NFL?

[wayupnorth]

I do agree with you a bit but most people would consider that 2 hand touch football and they wouldn't be too far off.

I do agree that launching into someone at any speed at any part of the body is extremely dangerous. Problem is if they do change it to basically hand tackling you will be completely changing the sport. I guy like Ward or even a smaller guy would literally be hanging off of gronk as he dragged them down the field.

You're not wrong, but in my opinion the game needs to change.  It would be better if it changed.

As some others have suggested, there could be increased allowances for bumping / hand-checking / holding etc. further beyond the line of scrimmage to compensate some.

But yes, a player like T.J. Ward, if the only thing he brings to the table is vicious hits at full speed, would become obsolete.  I have no problem with that, honestly.

People will bemoan the fact that football is being turned into rugby or -- gasp! -- soccer, but an increased emphasis on finesse, agility, and technique over brute strength and violence would not be such a terrible thing. 

It would add to the proliferation of offense, sure, but I'd be willing to accept that if it meant that the best and most exciting players in the league are on the field, with longer lasting careers.


Who would you rather see out there, Gronk or T.J. Ward?  Bernard Pollard or Wes Welker?  Who is more entertaining?  More importantly, who generates more money for the NFL?

Take the violence out of football, and it is not football.

I wish people who advocate such things would be honest, and just develop a whole new sport similar to football, instead of slowly turning a fierce sport tame.

[wdleehi]

It is not about rule changes.



It is going to be about the technology used to protect the players. 



There is a lot of money out there for making the NFL players safer without having to reduce the amount of hitting that goes on. 




Just see what happened with Nascar after Dale Earnhardt's fatal accident. 

[Moranis]

http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s16e08-sarcastaball

[PhoSita]

I do agree with you a bit but most people would consider that 2 hand touch football and they wouldn't be too far off.

I do agree that launching into someone at any speed at any part of the body is extremely dangerous. Problem is if they do change it to basically hand tackling you will be completely changing the sport. I guy like Ward or even a smaller guy would literally be hanging off of gronk as he dragged them down the field.

You're not wrong, but in my opinion the game needs to change.  It would be better if it changed.

As some others have suggested, there could be increased allowances for bumping / hand-checking / holding etc. further beyond the line of scrimmage to compensate some.

But yes, a player like T.J. Ward, if the only thing he brings to the table is vicious hits at full speed, would become obsolete.  I have no problem with that, honestly.

People will bemoan the fact that football is being turned into rugby or -- gasp! -- soccer, but an increased emphasis on finesse, agility, and technique over brute strength and violence would not be such a terrible thing. 

It would add to the proliferation of offense, sure, but I'd be willing to accept that if it meant that the best and most exciting players in the league are on the field, with longer lasting careers.


Who would you rather see out there, Gronk or T.J. Ward?  Bernard Pollard or Wes Welker?  Who is more entertaining?  More importantly, who generates more money for the NFL?

Take the violence out of football, and it is not football.

I wish people who advocate such things would be honest, and just develop a whole new sport similar to football, instead of slowly turning a fierce sport tame.

The thing is, football today is not the same as football years ago, and it's not just the rules.

The players are bigger, faster, more athletic.  Some of that is a result of better training.  Some of it is undoubtedly a result of PEDs.

But with the amount of huge, super fast players in this league, you can't expect to just have the same rules as you did in the past.

In any case, it's silly to act like a sport in its current incarnation is perfect and never ought to change.  Basketball has evolved a great deal since the NBA began and it's a much better game (despite my father's protestations to the contrary regarding the three point line).

[PhoSita]

It is not about rule changes.



It is going to be about the technology used to protect the players. 



There is a lot of money out there for making the NFL players safer without having to reduce the amount of hitting that goes on. 




Just see what happened with Nascar after Dale Earnhardt's fatal accident.

Outside of bionic knees I'm not sure how technology is going to save Rob Gronkowski's knee when T.J. Ward launches himself at full speed while Gronk is in mid-air to wrench it laterally like that.

[Moranis]

I posted the South Park episode because frankly that is what is happening with the sport, but there are certainly ways to clean it up.  And while this didn't happen this time, the offensive players often lower their heads forcing the defenders to hit even lower.  Brady also knew when he threw that ball into that tight window that the safety was going to come over and tackle a pretty defenseless Gronk.  It isn't the defenders fault that someone gets hurt on a clean tackle that just hits low. 

