Keanu Neal. This was so intentional that the only recourse should have been immediate ejection.
This is why I don't let any of my kids play football. I let my son play freshman football a few years ago and he got ear-holed in a game with a similar hit. The other team's entire sideline was euphoric celebrating the hit. It was a despicable act. Leading me to conclude that these sort of tactics are undoubtedly taught by the neanderthals who still "coach" and "teach" the game.
I know this is old ground, but barbaric acts need to be called out and the punishment needs to be severe.
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- take out the legs/knee while engaged by another defender. Players don't generally try to end another guy's career.
- tackle his ass knowing that not only will you not make a tackle but you might shed you own defender off of the ballcarrier.
- aim for the shoulder knowing that you're likely going to make contact with part of the helmet
Because Reed is low/leaning forward, there are no other target areas.
I do not believe that the goal was helmet to helmet.
You're kidding, right?
Neal is ten yards away when Reed makes the catch and exhibits NO effort to tackle with his arms. The LB is trying to tackle Reed from behind, and Neal is going for the kill.
If you are comfortable defending these acts of football terrorism, than you and I have a different understanding how the game should be played.
And the defending are trying to stop the runner anyway they can.
Force vs Force.
And no offense to the NFL.....but I rarely see "tackles". No one wraps up.....mostly just hits
No, the defender shouldn't be trying to stop the runner anyway they can. There are techniques in place for them to follow to bring down a runner. These are also known as rules of the game.
And the defending are trying to stop the runner anyway they can.
Force vs Force.
And no offense to the NFL.....but I rarely see "tackles". No one wraps up.....mostly just hits
And, no, I didn't play organized football. My dad chose wrestling as my contact sport at 6. I wrestled into high school until I got hurt.
I ended up becoming a very good tennis player. Received a D1 scholarship. And, yes, I know that is an odd path to take... ;)
But "football terrorism".....seriuosly?
If Reed stayed up, it would have been a fair and legal hit....only because Reed fell, it became head to head.
I will give bad technique, as he should be seeing what he is hitting and the helmet to helmet cause the penalty....
gets his name in lights and the thug type coaches reward
players for hurting other players . The missile launch
is reckless and dangerous . Reed needs to take a long hard
look at where he will be five years from now . Neal needs to be punished for the hit and everyone else that does the same
the basic form tackle has gone by way of the dinosaur
because it takes more work to be good at it much easier to
just try to knock them out of the frame instead of a pure tackle . Even in last nights game I mentioned Goodson who is more of the old school player that is a solid tackler and packs a punch as opposed to these shoulder tackles that players bounce off of and continue to gain yards where a proper tackle will stop the player from doing so .
Guys like Andre Watters Brian Dawkins both took some cheap shots Wes Hopkins not so but Dawkins was damn good though .
it goes back to fundamental football form tackling ect
That's awesome! Where/what is SFP? I'm from NJ, but I live in Michigan now and I'm an assistant Forwards Coach at Detroit Catholic Central. I honestly never played rugby, but our HC asked me to help out after seeing me with the kids the first year when I was just moderator. I kind of fell in love with the game at that point.
But "football terrorism".....seriuosly?
If Reed stayed up, it would have been a fair and legal hit....only because Reed fell, it became head to head.
I will give bad technique, as he should be seeing what he is hitting and the helmet to helmet cause the penalty....
George, your takes on this are ridiculous.
It is a clearly dangerous hit with a blatant intent to injure the other player. There was not a tackle attempt here.
I would feel better if hits like these were met with multiple game suspensions, and the victims of these were compensated if it ends their career.
I agree with the sentiment that he should retire, but maybe he would not have to face that decision if he was not subjected to an illegal cheap shot hit in a preseason game.
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In comment 14541374 Bernie said:
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Yes is was a brutal hit, but nothing dirty about it. Reed catches the ball and runs for 5 yards before the hit occurs. Neal comes in leading with his shoulder and Reed ducks his head. Its actually the front of Reeds helmet that makes contact with the side of Neals helmet. Reed sees Neal coming. If you don't believe me, watch the clip in slow motion and you will see it. I concede that all of this happens at such high speed, the obvious call is unnecessary roughness on Neal. Unfortunately this is just the reality and risks of football.
