ESPN's Mark Schlereth on the new hitting rule in the NFL

maybe maybe no. It's speculation that sounds good in theory but in reality might not play out as well as you think. It could also significantly change the game, i.e. give the offense a significant advantage.

 

Exactly.

 

look, your point is taken. but sometimes big hits happen; that's why the NFL is popular. unless you have a player who has repeatedly provide bad hits after warnings, then suspend the guy.

but in the heat of the moment, a player trying to make a sure tackle w/ a guy coming at him, he has to do it. you're going to suspend him for that.

this is the same BS as the NBA trying to limit arguing against the refs.

sports is sports b/c these athletes play with passion and emotion. sometimes crazy things happen. they go all out out there.

 

You don't need permits to carry flags. Unless you're implying that pro athletes should just do away the facade that they have guns legally.

But then that begs the question on how the NFL will explain to the public on how they will let their players carry guns on the field and shoot each other.

You know, someone might just die.

 

It's not really speculation. It's pretty much proven. That's why youth coaches preach "SEE WHAT YOU HIT", because it has been shown to reduce the number of injuries, especially when it comes to head trauma. As players get older, "SEE WHAT YOU HIT" becomes optional, since not seeing what you hit means more turnovers and a competitive advantage in knocking other players out of the game.

And yes it would give the offense an advantage, and I'm perfectly fine with that. Any new defensive rules are going to do that. Big deal. Will you stop watching if the scoring average goes up? I won't.

 

Nonsense. How many tackles were made on Sunday? How many were made targetting the head? The majority of players don't have to change the way they play the game - just the ones who choose to use illegal tactics.

 

they say see what you hit to kids because they dont want kids leading with their helmets with their neck down. That's not what happened in the dunta hit.

Yes, ducking your dead down and hitting with your head will cause serious injuries to the neck. But if dunta had stuck his face mask into the chest of jackson both of those players would have still been hurt and Dunta woud potentially have a broken neck..

I, personally, don't want to see 50 point games as the norm. I don't want to watch Madden the video game on sunday.

 

i just repped mark schlereth

 

Dunta put his head down.



If he didn't, that hit would've been totally different. Hard, but not knocked out for 10 minutes/concussion hard.

If you put your head down, you can lead with the crown of your shoulder, if you don't, you can't. You can hit them with your shoulder, but it won't be JUST your shoulder, it will be part of your torso and arms as well. More surface area lessens the impact. Plus if your head is up, you're DEFINITELY not going to hit them as hard or be launching yourself/moving as fast. (head is up = you're standing up straighter, therefore you cannot use your legs to essentially LEAP into the other player with as much force)

It's really simple and it's been proven/shown a million times.

 

fine. if dunta still hit him with his shoulder and head up, they are both still hurt. That was a serious collision and if you throw yourself around, head up or down, you will run the risk of a concussion.

F it...let them just wear flags.

 

Isn't that what it comes down to? I mean the NFL institutes new rules all the time. Remember when they chose to strictly enforce illegal contact and defensive holding several years ago? Remember how defensive backs and coaches whined about that and how the offense would gain significant advantages? Well looking at the stats, it really didn't change much. The 3 seasons before the rule was strictly enforced the top and bottom defensive teams averaged about the same before and after.

Tackling doesn't have to be done with your head down or launching yourself like a missile or whatever else. Just do it like many other have done it and you can still have the same game with the occasional big hit here and there.

 

Exactly.

You think Dunta would've hit him that hard, and in that way if he had to keep his head up? NO way in hell. Dunta would've broken his neck.

It's the only way you can stop this kind of thing from happening. Players aren't going to willfully make tackles that they KNOW will hurt them or are dangerous to themselves. Keeping your head up and launching face first into someone will break your neck more often than not. So if you're forced to tackle head-up, guess how many players will choose to launch themselves wrecklessly at people? Not many.

 

Nonsense? By your logic, considering Merriweather's hit was the only one illegal by NFL rules, then that should be the only one you are campaining against. Flawed big time here dude

 

Edit: Double post

 

Two hand touch perhaps? Scratch that. A rough shove would probably bring a fine nowadays

 

How exactly is he saying that is the only illegal one? He's just saying most players don't have to launch themselves into other players to get them down.

 

maybe they shouldn't wear helmuts and pads

 

i wouldnt put wreckless behaviour past dunta...or just about any pro football player who prides himself on making big tackles.

what's next? no uppercuts in oxing because it can cause whiplash?

 

i don't understand why it is so hard for them to realize they just want to eliminate all the hits on the head and neck...just AIM LOWER, you aren't taught to aim for the head, how is this changing the game. you can still knock a guy out with a legal hit

 

This whole thing has been blown way out of proportion, in two weeks no one will be talking about this anymore. All the talking heads just need something to gab about this week...