Def. info

WHEN THE DEF TACKLER APROCHES THE RUNNER HE MUST SPREAD
HIS STANCE JUST BEFORE HE HITS THE RUNNER. MOST OF THE TIME
I NOTICE THAT THE DEFENDER IS ONE STEP IN FRONT OF THE OTHER.
IF THIS IS RIGHT HE HAS VERY LITTLE CHANCE IF THE RUNNER IS QUICK
TO SPEND OR JUKE.YOU HAVE NO BASIC WAY TO CHANGE DIRECTION
WITH STRAIGHT LINE RUNNING. BY WIDENING YOUR STANCE YOU HAVE
BETTER BALANCE TO CHANGE DIRECTION. AT LEAST THAT WAS WHAT
I WAS EDUCATED IN H.S AND UH. OF COURSE THAT WAS A LONG TIME
AGO. STILL MAKES SINCE. GO COOGS

4 Likes

Also, in HS football I was taught to look at the belt while preparing to tackle, not shoulders or the feet.

2 Likes

Both of you are correct. But the issue is that game tackling is a different animal. There is very little live tackling these days in practice. It is limited to scrimmages for most part. Practice tackling is half speed and controlled. In practice you tackle another LB whose standing up high so you can practice your form. In game, RB straight arms, lowers shoulder, spins, jukes etc.
I recently posted a topic “Missed tackle stats from PFF”
You will see that A&M was missing 20% of attempted tackles…UH isn’t only team missing them. I also posted some NFL numbers where Tampa Bay missed 15.5 % for a season .

1 Like

You two make excellent point & I am glad you bring this major point. Tackling is the foundation of the game. It is true for football & rugby. It starts in the early years but has to be worked on every day at the highest levels. It is on the entire Coaching staff to make sure we excel with fundamentals. The very best Coaches have…very good tacklers. It is inexcusable for a College or pro Team to miss so many tackles. It illustrates clearly how good a Coaching staff is. You will never be successful without mastering the fundamentals.

4 Likes

Not being allowed to practice tackling in practice is going to hurt football. we are going too far at times with the safety thing and this is an example. Maybe if teams practiced tackling more there would also be fewer injuries in games.

1 Like

After seeing Texan’s Hopkins do 3 spectacular spin moves to those cowboy db’s last Sunday night …

I doubt looking at the belt … his belt specifically … would have accomplished much … :wink:

1 Like

Less tackling in practice isn’t about lowering the amount of physical injuries as much as it is about lowering the risk of CTE which is a much bigger issue.

2 Likes

The CTEs can also be attributed to poor tackling as well. So it is a catch 22.

Originally CTE was attributed to concussions. That is because only players that had several concussions and exhibited brain disorders were autopsied. Thanks to the volunteering of many more athletes and their family members, it’s been found in high percentage of players in all contact sports that had little to no history of concussions. It is now being attributed to all tackles and collisions.

It’s a much more serious problem than broken bones and concussions and as a fan that cares about the long term health of players I cheer for, I am happy that the Cougars are not waiting for even more evidence to come out to make changes. If 50% less tackles in day to day practices results in a 50% rise in missed tackles, broken bones and concussions but a 90% decline in CTE, then that would be awesome.

I was taught to look at the ball and put your face on it. I was stupid enough to do as I was told.

Your are right about this. A good form tackle from the old days does not lead with the head. That alone will not only cut down on injuries but penalties too.

3 Likes