Helmetless tackling???

[Mattymc727]

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/12/04/helmetless-football-practice-university-of-new-hampshire/

[IBleedYellow]

"The best in the FCS"

xcoffeex

[PMBison]

Interesting. I can see how it would improve safety as you are less likely to lead with your head, however I don't think it makes you a better football team necessarily. I have argued for years that the NFL would actually be safer if they didn't wear pads and helmets. This argument has often caused a lot of people to argue very passionately against me but I really believe it. That being said, I am pretty sure that St. John's University in Minnesota, who is one of the best DIII football programs in the country, always has contact free practices. So perhaps it wouldn't hinder their play at all.

[Rjones61]

"The best in the FCS"

xcoffeex

Insecure?

[Bisonoline]

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/12/04/helmetless-football-practice-university-of-new-hampshire/

This is some what like rugby if I am correct. Dont lead with your head in front of the ball carrier. If they start this at an early age it wont be long before the show boat--blow up tackle will be gone.

[IBleedYellow]

This is some what like rugby if I am correct. Dont lead with your head in front of the ball carrier. If they start this at an early age it wont be long before the show boat--blow up tackle will be gone.

I suppose you'd know. It does make sense in my mind, and good on the New Hampshire coaching staff for coaching this. I've heard many times that the helmet gives players a false sense of security and that injuries occur because of this. We all love football, and if we want to see it continue without having head injuries and players dying early in life, we need to continue to promote coaches and staffs that put these types of techniques forward to their teams.

Good job on the NH staff! xthumbsupx

[Sycamore62]

I didn't read the whole article but practicing pass blocking with no helmet helps keep your head out of it.

[Mattymc727]

My only wonder is if they are really doing enough? 5 minutes a week is a nice refresher, but does it really help in the heat of the moment of a game? I suppose they have a few examples, but seems like the practice needs to be more widespread.

[dewey]

Kudos to the New Hampshire coaches and training staff. Hopefully this works and reduces concussions for their players so that way it can be used throughout pop warner and little kid football.

Dewey

[Mattymc727]

Hey guys, how many of your teams have GE sponsoring videos???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiLvd2-SxXc

[Bisonoline]

I suppose you'd know. It does make sense in my mind, and good on the New Hampshire coaching staff for coaching this. I've heard many times that the helmet gives players a false sense of security and that injuries occur because of this. We all love football, and if we want to see it continue without having head injuries and players dying early in life, we need to continue to promote coaches and staffs that put these types of techniques forward to their teams.

Good job on the NH staff! xthumbsupx

Its all about teaching technique. When I first started out playing football in the 5th grade it was all shoulder blocking and tackling. But with tacking putting your head in front of the runner.That was the mantra until my soph year of college. Then it was sticking your face in the numbers and sprinting through the opponent when blocking and tackling and putting your head in front of the runner depending on the situation.
Its nothing more than a learning process to where it becomes automatic. You can accomplish safe tackling the same way.
Basically they are going back to the way it was done many years ago.

[Mattymc727]

Unfortunately the big hit sells in college and NFL. People want to see gladiators killing each other out there. While this is a nice step, I cant see it making a huge impact at the higher levels.

[Bisonoline]

Unfortunately the big hit sells in college and NFL. People want to see gladiators killing each other out there. While this is a nice step, I cant see it making a huge impact at the higher levels.

Not right away.

[Gordon Shumway]

Kudos to the New Hampshire coaches and training staff. Hopefully this works and reduces concussions for their players so that way it can be used throughout pop warner and little kid football.

Dewey

The whole idea behind this program is to do exactly what you say. The program is being expanded to NH high schools next year as part of the grant money Schwartz received.

[HailSzczur]

At first this seemed like a no brainer, fantastic idea to me. But then I thought about it a little more. There's a reason we wear helmets today right? It's not like the helmet has always been used, and now is just some old relic. Guys at Lafayette decided they wanted to protect their ears. Guys in Annapolis knew they shouldn't be taking hits to the head. Plastic helmets weren't made until '38. The whole football without a helmet thing has been done before and people decided "You know what, maybe this isn't the best idea".

Interesting concept, but i don't see it ever catching on in CFB or NFL. Maybe (and hopefully) in Pop Warner and younger leagues to teach good technique and promote safety.

[IBleedYellow]

At first this seemed like a no brainer, fantastic idea to me. But then I thought about it a little more. There's a reason we wear helmets today right? It's not like the helmet has always been used, and now is just some old relic. Guys at Lafayette decided they wanted to protect their ears. Guys in Annapolis knew they shouldn't be taking hits to the head. Plastic helmets weren't made until '38. The whole football without a helmet thing has been done before and people decided "You know what, maybe this isn't the best idea".

Interesting concept, but i don't see it ever catching on in CFB or NFL. Maybe (and hopefully) in Pop Warner and younger leagues to teach good technique and promote safety.

That's not the point. The point is to teach proper tackling techniques, and by removing the "safety" of the helmet, the players can learn that the helmet isn't meant to be used as part of the tackle, it's there for protection.

[Catsfan90]

This is some what like rugby if I am correct. Dont lead with your head in front of the ball carrier. If they start this at an early age it wont be long before the show boat--blow up tackle will be gone.
I've often seen guys go for hits and either completely miss, or get shrugged off. With those gone, and everyone more focused on wrapping up and the fundamentals I wonder if we will see more efficient tackling?

[Catsfan90]

My only wonder is if they are really doing enough? 5 minutes a week is a nice refresher, but does it really help in the heat of the moment of a game? I suppose they have a few examples, but seems like the practice needs to be more widespread.
I think that its only because they are in the data collecting stages. They first have to figure out if it really even is beneficial. I read another article about this where the Dr. Running the program said he doesn't want it to be widespread yet because they don't have enough data collected to ensure its implemented properly, or if it even works.

[Bisonoline]

I've often seen guys go for hits and either completely miss, or get shrugged off. With those gone, and everyone more focused on wrapping up and the fundamentals I wonder if we will see more efficient tackling?

Fundamental football went the way of the dodo for the big show. Teaching the fundamental will increase more efficient tackling.
The only problem I can see with turning your head is it could lead to neck injuries. I think the head up and slide it to side and make contact with the shoulder would be safer. Thats the way we were taught many years ago.

[Skycop27]

Just asking the question, but is there any correlation between UNH starting to teach this technique
before the Maine game and then going out and playing their worst game of the season??

[Gate83]

My son was a linebacker through high school & has transitioned to rugby in college. Tackling done right looks pretty similar in both games, other than the lack of head-first hits in rugby. Good on UNH for experimenting with this!

[Gordon Shumway]

Just asking the question, but is there any correlation between UNH starting to teach this technique
before the Maine game and then going out and playing their worst game of the season??

I suppose you could correlate it if you wanted to blame bad tackling for the 12 points Maine scored in the game. It might be a tad harder to correlate the 6 turnovers on offense to bad tackling on defense. Those two things plus they didn't just start the program before the Maine game.

[ngineer]

I have argued for years that the 'enhanced' helmets that began in the 1950's and further developed over the decades have lead to more head and neck injuries. The helmet has become a weapon and the neck a lever that gets jacked up when the face mask is lifted suddenly. Certainly there were head and neck injuries before the advent of the 'hard shell' helmet, but the 'urge' to use one's head (poor choice of words) would go away by such a change.