Banker: Huskers to Look at Rugby-Style Tackling

[cornographic]

Ah, next they'll make it illegal to hit guys too low--knees doncha know. Knee injuries have > since they took away the head shots.

[Guy Chamberlin]

 

 

I was just talking to our HC, and we just kind of shrugged our shoulders and said....well it's nothing different from what we teach. It's the athletes willingness to get low to make the tackle that is the difference.

 

I've always thought hitting high was super lazy.

 

Not having a helmet or pads is good motivation for clean hits.

 

 

Which goes back to the conversations people have about taking helmets out of football (or going back to the leather ones) to help reinforce fundamentals (via 'pain management').

 

 

Well if you go back too far, like the early 20th Century, you had 100 players a year getting killed playing college football.

[olddominionhusker]

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was just talking to our HC, and we just kind of shrugged our shoulders and said....well it's nothing different from what we teach. It's the athletes willingness to get low to make the tackle that is the difference.

 

I've always thought hitting high was super lazy.

Not having a helmet or pads is good motivation for clean hits.

Which goes back to the conversations people have about taking helmets out of football (or going back to the leather ones) to help reinforce fundamentals (via 'pain management').

Well if you go back too far, like the early 20th Century, you had 100 players a year getting killed playing college football.

Yeah. I think Roosevelt actually tried to ban it didn't he. The whole leather helmet argument conveniently ignores the existence and evolution of the forward pass which you don't have in Rugby. Those plays at speed and in space where one player may twist or duck awkwardly at the last moment would ultimately result in catastrophic head injuries in today's game if helmets were removed

[Sargon]

Great news.

 

I played on the UNL team. I'm 100 percent on board with the footballers learning and using rugby tackling. It works. Of the many frustrations I've had with 21st century husker fandom poor tackling and poor positioning are the top 2 (well turnovers also, and 2nd rate coaches, and..and....)

[Mavric]

Added some articles and videos to the OP

[mel4red]

Good Lord. this is 7th grade with Coaches Harris and Brown style FOOTBALL tackling.

 

Fifty years ago !!! Tackle the core and drive. Once you've contacted the waist, reach for single leg take down.

 

Look at the belly .... no amount of shuck and jive can go anywhere without the belly button.

[HANC]

This is the common type of tackling that most teach, as far as "strike zone" and wrap and drive for five. I will say that among high school athletes, the "side tackling" will take time to teach. Hopefully, the D1 athlete can learn a new technique better than we did. Our linebacker coach went to this style this past season. If you notice, the side tackle has the defender putting his head "behind" the runner and sitting back, thus not running the risk of the runner landing on the defenders head. In theory, it is a great idea, plus the defenders momentum will hopefully "drag" the runner backwards, not resulting in as many yards after contact. What I noticed very early in the season, our kids were placing their head behind runner and trying to drive/sit/pull, but it was beginning to look like we were leaving our feet and becoming arm tacklers. Yes, we were teaching it correctly, but obviously could have done a much better job of teaching, but midway through the first game, I had seen enough of the opposing runners running through our tackles, I called a TO and told them NO MORE of the new crap, square their butt up and drive through. Furthermore, get your head on the upfield side and club, wrap and drive. Things changed dramatically. I am sure this is the proper way to do it, but we just didn't do a good job of teaching it. Plus, it will take time to perfect, and I wasn't willing to give away a game while we learned.

[Bowfin]

Rugby has reinvented the Pat Fischer tackling technique. What started in Nebraska comes back to Nebraska!

 

http://taylorblitztimes.com/2013/07/03/the-soul-of-the-game-pat-fisher/

 

(Scroll down for a poor quality video)

[teachercd]

This is the common type of tackling that most teach, as far as "strike zone" and wrap and drive for five. I will say that among high school athletes, the "side tackling" will take time to teach. Hopefully, the D1 athlete can learn a new technique better than we did. Our linebacker coach went to this style this past season. If you notice, the side tackle has the defender putting his head "behind" the runner and sitting back, thus not running the risk of the runner landing on the defenders head. In theory, it is a great idea, plus the defenders momentum will hopefully "drag" the runner backwards, not resulting in as many yards after contact. What I noticed very early in the season, our kids were placing their head behind runner and trying to drive/sit/pull, but it was beginning to look like we were leaving our feet and becoming arm tacklers. Yes, we were teaching it correctly, but obviously could have done a much better job of teaching, but midway through the first game, I had seen enough of the opposing runners running through our tackles, I called a TO and told them NO MORE of the new crap, square their butt up and drive through. Furthermore, get your head on the upfield side and club, wrap and drive. Things changed dramatically. I am sure this is the proper way to do it, but we just didn't do a good job of teaching it. Plus, it will take time to perfect, and I wasn't willing to give away a game while we learned.

Yep!

 

THe hardest thing to teach is tackling becuase it is so very difficult to actually similuate it...

[In the Deed the Glory]

I have heard of this technique before, doesn't this also put the head behind the ball carrier?

[Hunter94]

i am not so sure this makes a lot of sense, rugby is very different than football, hitting the runner in his upper body and wrapping up is the way the game is taught.......upper body hits are made to wear down the runner and deliver body blows that tire him out......leg tackling is not going to be the best option for getting a guy down in all cases....

[BIG ERN]

Have 2 players stand 10 yards apart without pads and have one tackle the other.

 

Now give them pads and do the same drill.

The speed of the pads hit is way more fierce knowing you are "protected". You can't compare the two sports IMO

[Touchdown Tommie]

We brought this to our high school team this year...worked pretty well. Just the different drills helps the kids understand that you do not need knock out hits all of the time...our DBs gained the most confidence compared to year's past.

[I am I]

Coach my sons 10 yr old team last 2 seasons. We incorporate this style of tackling (which is just a damn good way to tackle anyway). Best defense in our division and more importantly, no head injuries in 2 yrs

[throwing bones]

i am not so sure this makes a lot of sense, rugby is very different than football, hitting the runner in his upper body and wrapping up is the way the game is taught.......upper body hits are made to wear down the runner and deliver body blows that tire him out......leg tackling is not going to be the best option for getting a guy down in all cases....

 

I'm skeptical of how you were taught. The goal of tackling is to stop the legs from moving...if you can go to the source of what propels how someone physically moves, why wouldn't you do that?