Northwestern has had a hard time winning ever since ESPN's College GameDay paid the tea a visit a few weeks back. So it didn't need to have a tough game made even harder by Michigan State. That is exactly what the Spartans did early on when safety Isaiah Lewis knocked Wildcats quarterback Kain Coulter out of the game.
 |
| @SBNationGIF/Twitter |
He was called for targeting and ejected from the game, and the call was absolutely right (helmet to helmet contact). Northwestern ended up losing anyway, 30-6, but you would think they would have had a better chance had their starting quarterback been able to play.
While I appreciate the NCAA's desire to protect players I can't help but wonder if they are taking away from the game in the process. How is a defender supposed to do his job if a ball carrier is running pretty low to the ground already?
What should Lewis have done? Army-crawl up to Coulter?
Stupid comment about Army crawl. If you ever played football you would know that he could have just run him over given that the he was so low to the ground. Look at the picture. Dumb play by the defender just wanted to look good hitting someone already going down. It happens several times a game by punk players, not hard hitters.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't watching the game but it doesn't look to me like he was going down before the hit. If you had ever played football you would know that if you just try to blow a guy up like you are suggesting there is a good chance he bounces off (there are guys other than Barry Sanders that are good at it) and run on. While he runs the commentators and everyone watching at home talk about how you can't tackle and wonder what in the hell the coaches are teaching you since its not how to play football. Maybe he was stumbling--something else even easier to recover from. No, the defender did what he needed to do; he tried to go low, but since the runner was already low he didn't go low enough. But if you played football you would know that. Sounds like you are just another internet troll looking to be an anonymous punk.
DeletePunk players?
DeleteOracle, if YOU had ever played football you would know the correct position for a tackle is head down. His form and technique were dead on accurate, surgeon like, actually.
The defender was clearly trying to get low, but there is only so low you can go and still be effective. What makes me laugh is if he had just shot at the knees he would still be a "punk" to people like you, who clearly don't understand defensive tackling.
And, just so you know, football is a contact sport played by physically fit athletes (yes even linemen) who tackle other people. Players get hurt. It's an unfortunate reality. Players hit heads together when running full speed at each other, despite their best efforts. It's an unfortunate fact, and part of the game.
Do you think they wear those helmets as merely decoration? No. Should they spear with them? No. Do players have time to think, "Oh man, this hit is going to look awesome on ESPN tonight" as they are moving in for a hit? No, they are relying absolutely on muscle memory and years of tackling training.