Touchdown Tuesday: Hitting

Let me start off by saying that for me, one of the worst sights to see in any sport is an injured athlete. It makes me cringe when I see players who have staked their entire lives on a sport writhing on the ground in pain. Seeing two grown men hurtle into each other at breakneck speeds and having one end up on the ground is possibly one of the worst sights to be seen on modern television.

Now, while these injuries are horrible, the NFL is doing more harm than good. At a time when quarterbacks are being protected seemingly more and more everyday, these players need to focus on protecting themselves. Instead of counting on referees to ensure that they are not hit by a defensive player above the shoulders or below the knees, these players should be teaching themselves to deliver hits.

To me, it seems as though the most likely time for a quarterback to be hurt is when they are sliding across the ground or when they are simply standing there, waiting for the sack. What if instead of sliding towards the players, these quarterbacks went back to their Pop Warner days and remembered the fundamentals? Stay low, keep your head up and aim for the chest. Instead of seeing players like Trent Green get knocked out cold when their heads snap against the ground, maybe we would see more even hits resulting in less injuries.

Recently, a player tweeted that since he was getting into trouble for hitting above the chest, he was going to start aiming for knees and begin attempting to blow out knees. Now this may be one singular player voicing his twisted views over social media, but the idea still remains.

Some former players say that they would rather be hit in the head than at the knees. According to these players, someone can come back from a concussion much easier than a torn ACL. The NFL is making it so difficult for these defensive players to play their positions that one of the few options remaining is to aim for the knees.

If a defensive player aims at the chest of a receiver, this player might drop down and be hit in the head. To counteract this, defenders must “play it safe” and begin to aim lower, bringing their hits into the knee region.

I’m not saying that every rule regarding hits should simply be thrown out of the rule book. Instead, the rules should simply be reexamined. Players on both sides of the ball should be talked to and their input should be valued. After all, it’s these players that are putting their bodies on the line, not Roger Goodell.

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