The New Pandemic: Roughing The Passer

[85Escape]

Spearing has always been illegal. At least since my dad played football back in the 50's. It's dangerous and was a rule to protect the tackler. We were taught to lead with our forehead/facemask, which means your eyes are up and facing your opponent. Drive the top of your facemask into the chest or torso and wrap and pull. That's not spearing. Spearing is hitting with the top of your helmet, with your face towards the ground. Using your head as a battering ram will lead to damage to your spine.

Then I swear I was taught wrong (or remember what I was taught wrong.) I was always taught "Put your head into their sternum." I guess that's why coaches at tiny schools are at tiny schools

 

[yeti92]

Then I swear I was taught wrong (or remember what I was taught wrong.) I was always taught "Put your head into their sternum." I guess that's why coaches at tiny schools are at tiny schools

I was taught put your facemask in their numbers and wrap up. Spearing is with the top of your head, face down as @forensicbuzz mentioned.

 

[danny daniel]

The penalty that was missed twice was the Duke defender getting a full speed running go at our LOS and knocking the center all the way back into Sims. I do not know what the college ruling is but the act was certainly worth a penalty as the center cannot fully defend himself while snapping. The C is protected on kicking downs by rule when he snaps. These two plays were certainly more risk to injury than the sack penalty called on #32. After the first incident Sims should have been aware enough to delay the snap count in order to get a penalty and that would have put a stop to it.

 

[Thwg777]

By 2025, we’ll go to two hand touch.

By 2030, we’ll forgo playing the game altogether.

Rankings will be determined by hype videos and social media presence. Maybe Collins was just ahead of his time.

 

[takethepoints]

Spearing has always been illegal. At least since my dad played football back in the 50's. It's dangerous and was a rule to protect the tackler. We were taught to lead with our forehead/facemask, which means your eyes are up and facing your opponent. Drive the top of your facemask into the chest or torso and wrap and pull. That's not spearing. Spearing is hitting with the top of your helmet, with your face towards the ground. Using your head as a battering ram will lead to damage to your spine.

Spearing is sorta like determining if a person is "public figure". The usual test is did the person hire a press agent of any kind. If you did, you're a public figure and a lot of your protections against being libeled don't apply.

The test for spearing is whether you wore a "horse collar", the now almost obsolete ring of foam (usually) that prevented your helmet from snapping back and your neck from bending too much. Forensic is right about the crown of the helmet rule, but the reason why even the "facemark in their numbers" version of spearing was banned is the very real risk of injury. When everybody on both sides of the ball was wearing a horse collar, it was obvious that the rash of neck injuries reported was real.

I wore4 a horse collar during most of my late high school and college career. And, yes, it was fun to hit people that way. Too dangerous, however.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Spearing has always been illegal. At least since my dad played football back in the 50's. It's dangerous and was a rule to protect the tackler. We were taught to lead with our forehead/facemask, which means your eyes are up and facing your opponent. Drive the top of your facemask into the chest or torso and wrap and pull. That's not spearing. Spearing is hitting with the top of your helmet, with your face towards the ground. Using your head as a battering ram will lead to damage to your spine.

Interesting. Line coach at Waycross high called it spearing. When I transferred to Columbus High they didn’t call it spearing but it was the same technique. Line the spine and head up and aim for center of the body. We were taught to aim with our forehead at the sternum of the opposing player. I thought I understood now that is a potential penalty and players are encouraged to be “off center” and use their shoulder for the tackle.

 

[forensicbuzz]

Spearing is sorta like determining if a person is "public figure". The usual test is did the person hire a press agent of any kind. If you did, you're a public figure and a lot of your protections against being libeled don't apply.

The test for spearing is whether you wore a "horse collar", the now almost obsolete ring of foam (usually) that prevented your helmet from snapping back and your neck from bending too much. Forensic is right about the crown of the helmet rule, but the reason why even the "facemark in their numbers" version of spearing was banned is the very real risk of injury. When everybody on both sides of the ball was wearing a horse collar, it was obvious that the rash of neck injuries reported was real.

I wore4 a horse collar during most of my late high school and college career. And, yes, it was fun to hit people that way. Too dangerous, however.

Quick still wears one. Hadn't seen it in years.

 

[forensicbuzz]

Interesting. Line coach at Waycross high called it spearing. When I transferred to Columbus High they didn’t call it spearing but it was the same technique. Line the spine and head up and aim for center of the body. We were taught to aim with our forehead at the sternum of the opposing player. I thought I understood now that is a potential penalty and players are encouraged to be “off center” and use their shoulder for the tackle.

It will be called targeting today if you're too high. Gotsis was pitched for exactly that. He slid up the QB's chest making contact with the facemask and it was all over.I was just talking about the term spearing, as opposed to tackles that are illegal today.

 

[Techfan02]

This was in 1979 by a beast of a linebacker. It's always been a problem at least these guys made hits that would be flagged in today's nfl or cfb.

 

[FlatsLander]

The penalty that was missed twice was the Duke defender getting a full speed running go at our LOS and knocking the center all the way back into Sims. I do not know what the college ruling is but the act was certainly worth a penalty as the center cannot fully defend himself while snapping. The C is protected on kicking downs by rule when he snaps. These two plays were certainly more risk to injury than the sack penalty called on #32. After the first incident Sims should have been aware enough to delay the snap count in order to get a penalty and that would have put a stop to it.

I don't think that's a penalty. The Center usually snaps with his head up and is basically the first OL out of his stance. You are right about long snappers though.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I don't think that's a penalty. The Center usually snaps with his head up and is basically the first OL out of his stance. You are right about long snappers though.

I seem to recall a defensive strategy in the past that would have a nose guard and DT tag team mauling a center to wear him down, make him jumpy on the snap count and slow his charge off the line. Seemed very effective back in the day at throwing off the timing on the entire offensive line.

But absolutely no crashing on the long snapper.