Whatever Happened to the "Open Field Tackle" in this Game I Love?

Good coaching teaches the tackler to land on top of the tacklee and then reach down and help the poor lad up, smack him on the butt and say, “see ya next play” and trot back to the huddle

thank you! thank you!! thank you!!!

I love a big hit, the ones you can hear over the announcers on tv. The hits I saw on Sunday made me cringe. I’m sure the coaching has gone from fundamentals to “hit the guy in the head, he goes out, and drops the ball…it’s either an incompletion or a fumble.” For a guy like James Harrison to say, “well, I might as well retire…I can’t hit people anymore” is pretty absurd. There is always going to be incidental contact and hopefully the rules will allow for it, but making yourself into a human missile directed for another players head is down right stupid.
Rec’d on the post, gifted

Even Darren Sproles couldn’t juke him. Rec’d!

Some of these “tackles” aren’t even tackles anymore, they are just bona fide headbutts or headbusters.

Our coaches teach us to wrap up tackle, arm tackle etc.. Helmet/head to the side and wrap around his mid-section and bring him down.

It’s telling when a guy like James Harrison wants to retire due to the NFL rule changes and fines. Is has to be a pain for them to change theri game, but if they would have been taught form tackling from the onset, then it wouldn’t be a huge issue.

This is violent sport, however the coaches should work more on tackling correctly as the Chiefs have shown. From 2008-2010, the prgress has been remarkable in that area.

have pointed out that it is happening so fast that their aint nothing they can do about it (and it’s actually a good point because its true). Look at the Harrison hit on cribs. Harrison charged and bumrushed cribbs to tackle him legally at his arm region (from the side) and at the last second cribbs ducked his head down and basically head but harrison’s shoulder.

Also with zone coverages there will always be hard impacting hits

It’s a tough deal any way you look at it. Just keep in mind, this game has been played this way for a long time. It’s not an easy adjustment but certainly is necessary. As much as I support player safety, the first time Flowers, Berry, Lewis, or whoever gets suspended it will be a tough pill to swallow. Hopefully they learn fast.

Also, I know this is trivial compared to the safety of players, but fundamental tackling is also much, much more SUCCESSFUL than hard hitting.

Bernard Pollard is the eternal example. Great hitter, terrible tackler. The problem with that is hitting hard doesn’t always bring a ballcarrier down. A fundamentally sound tackle will.

Hard hitting = hit or miss. Fundamentals = a stop.

The Jim Rome sound bite loses credibility simply by featuring Bill “Spitter” Romanowski. He’s a pig and the type of (former) player that created the need for the ampted up scrutiny. Sound, fundamental football will prevail.

I thought from the title that this was gonna be another airhead rant from someone complaining about “taking the violence out of the game,” but I totally agree with everything you said. I’m all for physical play, but I’m not willing to have someone’s brain turned to mush for my entertainment. Helmet to helmet hits should be illegal, end of story.

Just because its a violent sport doesn’t mean that sportsmanship has to go out the window.

Well said and Rec’d

someone not crying and making up sarcastic comments about the fines.

oh might as well be playing flag football!

1. Defenders were killing qb’s in the 80’s. Think Aikman and Young. These dudes were getting blasted. Concussed. Dilfer too.Combined these guys are believed to have experienced nearly 30 concussions. NFL stepped in “15 yard roughing the passer” penalties enforced. At that time media/fans/players claimed it would ruin the game.
2. Well if you cant touch the QB lets get physical with wr’s as they run down the field. NFL jumps in and now you see Pass Interfernce calls in EVERY game. Around this time you had Rockets/Knicks Finals and OJ simpson in the Bronco (sorry, side note). I loved that series! Defense, physical, fouls, etc. NBA took notice as the scores were terrible low and no Offense in the games. NFL also saw that typical fans love offense, tds, big plays, etc. So, if you cant touch qb or wr you’ll get plenty of points scored.
And now you have the era of a dozen 4,000+ yard qb’s and 20+ wr’s with 1,000+ yards receiving. Do I agree with the type of hits we sit defenders putting out recently, no. But I understand. These defenders are at a disadvantage before the coin is tossed. So, intimidation is more powerful than ever. We can name the 4-5 defenders known for their hits. Its not the entire league. But as the jumpshot has become a lost art or the free throw, so has fundemental tacking. Players are now looking for the slam dunk or the big hit. It is important for a defender to send that message “Do not come in to my area/zone or you will get hit.” And many defenders attempt this style of tackling and it doesnt work (see Bernard Pollard). Offensive guys bounce off defenders if they dont wrap up but every know and then we get the monster hit, KAPOW! It changes the game. Wr’s develop T-rex arms. And then and only then is the playing field equalized. I dont support spearing with helmets or that arm shiver tackle that Harrison laid on Massaquio. There should be a penalty. There should be a fine for choosing that style of play. But I blame the NFL for allowing this to go on for so long and at the same time promoting points scored, offense, etc.
This will pass. A few players were fined heavily. Steve Young and Trent Dilfer stated some important facts too. We throw these first a second yr qb’s onto the field too quickly. They are either incompetent, not ready to read these adanced defensive packages, etc. And their flaws set their, young/inexperinced but fast as hell, wr’s up to get hit and hit hard. These # 2 wr’s are small, compact, quick, and dangerous (desean jackson, wes welker, mccluster, percy harvin, etc). Most ran spread offenses in college. Most are rushed into the game because speed cancels out strength, cant hit what you can touch. I grew up a Chiefs fan watching Okoye. Smash mouth football and tough as nails defense. It’s taken me years to get comfortable with throwing the ball around for 30-40 times a game. An avg game now has 75+ pass attempts. Thats too much. on 3rd and 2 (with our running game!) we throw a freaking pass! A horrible pass! I miss the days of “we’re coming at you so try and stop us” football. All this trickery and 5 wr sets. Stressin’ me out.
I’m not on the side of the defenders with these devastating hits but I’m just saying (in the longest post I’ve ever written) that I understand where it’s coming from.

Vicious hits like Harrisons may be fun to see, but do need to be taken out of the game. It’s a physical sport, yes. But it isn’t UFC where there are no holds bar. There is a clear difference to an open field wrap up tackle and what Harrison displayed. An open field tackle may not knock the guy unconcious, but it will hit him hard and stop the play. Players know that there is an element of risk involved with contact sports, but we should be trying to avoid giving the players a future of Alziehmers. I agree with you 100%. It’s sad that I see a lot of fans around on NFL.com and other sports sites showing such disgust at all this. It really shouldn’t come as a surprise after all the emphasis in the off season on concussions