[PhoSita]

I posted the South Park episode because frankly that is what is happening with the sport, but there are certainly ways to clean it up.  And while this didn't happen this time, the offensive players often lower their heads forcing the defenders to hit even lower.  Brady also knew when he threw that ball into that tight window that the safety was going to come over and tackle a pretty defenseless Gronk.  It isn't the defenders fault that someone gets hurt on a clean tackle that just hits low.

I agree about the offensive players lowering their heads (certainly the offensive players are contributing when that happens), but that has nothing to do with what happened in this situation.

To me, it's as simple as saying that defenders need to be limited in the methods they can use to take down offensive players.  Methods that are excessively dangerous and likely to result in serious injury should not be allowed, period.

[Moranis]

I posted the South Park episode because frankly that is what is happening with the sport, but there are certainly ways to clean it up.  And while this didn't happen this time, the offensive players often lower their heads forcing the defenders to hit even lower.  Brady also knew when he threw that ball into that tight window that the safety was going to come over and tackle a pretty defenseless Gronk.  It isn't the defenders fault that someone gets hurt on a clean tackle that just hits low.

I agree about the offensive players lowering their heads (certainly the offensive players are contributing when that happens), but that has nothing to do with what happened in this situation.

To me, it's as simple as saying that defenders need to be limited in the methods they can use to take down offensive players.  Methods that are excessively dangerous and likely to result in serious injury should not be allowed, period.

Why not blame Brady for throwing the ball though?  Why does the defense have to change?  Why can't the offense?  If Brady doesn't throw the ball in a manner that leaves Gronk helpless, Gronk doesn't get hurt.

[Fafnir]

Big TEs/FBs get chopped all the time in the NFL and always have when DBs are trying to bring them down. But hey its a high profile guy so lets freak out about it.

Frankly the idea that we can "clean football up" seems silly to me. The head/knee trauma from routine line play and perfect form tackles is the cause of the majority of injuries.

[Donoghus]

I posted the South Park episode because frankly that is what is happening with the sport, but there are certainly ways to clean it up.  And while this didn't happen this time, the offensive players often lower their heads forcing the defenders to hit even lower.  Brady also knew when he threw that ball into that tight window that the safety was going to come over and tackle a pretty defenseless Gronk.  It isn't the defenders fault that someone gets hurt on a clean tackle that just hits low.

I agree about the offensive players lowering their heads (certainly the offensive players are contributing when that happens), but that has nothing to do with what happened in this situation.

To me, it's as simple as saying that defenders need to be limited in the methods they can use to take down offensive players.  Methods that are excessively dangerous and likely to result in serious injury should not be allowed, period.

Why not blame Brady for throwing the ball though?  Why does the defense have to change?  Why can't the offense?  If Brady doesn't throw the ball in a manner that leaves Gronk helpless, Gronk doesn't get hurt.

You don't know that for sure.

Gronk could legimately get hurt on any play.  The guy is 6'6".  Taking him down is no small chore.  Brady could hit him in stride on a slant pattern and a DB could still take the same route that TJ Ward did.  Most likely, they will do that route.

What happened to Gronk was unfortunate but was done legally.  You can't got for the head anymore so when you're giving 100 lbs and 6 inches to a guy, you're not going to go for the torso.  You chop down the legs.  It was just an unfortunate instance where Gronk got hurt by the way the play unfolded.

[action781]

It is not about rule changes.



It is going to be about the technology used to protect the players. 



There is a lot of money out there for making the NFL players safer without having to reduce the amount of hitting that goes on. 




Just see what happened with Nascar after Dale Earnhardt's fatal accident.

Outside of bionic knees I'm not sure how technology is going to save Rob Gronkowski's knee when T.J. Ward launches himself at full speed while Gronk is in mid-air to wrench it laterally like that.

Yeah, I don't see either. 

This is extreme, but I honestly feel that lessening the pads and going back to the old leather helmets would be better than more protection.  I think players would generally start to calm down the more vicious hits b/c of the pain they would inflict upon themselves, they would completely stop leading with their head-first toward offensive players, and D-linemen would be less likely to make desperation dives at quarterback's knees/ankles in fear of their head getting stepped on (same with making RBs think twice about the chop block).

There would still be injuries, but I think overall we would see less severe ones.  A lot of the injuries would be more bumps/bruises related than torn ligaments and brain damage.

[Donoghus]

Big TEs/FBs get chopped all the time in the NFL and always have when DBs are trying to bring them down. But hey its a high profile guy so lets freak out about it.

Frankly the idea that we can "clean football up" seems silly to me. The head/knee trauma from routine line play and perfect form tackles is the cause of the majority of injuries.

Pretty much.  And you know the league isn't going to go back on the head stuff.