Spearing Spearing or spear tackling is a method of tackling in American and Canadian football in which a player uses their body as a spear (head out, arms by their side), whether it be in attack or defence. It is considered legal as long as players do not make initial contact with their head.
http://www.sportingcharts.com/dictionary/nfl/spearing.aspx What is Spearing? A penalty called when a defensive player makes a tackle that leads with the crown of his helmet into the offensive player. If the initial contact occurs at the top of the helmet, the tackle is illegal. Spearing is a 15-yard penalty against the defense and an automatic first down. The penalty is considered a player safety issue, as hits that lead with the top of the helmet often result in injuries.
Sporting Charts explains Spearing - football Spearing is one of the penalties that has been added in recent years to increase player safety. The intent was to decrease the number of violent downfield hits. Spearing is a particularly significant penalty as it tends to occur downfield against defenseless offensive players after a catch has been made. Ironically, spearing hits can also put the defensive player at risk of neck injury due to the angle of contact. Spearing only applies to hits where the defensive player leads with the crown of his helmet. Defensive players are taught to lead with their shoulders to limit the number of penalties.
spearing is how you break your neck. when you spear someone your neck flexes slightly forward eliminating the natural lordotic curve. it leaves you with a straight segment of 7 vertebrae. if you deliver a blow with the top of your head with your neck in position, the segment is weakened and the vertebrae compress, fracture or even dislocate. it is like taking a plastic straw-like coffee stir, putting your thumb over the one end and your middle finger over the other and pulling your middle finger towards your thumb. watch what happens to the stir. same thing happens to your neck when you spear.
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
There is an exception to every rule.... but the point of football is not to hurt. If some coach goes off the rails, that doesn't really impact that theory. Sorry Gimme, but I've seen MMA. TO say that the point of that sport is not to inflict injury is ludicrous. Whether or not it's permanent injury is neither here nor there... but I'm sure there are just as many punch-drunk ex-MMA athletes as there are punch-drunk boxers, aka permanently brain damaged. And that's not just from a bad tackle/fall. That's from their opponents punching, kicking, and elbowing the shit out of their heads. That's violence. Violence that begets violence, too... The only times I've seen fights break out in bars is on MMA nights (which I occasionally end up at accidentally just because I wanted to go to the pub! It's the worst!). Tackling someone to stop him from getting over the line isn't. IMO.
it is not just "tackling" someone. have you seen the velocity that these 300 lb men have when they collide into each other? it is not simply grabbing someone by the foot and pulling them down, it is putting your facemask in a guys chest at full speed. I am an athletic trainer that has worked college football for several years. i guarantee you it is more violent than people think it is.
i worked with college wrestlers up until 2007, did some mma fighting from 2008 to 2010, and have been in the corner for amateur fighters. i have rehabbed fighters, i have worked with fighters in our physician office. the goal is to end the fight. when mma started it was more jiu jitsu based, which is wrestling, grappling, and submissions. now, ufc has evolved to where it is more based on standup and striking. similar to kickboxing. several years ago, the risk of traumatic brain injury was much less than boxing, because the fighters were not eating 300 punches in a fight like boxers do. it was more grappling and submissions than trying to knock someones block off. sure, in submission fighting fractures happen, concussions happen. but rarely is there a single career ending injury like there is in other sports. in just a few years though, the sport has evolved to where there is higher likelihood of sustaining a concussion than there used to be.
i have seen fights at mma pay per views too. this is what happens when you mix fighting, alcohol, and a bunch of beer muscle who know just enough about fighting to be dangerous. they make everybody look like dumbasses.
Gimme,I'm going to play both sides here.As a father of a son that played Division 1 college football for 5 years,I agree.This sport has collisions that are equal to or like a 40 mph head on car crash.Ive seen and been part of coaching staffs ,as players who have been injured had to be airlifted out.Im sure you have seen some of the same stuff.Broken arms,legs,ribs,noses along with the usual blown out shoulders,knees and elbows.This sport(Which I love with a passion) Is pure violence.It is an impact sport.
We were lucky.Our son really only had 4 major injuries thru all his years playing.A dislocated throwing shoulder,2 blown out Hamstrings,High ankle sprain and His senior year of HS a pretty nasty concussion.Kid was cookooo for coco puffs.We had to monitor him for 24 hrs.puking,short term memory loss,dilated eyes,etc.it was scary,shit.I get the concern.Hell he also played ice hockey and had his front top and bottom teeth knocked out and a blade gash on his calf and I would still say football is more violent. These gladiator sports are woven into the fabric of our society and we will never see them go away.As someone said it will change in 20 years but it will basically be the same. Just my POV.
hopefully your son continues to be alright in the long term. sounds like he had a pretty bad concussion. any time there is puking and memory loss it is a big deal. dilated pupils means there was temporary dysfunction of the cranial nerves. normally you do not get long term issues from one concussion. the research now is focusing on the cumulative sub-concussive blows that players accumulate over a lifetime in sports. similar to boxing. it is normally not the one devestating knockout, but the thousands of sub-concussive blows leading up to the big one.
the thing about brain and neuro research is this: the scary part is not what they know about the brain, the scary part is what they don't know about the brain.
i wish i had more time to find some of this research to post. been hanging out with my gal a lot in the evenings, which has taken up most of my evening posting time the last few months. boss is out this week, that is the only reason i am on as much the last 3 days.
