Breaking News: In a move to prevent injuries, the NFL will Move to 2 Hand Touch in 2011

Well obviously the head line is a joke, but if the NFL keeps on putting restrictions on hitting we will wind up playing two hand touch in a few years.  Maybe it's because I'm a defensive player, or maybe it's because I have always loved the aggressiveness of contact sports, but now the NFL has gone over the edge with preventing players from hitting each other. The quote from the NFL office "Head shots and devastating hits will now be subject to suspensions." Ok fine with the head shots, I have no problem there, but what the hell does the NFL mean by a devastating hit?  Does that mean if Laron Landry and Ray Lewis hits a player shoulder to shoulder and plants that sucker into the ground Landry and Lewis will be suspended?  That's my interpretation of this statement by the NFL.  To me that is not football at all.  Even before I started playing football I had seen my share of devastating hits on TV, and when I strapped up the pads for the first time I would dream about me making one of those bone jarring hits not only did I dream about it, but every defensive coach I've had as encourage to make big hits, but not head shots.  My d-coordinator in high school would always say "Go for the whoo hit." 

Now the NFL is trying to take hitting out of the game.  In every contact sport I've played in the coaches have always said "If you don't wanna play football or, any other contact sport,  go play soccer, swimming, track etc."  I think Rodger Goodell didn't get that message.  Every time someone puts a football helmet on, steps in between those white lines they are at risk for a concussion.  Prime example from this weekend Chris Cooley didn't get hit in the head at all and still suffered a concussion.  Concussions are a risk that you may face when you play contact sports and unfortunately, they happen and it's an unfortunate part of the game.  With these new so called restrictions, what are hard hitting defenses such as the Ravens, Redskins, Jets and Steelers going to do now.  They have always practiced hitting hard now they are going to have to learn how to slow up in the middle of the season.  That's outrageous.  This may also put the defensive players more at risk cause players may start slowing up to avoid a suspension and in any level of football if you're not going 100% you increase your injury risk by 200%.  Imagine trying to tackle Brandon Jacobs, Chris Johnson, LT at half speed.  You will easily get a separated shoulder if try to tackle those guys and almost anyone else in the NFL at half speed.  I understand that players are bigger, faster and stronger today, but helmets are also a hell lot more protective to.  Improvements are being made every year to make helmets more protective, there is never going to be a helmet that prevents all concussions, but helmets today help protect players from these big hits and this adds another point of why the NFL is being to cautious with the hitting.  


Yes head shots are wrong, they don't deserve to be in any part of the game and players that spear and launch there head at an opponent should be suspended.  But the NFL needs to remember that this is a contact sport and to me as long as its a shoulder to shoulder hit, that's a clean hit to me.  Big hits draw as much people as shootouts do, but now with defensive players afraid to hit there maybe a rise in shootouts and separated shoulders due to players only tackling at 50% so they won't get suspended.

Here's a few examples of what I think are clean "devastating hits."








Personally, out of the so called illegal hits this weekend, I only thought the Brandon Meriweather hit on Todd Heap was the only illegal hit. Dunta Robinson's hit on Da'Sean Jackson was fine, it was shoulder to shoulder. Now would I show Robinson's hit when teach how to tackle? Hell no Robinson tackled with his head down that's why he suffered a concussion, but at the same time it was clearly shoulder to shoulder. Just because a player gets hurt doesn't mean that it's an illegal hit I know that's a harsh thing to say put players can get hurt by shoulder to shoulder hits also. The first video is the illegal hit from Brandon Meriweather on Todd Heap and the second is montage of legal and illegal hits, sorry about the poor video quality in the 2nd video.





To me, there's 3 illegal hits in this video. This first hit of the video is illegal as the Auburn player lead with his head, which is spearing, and also hit the UGA player head to head. At the 1:15 mark of the video the OSU player obviously hits the player head to head and at 2:44 in what looks like a high school game the player clearly speared. Those are what illegal hits are to me and the rest of the hits are just a part of football.

Unless football wants to move to 2 hand touch, the best that football coaches can do is continue to teach the right way to hit during practices. Maybe to avoid the headshots, coaches should start teaching players to aim for the waist instead of aiming for the numbers. Because when your flying in the air to make a hit, your body is going to naturally rise up, and when your taught to aim for the numbers and your rise up you hit the head. If you aim for the waist you'll hit the player in the numbers. That's the solution I have and also to continue to do research on helmets and how to make them safer and maybe one day someone will find a concussion proof helmet.