A lot of people have been talking bs about the NFL becoming flag football. Ray Lewis and Asante Samuel have something to say. The following Ray Lewis hit was singled out by the VP in charge in the NFL as a hit they like. Laying the wood and helmet to helmet concussion ball are separate things. Ray Lewis hit on Dustin Keller Would ya look at that, it's a Jet too! Asante Samuel sodomizes Dexter McCluster into the NFL Some may call that debatable but Samuel's head was down, he lead with his arms and shoulders, and blasted him in his chest. Helmet didn't touch helmet until the recoil forced Asante upward. Now let's look at the plays from last week: Meriweather Missile Launching with the PROTECTIVE helmet James Harrison Collisions Intentionally going helmet to helmet both plays. Shoulder pads are hard too James. I won't include the Robinson hit but suffice to say it was helmet to shoulder. Robinson learned though, he suffered an injury as well. Explain to me how taking out the bottom two, in light of the top two, will make football a flag football league?
The only problem I have with this is that players might play and approach tackles differently then they normally would and could result in a miss.
Trust me, one of the main reasons players miss tackles now is because they tackle the way they do. Davone Bess is a current NFL linebacker's worst nightmare because of his quick cuts. The form tackling of Derrick Brooks is gone. That guy could wrap up Mike Vick without problem.
They won't have to worry about changing how they tackle if they know they're doing it properly already.
IMO Harrisons hit is worse, merri boy actually looked like he could have been playing the ball. Harrison is head hunting. Lotsa beers so bad spelling lol Edit merry wanted to break up a play imo
Not being a smart ***, but have you ever played football before? Players are taught from little league on to lead with their helmet. Not the crown of the helmet, the face mask. You're taught to put your face into the chest of the ball carrier, wrap him up, drive thru him and put his *** down. If you're aiming for a guy's chest and he ducks at the last second well then guess what? Helmet to helmet (See Chris Clemons vs. Cotchery Week 3). If it's a 6'3'' LB hitting a 5'9'' RB same deal. There's no helmet to helmet switch that players can turn on/off, its not as easy as the talking heads make it sound. I agree that some of the more vicious hits, like Meriwether's are uncalled for, that was a blatant head shot. But Harrison's hits were IMO, football plays (and the referees agreed). The hit on Cribbs was a hit on a moving/very elusive target. Anyone can VERY EASILY aim for the shoulder and get the head as the ball carrier moves/ducks to avoid contact, or aim for the waist and get nothing, etc. To me, it looks like Harrison grazed him with the helmet, but the main force of the hit came from the shoulder with a forearm follow through. Cribbs was in a vulnerable spot there, and clearly didnt see the hit coming in time. But that's not Harrison's fault. Its not his fault he's a ferocious hitter who can knock other players the **** out, that's what he's paid to do. If Cribbs gets up from that hit, and Massaquoi gets up from his, then this is a non issue. If McCluster had been injured on the Samuel hit, then Asante gets fined. Which brings to me my main point, all of this is reactionary. Jackson, Cribbs and Massaquoi all got hurt, so there's a big uproar. Tom Brady tears an ACL so now QB's are off limits. Reality is that the game is moving too fast, it is incredibly difficult to hit/not hit opposing players in specific spots. Also, its a total judgment call to classify what is or isn't intentional. Is the league gong to sanction all helmet to helmet contact? It'll be like when a DLineman's pinky grazes the QB's helmet logo, 15 yards. IMO that's not football.
I'm a starting Middle Linebacker this year. Season starts in 2 weeks. We were taught to tackle with our arms waist level or below and bring our helmet across the chest of the offensive player. I don't know who taught you how to play. EDIT: Also, Cribbs was already going down and Harrison went down and came UP with his helmet on Massoquio. For some reason, when Derrick Brooks made 11 Pro-Bowls not tackling like that nothing was wrong. So you're saying the only recent trend of guys tackling without arms and pure helmet is what has been going on forever? You can't say Samuel would have been fined in that case and didn't receiver a penalty yet Clemons got a penalty but no fine. I used those hits because the NFL itself pointed to them as OK hits. You're not thinking as you make your points about the points I made or the points you made before it. Another example is when you say don't lead with the crown yet Meriweather and Harrison clearly do. Consider Stark's hit on Rodgers. You can't say you can't hit the QB when Starks clearly layed him the **** out. The rule is that once the ball is gone, you can't intentionally go and blast a QB. It gets ridiculous for certain QB's (Tom Brady) but it's not an egregious rule. The NFL is in the entertainment business to make money. Less players means less money. They're protecting the sport you enjoy from having to suit up whoever they can find due to massive injuries. Again, if a guy like Derrick Brooks can make it to the pro-bowl 11 times wrapping up, Harrison can to if he can wrap up. Patrick Willis, Ray Lewis, John Beason, are probably the three best ILB's in the league right now. How many penalties do you see those three called for due to helmet to helmet hits? Wake and Clay Matthews are almost as beastly as James Harrison and you don't see them getting called for stupid penalties. Your argument is disregarding 70 years of form tackling and current players who form tackle. Harrison made NO attempt to even wrap. Samuel didn't either but he also didn't hit helmet to helmet.