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
There is an exception to every rule.... but the point of football is not to hurt. If some coach goes off the rails, that doesn't really impact that theory. Sorry Gimme, but I've seen MMA. TO say that the point of that sport is not to inflict injury is ludicrous. Whether or not it's permanent injury is neither here nor there... but I'm sure there are just as many punch-drunk ex-MMA athletes as there are punch-drunk boxers, aka permanently brain damaged. And that's not just from a bad tackle/fall. That's from their opponents punching, kicking, and elbowing the shit out of their heads. That's violence. Violence that begets violence, too... The only times I've seen fights break out in bars is on MMA nights (which I occasionally end up at accidentally just because I wanted to go to the pub! It's the worst!). Tackling someone to stop him from getting over the line isn't. IMO.
it is not just "tackling" someone. have you seen the velocity that these 300 lb men have when they collide into each other? it is not simply grabbing someone by the foot and pulling them down, it is putting your facemask in a guys chest at full speed. I am an athletic trainer that has worked college football for several years. i guarantee you it is more violent than people think it is.
i worked with college wrestlers up until 2007, did some mma fighting from 2008 to 2010, and have been in the corner for amateur fighters. i have rehabbed fighters, i have worked with fighters in our physician office. the goal is to end the fight. when mma started it was more jiu jitsu based, which is wrestling, grappling, and submissions. now, ufc has evolved to where it is more based on standup and striking. similar to kickboxing. several years ago, the risk of traumatic brain injury was much less than boxing, because the fighters were not eating 300 punches in a fight like boxers do. it was more grappling and submissions than trying to knock someones block off. sure, in submission fighting fractures happen, concussions happen. but rarely is there a single career ending injury like there is in other sports. in just a few years though, the sport has evolved to where there is higher likelihood of sustaining a concussion than there used to be.
i have seen fights at mma pay per views too. this is what happens when you mix fighting, alcohol, and a bunch of beer muscle who know just enough about fighting to be dangerous. they make everybody look like dumbasses.
Gimme,I'm going to play both sides here.As a father of a son that played Division 1 college football for 5 years,I agree.This sport has collisions that are equal to or like a 40 mph head on car crash.Ive seen and been part of coaching staffs ,as players who have been injured had to be airlifted out.Im sure you have seen some of the same stuff.Broken arms,legs,ribs,noses along with the usual blown out shoulders,knees and elbows.This sport(Which I love with a passion) Is pure violence.It is an impact sport.
We were lucky.Our son really only had 4 major injuries thru all his years playing.A dislocated throwing shoulder,2 blown out Hamstrings,High ankle sprain and His senior year of HS a pretty nasty concussion.Kid was cookooo for coco puffs.We had to monitor him for 24 hrs.puking,short term memory loss,dilated eyes,etc.it was scary,shit.I get the concern.Hell he also played ice hockey and had his front top and bottom teeth knocked out and a blade gash on his calf and I would still say football is more violent. These gladiator sports are woven into the fabric of our society and we will never see them go away.As someone said it will change in 20 years but it will basically be the same. Just my POV.
hopefully your son continues to be alright in the long term. sounds like he had a pretty bad concussion. any time there is puking and memory loss it is a big deal. dilated pupils means there was temporary dysfunction of the cranial nerves. normally you do not get long term issues from one concussion. the research now is focusing on the cumulative sub-concussive blows that players accumulate over a lifetime in sports. similar to boxing. it is normally not the one devestating knockout, but the thousands of sub-concussive blows leading up to the big one.
the thing about brain and neuro research is this: the scary part is not what they know about the brain, the scary part is what they don't know about the brain.
i wish i had more time to find some of this research to post. been hanging out with my gal a lot in the evenings, which has taken up most of my evening posting time the last few months. boss is out this week, that is the only reason i am on as much the last 3 days.