Whatever. Keep thinking these type of hits are just incidental.
The object of the game is to actually tackle. There was no intent to tackle. The intent was to lay Reed out. And, alas, Neal did.
Yep. This is the type of hit that was intended when the rules were revised. There's no attempt to tackle - it is a launching into the carrier by leading with the head. It's going to be tough to eliminate this type of action - even moreso because some players are still going for knockout blows.
That is a dirty, illegal hit that has no place in any game, let alone a preseason one.
Then define a tackle as wrapping up the ball carrier. There currently is not a rule against blowing up the ball carrier; the rules are for defenseless receiver (does not apply here) and helmet to helmet contact (applies). Its easy to sit on the couch and critique how a player should make this tackle. Try doing so at game speed against a 243 lb TE.
End of the day, you want to get rid of these hit, take away the helmets.
What?! We see fumbles caused when a ballcarrier is being tackled by someone with the second guy laying a hit on the chest football area all the time. Are you going to disincentive fumbles in football? No chance of that happening. I'm really flabbergasted about some of the takes here. Should the outcome of the hit be a penalty? Absolutely. But to say the purpose was a helmet to helmet collusion is just not true. If you are the safety there, you are looking at a guy still on his feet and you are trying to get the ball out while he is still up. You do that by trying to hit the ball area. He didn't do this on purpose. That is clear. The game moves a lot faster than it does on tape. Anyone that played the sports knows that, or any sport for that matter.
The NFL has to do a better job of eliminating these types of hits. But it isn't so easy. Sometimes the slow motion looks a lot worse than in real time where the defender is exploding as fast as he can and trying to hit a moving target that often moves his body position at the last moment. Going low could lead to severe leg injuries, and often offensive players bend and put their head down to protect themselves.
But in situations where it's clear the defender launches at the helmet of an offensive player (the "Vontaze Burfict"), the player needs to be fined and suspended.
Perhaps there can be a situation where anytime a defender is flagged for a dirty hit, he is put on notice. For every subsequent dirty hit, not only is he suspended, but the DC/HC is fined as well and at a certain point, the HC/DC is suspended.
I teach my guys to play to the whistle.
My issue is with the defender "protecting" himself by lowering his eyes. If his head is up, he "may" have been able to slightly alter helmet location. But both players were lowering at the same time..
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to even hit him. He was on his way to the turf.
What?! We see fumbles caused when a ballcarrier is being tackled by someone with the second guy laying a hit on the chest football area all the time. Are you going to disincentive fumbles in football? No chance of that happening. I'm really flabbergasted about some of the takes here. Should the outcome of the hit be a penalty? Absolutely. But to say the purpose was a helmet to helmet collusion is just not true. If you are the safety there, you are looking at a guy still on his feet and you are trying to get the ball out while he is still up. You do that by trying to hit the ball area. He didn't do this on purpose. That is clear. The game moves a lot faster than it does on tape. Anyone that played the sports knows that, or any sport for that matter.
And the safety is going to try to get the ball out by lowering his head, leading with the top of his helmet, aimed at the helmet of another player who is being tackled by one of your team mates? I respectfully disagree and with you and don't see it as a close call.
Even if things are happening in real time and mistakes can be made, there is no justification going into that situation leading with the top of your helmet.
There is nothing impossible, boring, or less entertaining about tackling with the arms between the ankles and the shoulders.
Uhhh...what? In rugby, possession is everything. You don't get the ball back if the other team scores, it's "winner's outs". So you could make a strong argument that forcing turnovers is even more important since you're never guaranteed possession.
My issue is with the defender "protecting" himself by lowering his eyes. If his head is up, he "may" have been able to slightly alter helmet location. But both players were lowering at the same time..
Uh, Reed never lowers his head until he gets speared. He catches the ball and is try to run through the tackle of the trailing LB.
Neal is lowering his head to do damage. When he starts to make a play on the ball he's at the 39 and Jordan catches the ball at the 29. He has time to be a tackler. Instead, he decides to be football terrorist.
