Pete Carroll and his staff have done a great thing for football as a whole with their release of the “Hawk Tackling Video“. Â There are some tremendous insights in the video, which is about 20 minutes long. Football players, coaches, and parents of players will benefit greatly if they will heed the tackling techniques shown in the Seahawks Tackling Video. Even if you are just a fan of football, you should see what tackling is supposed to look like.
The more this helpful video is spread, the better off players will be. And guess what…..the better off defenses will be as well. Not only are these tackling techniques safer for all players involved in the game of football, the techniques actually work better. It turns out that launching yourself wildly into a ball carrier is not the best way to take him down to the ground. Old school fans like myself know this, but over the past decade fundamental tackling has been replaced by head shots and diving at a runner without wrapping them up with the arms. This new video could help turn the tide on bad defense as well as the huge problem of head injuries in the NFL, college, and youth football.
The video speaks for itself and is certainly worth 20 minutes of your time if you care about the game of football. I care about it. A lot. I know that in a perfect world, football would not exist. Guys ramming into each other is fun to watch but not good for their bodies. But as long as it does exist and we are nowhere near a perfect world, we might as well promote the best possible ways for guys to tackle each other. They are the bread and butter of the game. Without the best players, we will be left with a mediocre game to watch. And believe me, if the tide isn’t turned on these head injuries, some parents will keep their boys out of football. That means that some of the best athletes will be baseball players, soccer guys, golfers, or basketballers in the near future. I know I would have a hard time letting my kid play football if I had a boy. I love football, but the concussion issue is too big a risk.
I have said for years that I couldn’t understand why coaches let their players lower their heads as they hit one another. Lowering the head involves having your face parallel to the ground so that the impact is at the crown of the helmet. I was taught as a young kid that was a big no-no in youth football. It was the main point from our coaches. Neck injuries were the biggest concern with the lowering of the head. But for some reason, players got into this bad habit over the years and no one bothered to correct it on a large scale. No commentators mentioned it and it got worse and worse. Not until the concussion issue in the NFL got big publicity did anyone bring up hitting with the crown of the helmet and the dangers that come with it.
The NFL brought in medical experts to go over film once they were forced to do something about the problem of head injuries. After seeing tons of footage of running backs lowering their heads and ramming into defenders with the crown of their helmets (heads), these medical experts could not believe there had not been a catastrophic injury as a result. They noted that severe neck injuries should have happened on many occasions and the fact that they did not was simply a miracle. The NFL needed a group of medical wizards to tell them what my Pee-Wee football coaches told me…..keep your head up!
The Seahawks were the perfect team to put out this tackling video. A team that sucked as a defense would not have quite the impact that the Super Bowl champs might have. They do employ the Legion Of Boom after all. Passive defenses don’t get to have awesome nicknames like the LOB. The Hawks are a top tier defensive unit and any team, pro or otherwise, would be smart to pay attention to any instruction they have to offer. Pete Carroll is a great defensive coach and always has been.
One of the best examples that these Hawk tackling tips can help prevent head trauma is the footage of rugby games. These guys hit pretty damn hard in their game. They are known to be tough guys as well. And guess what, they don’t use freaking helmets. That means they are forced to avoid tackling by leading with their domes. You would have to be an idiot to tackle a runner head first with no gear to protect your cranium. So the rugby players do what football players used to do. They tackle by leading with their shoulders with the head to the side of the ball carrier. They actually wrap their arms around the runner and drive through the offensive player to get them down. This is how you stop forward progress, which is the most basic goal of a defensive football player. If the rugby guys can do this, and are smart enough to know it is best, surely our nation of football gurus can spread this knowledge to all the football players in the USA.
Football is in danger right now. Not in danger of going away, but in danger of too many penalties costing teams games for being aggressive. In danger of parents holding kids out of this great game. In danger of losing veteran players to awful brain injuries and even suicide as a result. I pray that the Seahawks video can make a huge impact on the future of football on every level. I love this game and I don’t care to see the guys who entertain me destroy each other permanently. There is a sensible way to tackle a man and Hawk Tackling is the proper way to get it done without soft play. Big time hits don’t