He's fine now that his playing days have ended.No long term issues.Thanks Rod
He is a Lobbyist now. A Republican. So I'm sure some folks on here could twist that into some form of mental disorder.lol
There is an exception to every rule.... but the point of football is not to hurt. If some coach goes off the rails, that doesn't really impact that theory. Sorry Gimme, but I've seen MMA. TO say that the point of that sport is not to inflict injury is ludicrous. Whether or not it's permanent injury is neither here nor there... but I'm sure there are just as many punch-drunk ex-MMA athletes as there are punch-drunk boxers, aka permanently brain damaged. And that's not just from a bad tackle/fall. That's from their opponents punching, kicking, and elbowing the shit out of their heads. That's violence. Violence that begets violence, too... The only times I've seen fights break out in bars is on MMA nights (which I occasionally end up at accidentally just because I wanted to go to the pub! It's the worst!). Tackling someone to stop him from getting over the line isn't. IMO.
it is not just "tackling" someone. have you seen the velocity that these 300 lb men have when they collide into each other? it is not simply grabbing someone by the foot and pulling them down, it is putting your facemask in a guys chest at full speed. I am an athletic trainer that has worked college football for several years. i guarantee you it is more violent than people think it is.
i worked with college wrestlers up until 2007, did some mma fighting from 2008 to 2010, and have been in the corner for amateur fighters. i have rehabbed fighters, i have worked with fighters in our physician office. the goal is to end the fight. when mma started it was more jiu jitsu based, which is wrestling, grappling, and submissions. now, ufc has evolved to where it is more based on standup and striking. similar to kickboxing. several years ago, the risk of traumatic brain injury was much less than boxing, because the fighters were not eating 300 punches in a fight like boxers do. it was more grappling and submissions than trying to knock someones block off. sure, in submission fighting fractures happen, concussions happen. but rarely is there a single career ending injury like there is in other sports. in just a few years though, the sport has evolved to where there is higher likelihood of sustaining a concussion than there used to be.
i have seen fights at mma pay per views too. this is what happens when you mix fighting, alcohol, and a bunch of beer muscle who know just enough about fighting to be dangerous. they make everybody look like dumbasses.
Gimme,I'm going to play both sides here.As a father of a son that played Division 1 college football for 5 years,I agree.This sport has collisions that are equal to or like a 40 mph head on car crash.Ive seen and been part of coaching staffs ,as players who have been injured had to be airlifted out.Im sure you have seen some of the same stuff.Broken arms,legs,ribs,noses along with the usual blown out shoulders,knees and elbows.This sport(Which I love with a passion) Is pure violence.It is an impact sport.
We were lucky.Our son really only had 4 major injuries thru all his years playing.A dislocated throwing shoulder,2 blown out Hamstrings,High ankle sprain and His senior year of HS a pretty nasty concussion.Kid was cookooo for coco puffs.We had to monitor him for 24 hrs.puking,short term memory loss,dilated eyes,etc.it was scary,shit.I get the concern.Hell he also played ice hockey and had his front top and bottom teeth knocked out and a blade gash on his calf and I would still say football is more violent. These gladiator sports are woven into the fabric of our society and we will never see them go away.As someone said it will change in 20 years but it will basically be the same. Just my POV.
hopefully your son continues to be alright in the long term. sounds like he had a pretty bad concussion. any time there is puking and memory loss it is a big deal. dilated pupils means there was temporary dysfunction of the cranial nerves. normally you do not get long term issues from one concussion. the research now is focusing on the cumulative sub-concussive blows that players accumulate over a lifetime in sports. similar to boxing. it is normally not the one devestating knockout, but the thousands of sub-concussive blows leading up to the big one.
the thing about brain and neuro research is this: the scary part is not what they know about the brain, the scary part is what they don't know about the brain.
i wish i had more time to find some of this research to post. been hanging out with my gal a lot in the evenings, which has taken up most of my evening posting time the last few months. boss is out this week, that is the only reason i am on as much the last 3 days.
He's fine now that his playing days have ended.No long term issues.Thanks Rod
He is a Lobbyist now. A Republican. So I'm sure some folks on here could twist that into some form of mental disorder.lol
glad he is good and healthy and doing well.
some could say the same about dem lobbyists haha...
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
Comments
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
sounds like he had a pretty bad concussion. any time there is puking and memory loss it is a big deal. dilated pupils means there was temporary dysfunction of the cranial nerves. normally you do not get long term issues from one concussion. the research now is focusing on the cumulative sub-concussive blows that players accumulate over a lifetime in sports. similar to boxing. it is normally not the one devestating knockout, but the thousands of sub-concussive blows leading up to the big one.
the thing about brain and neuro research is this:
the scary part is not what they know about the brain, the scary part is what they don't know about the brain.
i wish i had more time to find some of this research to post. been hanging out with my gal a lot in the evenings, which has taken up most of my evening posting time the last few months. boss is out this week, that is the only reason i am on as much the last 3 days.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
He is a Lobbyist now. A Republican.
So I'm sure some folks on here could twist that into some form of mental disorder.lol
some could say the same about dem lobbyists haha...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."