Sean McVay drew up a stretch play to the left side in the third quarter of the Wild Card game between Arizona and Los Angeles. Left tackle Joe Noteboom sealed the edge and running back Cam Akers reached the first down line without being touched. Budda Baker, a two-time All-Pro safety, saved a touchdown when he flung himself at Akers as he headed inside the 10-yard line. Great tackle, right?
Baker lay on the turf for a while. It was a scary sequence for people to watch, as Baker left the stadium on a stretcher and was taken to the hospital. Baker had a concussion from the head-to-head impact with Akers.
Every time there is a head-to-head hit in the NFL, the "rugby" narrative gets thrown around. Rugby has less protection, but these types of injuries almost never happen.
The data is closer than you would expect for a sport that has its players bash into one another with zero pads on. Rugby-style tackling is much safer than football. Rugby-style form has been emphasized in the past by some NFL teams in order to teach their players proper tackling form. Baker admitted on the Pat McAfee show a year ago that rugby players perform better, safer tackles.
That is why I was shocked that Baker would tackle Akers like that. It shows how ingrained poor tackling form has become in football players. They were taught a certain way to tackle when they first got into the sport. They were rewarded at times for maintaining bad, unsafe habits when they were brought up that way. Rugby-style tackling can bring safety, but it needs to be taught at a younger level. It should be the first thing taught in youth football programs.
Rugby-style tackling puts an emphasis on not only tackling with the shoulder, but tackling behind the runner. This type of tackling prevents head-on collisions and even if the offensive player doesn't lower their head prior to contact, the technique still prevents head injuries from being sustained from colliding with a player's thighs. We know how big players' quads are. While helmet-to-helmet contact is not as bad as ramming your head into those, it can still cause serious damage.
If someone tried to tackle an opposing player the way Baker did last night, they would be benched immediately. Football doesn't treat it the same way that rugby does, it's a shame because proper form and safety is so prevalent. The number of concussions dropped after Pete Carroll started putting an emphasis on shoulder tackling. There is a correlation between the severity of concussions in football and the style of tackling. If you are thinking about signing your child up for Pop Warner football, having them watch rugby would be a great way to keep them safe. Making sure the coaches teach the children this style of tackling will likely prevent these types of injuries in the future.
It is safe to say that we, as fans, would like to see a world with as few moments like the one that happened with Baker last night as possible. Encouraging youth football programs to teach rugby-style tackling first and foremost would likely go a long way towards making that world a reality.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