The NFL has to do a better job of eliminating these types of hits. But it isn't so easy. Sometimes the slow motion looks a lot worse than in real time where the defender is exploding as fast as he can and trying to hit a moving target that often moves his body position at the last moment. Going low could lead to severe leg injuries, and often offensive players bend and put their head down to protect themselves.
It's a two way street. The NFL has to be the legislator (via replay, the officials, and post-game review).
The NFL coaches need to teach the proper way to tackle and the players need to implement those techniques in the game.
And in this situation, in IMV, both the player and the coach(es) need to be fined and, possibly, suspended.
You can not assume, oh he is being tackled no need to get involved.
I can not try to hit him in case he lowers his head.
You just go.
The defense have so many rules and I bet more defender get hurt then offense players because of them
You can not assume, oh he is being tackled no need to get involved.
I can not try to hit him in case he lowers his head.
You just go.
The defense have so many rules and I bet more defender get hurt then offense players because of them
The player intentionally lead with his helmet as an aid in attempting to tackle another player. Helmets weren't intended to be used in aiding players in tackling.
Unfortunately, with 7 concussions, it's probably too late.
That's not good for the human body.
In fact, football in general isn't.
Reason why Rugby vs Football was brought up...technique over brut force.
Go back to you video games.
Reason why Rugby vs Football was brought up...technique over brut force.
Go back to you video games.
Ah, the good ol "well everyone else is doing it!"
You can not assume, oh he is being tackled no need to get involved.
I can not try to hit him in case he lowers his head.
You just go.
The defense have so many rules and I bet more defender get hurt then offense players because of them
See the link. Neal has a nine-ten yard running start AFTER Reed catches the ball. Does he exhibit ANY intentions to perform a form tackle?
Reed has done this before leading with his helmet. He's one of the bigger scum in the league playing safety. Just check out his dirty play on Youtube.
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BTW: what exactly is a "ear-holed" that BW mentions?
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there is a way bigger incentive to getting the football out.
Uhhh...what? In rugby, possession is everything. You don't get the ball back if the other team scores, it's "winner's outs". So you could make a strong argument that forcing turnovers is even more important since you're never guaranteed possession.
Right but they turn over the ball more often and in different ways. It generally isn't stripped from a guy from a soulcrushing hit like it is in football.
BTW: what exactly is a "ear-holed" that BW mentions?
Basically means a player gets blind sided by a hit.
Gee, more talking points from the Andre Waters school of football.
This isn't about toughness or machismo. It's about playing the game according to the rules. And Neal has a history of abusing the rules.
Choosing to make contact with your helmet like in the video is a conscious choice
As for Neal I don't know how you can defend that hit. Reed was wrapped up on his way down and Neal deliberately lowered his helmet for the hit. If the league really cares about player safety then Neal deserves a suspension for that.
Until the league begins to do that they are not taking this type of hit seriously enough.
Agreed. 10-15K isn't going to stop these dirty ass hits
Don't disagree. Obviously RBs are the biggest culprits.
I still disagree with your assessment that Neal wasn't head hunting. He's got a past of blowing up receivers - some hits good, some hits borderline, and some hits over the line. So I wouldn't mind giving him the benefit of the doubt, but I've seen this act before...
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BTW: what exactly is a "ear-holed" that BW mentions?
Basically means a player gets blind sided by a hit.
Thanks.
I really wonder where players learned to play like that. Granted, it was many years ago, but I played football in HS. We were taught how to properly tackle and drilled it every week (not neceszarily every practice). A hit like that got you pulled off the field.
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My issue is with the defender "protecting" himself by lowering his eyes. If his head is up, he "may" have been able to slightly alter helmet location. But both players were lowering at the same time..
Uh, Reed never lowers his head until he gets speared. He catches the ball and is try to run through the tackle of the trailing LB.
Neal is lowering his head to do damage. When he starts to make a play on the ball he's at the 39 and Jordan catches the ball at the 29. He has time to be a tackler. Instead, he decides to be football terrorist.
You're incorrect.