Urban Meyer on the evolution of tackling.

[Small Town Values]

On 10/12/2019 at 9:04 AM, Kiwibrown said:

I have always thought that NFL defense could learn a lot from rugby tackling. Here urban cites as a better and safer tackle. 

Kill the grab the legs

Lead with the shoulder not the head.

I'm with @RandyMossIsBoss on this topic. Classic form tackling is still an important part of football & seen in every game. The vast majority of players lead correctly with their shoulders, not head. Ryan Shazier type incidents would be a regular occurrence if head first tackling was the standard. Sure, there are examples of poorly executed tackles / collisions every week, but the same is true for rugby. 

 The Rugby World Cup is currently on in Japan & we've already seen a considerable amount of bad tackles that have made direct contact with the head. Resulting in concussions for the recipients & Red Card or Yellow Card (Ejections) / Suspensions for the perpetrators. Tbh, I can't remember a World Cup with more concussions than this one. I'd love to see the concussion data comparing this tournament to 2015 & 2011. Anything earlier likely didn't record data on head injuries.   

I'd say most defensive players in the NFL try to execute proper tackling techniques, but in certain situations are forced to put their body on the line to prevent a play. Again, no different than rugby. Example: Dan Biggar's tackle at the WC where he put his head in a dangerous position to prevent a try & ended up leaving the game concussed. He doesn't make that tackle, his team loses.  

Speed of the game, fatigue, situation, sudden directional changes by the ball carrier & the defender being in a poor position to execute a safe tackle are all factors that need to be considered when you see a tackle go wrong. Rather than putting it down to football players not knowing how to tackle correctly. It's a myth that floats around, like the one about the running game being dead, we see examples of form tackling every week.   

On 10/12/2019 at 7:02 PM, Hunter2_1 said:

You know something I've never understood - it's why NFL teams don't adopt the rugby passing system on plays

If it was to happen, it would happen in college first. 

Edited October 13, 2019 by Small Town Values