The Mariweather hit is the only one close to being excessive as far as I'm concerned and upon further review, Heap may have fallen into the hit. What if linebackers and defensive backs started targeting knees?
Most ball carriers want to run downhill on guys. That involves having a lower center of gravity than the defender. It's one thing to hit a guy standing as tall as the Statue of Liberty, it's quite another to tackle Ricky Williams.
Yes. And yes again. That is how it is done. Lead with your shoulder, wrap up, and drive baby. Well, that's how I was taught anyway.
LOL @ the line cut blocking in that video. Do what the guy tackling does ... pay no attention to the offensive line ...
Of the four videos shown, Lewis clearly didn't lead with his head. He made contact with his shoulder first. Samuel ran full speed into McCluster and I’m pretty sure we can agree, you don’t run full speed standing up straight. Like I said before, I’m not sure on the Heap hit. Harrison’s head hits Cribbs about four feet off the ground. How the heck is he suppose to know Cribbs is already falling down. This game is way to fast. I’m thinking better helmets or no helmets is the only solution.
No one has mentioned I don't think but you better coach these WR's to stay down after getting hit.....also CB's might get away with everything while refs are looking inside. I put it on the men in stripes to sort it out. distractions
Do tell, what football season starts in November? I've never heard of this league . . Head shots in professional football are at an ALL TIME LOW. Clemons WAS fined for the hit on Cotchery, who, by the way, lowered his head into Clemons just as much as CC led with his head/shoulder. Stop the Harrison clip @ :24 and you'll see he DID NOT lead with the crown of his helmet. You do know what a "crown" is, right? Starks' hit was a football play. You can't be running full speed at a guy and stop on a dime because he appears to be throwing the ball, even if you wanted to. A starting MLB would know that. Starks put his facemask in Rodgers' chest and the top of his head slid up and cracked A.R. in the chin. It happens, that's football. Maybe someday, but right now, Wake and Matthews are NOWHERE NEAR as good as James Harrison. Dude, you can't possibly play LB. If you do, I'll say a prayer for your coaches .
Sure, its easy to lead with a shoulder when the ball carrier is coming in at an angle and makes no evasive maneuvers whatsoever. But when you're meeting a RB in the hole or straight up in the open field you're not going to turn your hips to lead with you shoulder. If you do you'll be missing a whole lot of tackles. Slow Motion is a starting MLB so I know he doesn't tackle like that, if he did, he'd be riding the pine.
the only difference i see between the Massaquoi hit and the Lewis hit that is supposedly legal is that Massaquoi dropped his head reaching for the ball... if he was upright, that hit would have gone right to the chest... so your saying if Keller would have ducked his head on that Ray Lewis hit, Lewis should be penalized and fined? If thats the case then the offensive player should be fined too... if they are INITIATING the helmet to helmet contact by dropping their heads and then putting it in the line of the helmet of the oncoming defender, they should get fined too... and its clear why you didn't post the Desean Jackson hit because there is NOTHING that can be said to somehow state there was anything illegal about that hit... it was just a HARD hit... plus the hit on cribbs wasn't illegal, hes a running back on the play, and RBs put their heads down all the time, helmet to helmet hits aren't illegal on a ball carrier...
Like others here I was always taught to lead with the face mask. That is how tackling has been taught for decades on every level. I don't know if they are teaching it differently now. The problem I have with the NFL's policy is that it puts all of the penalty on the defensive player. That "strict liability" policy is unfair. The defensive player can do everything exactly the same on two different plays, but if on one occasion the offensive player drops his helmet level at the last moment the defensive player will be penalized. Or if the offensive player simply shifts their upper body back and to the side slightly and the defensive player hits initially with his shoulder but then slides up the body and helmets contact, the defensive player will be penalized. IMO the policy is flawed if a defensive player can do the exact same thing and have it be considered legal one time and illegal another time.
