Posted on 01/11/2022 9:03:20 AM PST by JewishRighter
Am I imagining it or is tackling worse than it has been in the past?
What’s an NFL?
And the Lions have proven that football can be played without tackling......
I believe in Dan Campbell.
Tackling in the backfield has changed IMO. Corner backs and safeties seem to do a lot more tackling with their feet off the ground. “Flying to the ball” is how they coach it.
As someone who was a professional sports photographer, one of the caveats I tell people is that on TV you do not get a sense of the speed of some of these sports.
At ground level—looking straight on to a game, whether its hockey, football, or basketball—the action gets faster as the level of play rises.
Being able to follow a play is tough enough from the end line—but on the field in the midst of these “giants” the ability to even see a play unfold is amazing.
Now, if you think about the speed—and the ability to “juke” or “hide the ball” the reaction from any defense is one of the most amazing things to behold. Watching a hockey player dance on their skates is like watching brutal ballet. Having basketball players push and shove under the basket is like watching a combination of giraffes and large horses fight. And football is full of 300 pound, 6’5” monsters shoving each other around in a relatively tiny space.
The simple fact that they can follow the ball is amazing. Actually being able to run someone down and tackle them is simply astounding.
As a photographer, working up to those levels—from high schools, to colleges, and then professional levels gets you used to the speed. Watching from a birds eye view gives you a much distorted perspective of the size, speed, and field of view.
Just my two cents.
I agree with your assessment, this is a consequence of all the new rules to prevent injuries.
“Does anyone else think so or am I just imagining it?”
I haven’t watched an NFL game in 3 years. But I may be able to shed another theory on the tackling.
They aren’t really tackling as much as trying to separate the ball. This is being used in many levels of football and is noticeable if you look for it. I saw a really good example of it in an NCAA game this last weekend.
The ball carrier was hit by two defenders, one in the back, one in the front. The man in back had him hooked and was holding him up while the defender in front was making every effort to strip the ball as they were moving him in a forward progress direction and toward the sideline. This effort went on for about 5 yards until a third defender flew in and knocked them all our of bounds as they reached the sidelines. They were either smart enough, or lucky, as they were progressing the ball carrier so the play wouldn’t be killed and there is no penalty there so the official can’t flag the play or blow it dead on progress. The ball carrier can’t go down with the defender holding him up. So, it’s a mugging.
For the defenders coming in lowering their heads and shoulders, watch and you’ll see at least one of them during a play is trying to hit the ball. Many times you see a tackler reach out with one arm and try to swat the ball out of the runners arms.
They aren’t trying to tackle. They are trying to gain possession of the ball. Watch for it and you’ll see it. I officiated NCAA until 2001 and it happens there all the time. The defense is “ball hawking” and the offense is aware of it. This is why changing hands and hiding it with the body has become part of the actions the offense is taking alonmg with using bigger stronger backs for possession purposes rather than the 4.2. And some of the action in piles is intense groping and tugging.
Part of the game the fan doesn’t see as much. Watch for it.
wy69
Additionally, the players today are much better athletically versus 50 years ago, they train year round, the best RBs in the NFL right now are arguably Jonathan Taylor and Derrick Henry, both are huge and fast, Henry is 240-250 lbs. in 1975, he would qualify as a lineman, players today are bigger, stronger and faster, plus they play more games, combine all that and it equals more injuries....which equals poor technique because of lack of practice.
Holding occurs on every play. That makes it easy for the refs to influence a game.
It is a big fat paycheck for the players so why care and why get injured for the lunkheads that watch them no matter what?
Holding occurs on every play. That makes it easy for the refs to influence a game.
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Exactly. I saw some bad holding calls at the end of some close games this year, and then I saw some bad no calls. You can tell who the refs want to win. It’s disgusting.
Basketball is worse. You can almost completely control a game by who you distribute block & charge calls. You can give one team complete dominance down low and make the other one timid.
The NBA has been rigged for decades.
When asked by the sports media as to why he didn’t make tackles, Deion ‘prime-time’ Sanders said, “It’s a business decision.”
What I have seen is that more and more running backs and receivers are simply running out of bounds instead of making someone hit them. I think that it is by design by the coaches so that players remain unhurt.
He may be a good coach but I don't believe in the Fords....
Just discovered it was the daughter, Sheila Ford Hamp, who has had the reigns since 2014. Her record speaks for itself.......
Ford Hamp has been involved in the management of the Detroit Lions since her mother took over the team in 2014.[6] In 2015, Ford Hamp was involved in the decision to fire Tom Lewand and Martin Mayhew.[2] In 2019, she was involved in the retention of general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia.[7] On June 23, 2020, Ford Hamp took over from her mother as principal owner and chairwoman.[6] Her first major move after taking over as principal owner of the Lions was to fire Quinn and Patricia on November 28, 2020 after a 4–7 start to the 2020 season.[
The game is built on speed and deception and scoring. Defensive players have too be very quick and fast. Those physical types cannot sustain a solid tackle...The teams which make bruising, sustained tackles usually dominate. Da Bears, Raiders, Ravens, older Steeler teams have been dominant when doing that. Game is geared for scoring now. Team that wins, many times, has the ball last.
I watched football in the 70s and 80s and virtually none after that until recently and I noticed the same thing. Tackles seemed almost amateur. When my 10 yr old started football last season NONE of the kids had a clue how to hitthe runner. For better or worse when I was a kid trying to kill the runner was favorite activity number one. The first knowledge we gained was the fine points of taking him down. And everyone really put his heart into it. My kids team seemed almost diffident in this respect. They seemed to shy away from. Toward the end of the season though they had gotten fast and efficient. They knew if they effed it they’d be riding the bench
Where have you been? Tackling has been a lost art in the NFL for more than a decade now. It’s all about pushing or knocking someone down with a hard hit. Tackling? What tackling??
True. I once attended a Houston Astros game, sat right behind home plate, second row. It was eye-opening to see how fast the pitches really were.
Former Bronco Steve Atwater was one of the most fearsome tacklers in the league back in the day. These days they'd throw him out for doing the same stuff.
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