This is a drill that high schools or college programs do to work on technique. This is what I thought too.Not sure why at professional level they would want to do these drills. Also not sure why they would ban it.
In high school, my coach (who is still like a father to me) would ream your ass out if you took a knee or even squatted down during practice, and helmets NEVER came off until practice was over. In college, it was take a knee if you want, take your helmet off if you want, get as much water as you need (which is obviously smart), etc. The higher you go, the more they have to protect their investment.I played through my sophomore year in college and I can honestly say my high school practices were tougher than those in college. Part of that was for college ball, we were expected to arrive in camp in shape and the first two days of camp were dedicated to testing: bench press, squat, dead lift, vertical jump, shuttle run, 40-yard dash and most brutal was a 12-minute 2 mile run. There were points assigned on a sliding scale for each movement, but you had to pass the test to be allowed to practice. Linemen would rack up extra points lifting, because they'd suffer running. And you couldn't slide a Sunday paper under their feet when they did the vertical jump. College practices were more focused on execution of the playbook, proper form, etc. rather than conditioning and hitting for the sake of hitting. And you had to check into the weight room and lift in college, even during the season. In HS, I think they assumed most of the kids weren't in great shape so there was a lot of running and conditioning.
In addition to the drills the NFL just banned, we had other contact drills and punishment drills. I can remember a game where our OL played terribly and our QB got pounded. At Tuesday's full-pad practice, the coaches had an o-lineman "play" QB, but with no o-line. He stood there with the ball, pretending to take the snap, then fading back to pass. The defensive line and linebackers sprinted off the line and just took turns hammering him. And they'd have him try to step up into the pocket. Each o-lineman took turns as the "QB". Some of the younger kids looked like they were on the brink of tears. There was a drill where one guy would be the center of the circle of say, 6 other guys and the 6 guys would take turns running at and hitting the guy in the middle. The idea was for the middle guy to turn quickly, get his feet and hips set and meet the attacker and deliver a shot back. But sometimes the attackers would come fast, you'd get knocked down and they'd keep coming. And piling on. And the friggin fumble drills were insane. It is a wonder no one was killed. But that craziness aside, I do think there was a lot of benefit to the drills the NFL just banned. Toughness, proper form, toughness, digging deep, toughness. And you can't hide during an Oklahoma drill or 3-on-3s...
Further walking down memory lane: Our coach had what he called "natural stickum". We threw the ball a lot, so there was a lot of passing in practice. If a receiver dropped a catchable pass, the coach would shriek your name, you'd sprint over to him, hold your hands out and he'd empty his lungs and nasal passages all over your hands, grab your wrists and rub your hands together and he'd better not catch you wiping it off. This was the early-mid '80s - gloves were still very rare. I played TE and had the "natural stickum" applied just once. It smelled surprisingly awful.
Water was for pussies. The concepts we have today for proper hydration were not practiced back then and you had to earn water or the lime-aid we'd occasionally get. They were more generous with water in college, but I can recall not wanting to go to the coolers too often because I didn't want to be perceived as a puss.
And one more example of how times have changed. I went to a Catholic HS and one of our big rivals was Sacred Heart. So there was all kinds of motivational stuff for "Break the Heart" week. One was this: the coaches would mount a red painted plywood heart on the end of a post at the top of a hill. We'd all get rocks and take turns throwing rocks at the heart. In a line next to us were the cheerleaders. If you hit the heart, you could pick whichever girl you want and in front of everyone, kiss her. Now some were pecks on the check, but others were full lip locks and dips. Can you imagine that today?
I remember the culture shock when I got to my first college camp. It was much more business-like and no one got really crazy and cursed like we did in HS.
I told you so.I think both of those drills were FAR more effective than the Oklahoma drill because they taught proper form and technique, as well as getting the players accustomed to full contact. I don't remember doing the Oklahoma drill that often, but it's just not a safe drill. There are better ways to get players back to full contact without having them run full speed at each other from 5-6 yards away and obliterate their brains in the process. Yes, football players get paid handsomely and know the risks going in, but there's no real need to increase the risk of injury for no reason. We don't ask construction workers to work without safety equipment and hard hats because it would "pussify" them, we do it because it's the responsible and safe thing to do. No person's long-term health is worth a five second drill.
In high school, my coach (who is still like a father to me) would ream your ass out if you took a knee or even squatted down during practice, and helmets NEVER came off until practice was over. In college, it was take a knee if you want, take your helmet off if you want, get as much water as you need (which is obviously smart), etc. The higher you go, the more they have to protect their investment.
In college, our two big "first day of full contact" drills were the "board drill" and the "goal line drill." Board drill consisted of one offensive and defensive player lined up about three yards apart facing each other. There was a plank of wood about a foot wide between the two. On ball movement, you'd run forward and hit head on, trying to drive the other player past the end of the board. The idea was to keep your feet wider than the board. There were some SERIOUS collisions in that drill. The goal line drill was once again offense vs. defense. Offensive player would carry the ball. There was a bag laid horizontally across the "goal line" with two cones on either side maybe a yard from either end of the bag. Offensive player had to pick a side to run to (between the end of the bag and the cone), and the defensive player would have to tackle them and stop them from crossing the goal line. Also SUPER intense and CRAZY collisions in that drill.
I think both of those drills were FAR more effective than the Oklahoma drill because they taught proper form and technique, as well as getting the players accustomed to full contact. I don't remember doing the Oklahoma drill that often, but it's just not a safe drill. There are better ways to get players back to full contact without having them run full speed at each other from 5-6 yards away and obliterate their brains in the process. Yes, football players get paid handsomely and know the risks going in, but there's no real need to increase the risk of injury for no reason. We don't ask construction workers to work without safety equipment and hard hats because it would "pussify" them, we do it because it's the responsible and safe thing to do. No person's long-term health is worth a five second drill.
Guy who would piss his pants and run for cover if ever faced with the prospect of going toe to toe with an NFL player calls them pussified. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you.....internet muscles!I told you so.
Where did I call them pussified? Link? If I went toe to toe with an NFL lineman, I'd be crushed into the ground like a bug - exactly the same way you would. WTF does that have to do with this discussion?Guy who would piss his pants and run for cover if ever faced with the prospect of going toe to toe with an NFL player calls them pussified. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you.....internet muscles!
I think it’s a combination of 2 issues. First, they’re running scared of lawsuits (like every entity in our country). Second, as player salaries have skyrocketed over the years, they’re doing what they can to keep the players on the field instead of on injured reserve. Monster investment.
There won't be any Golden Goose at ALL to pay ANYONE if they kill the sport of football. Eventually, people WILL stop watching, and revenue will drop off.MJM hit the nail on the head, this isn't a football decision, but a business decision. What good is a $14.5 million/year running back who is on the bench eating up 1/10th of the salary cap if he gets injured in practice. The settlement in the concussion case wasn't ironclad for the current players and if the league doesn't take that into account they could get sued again.
Yes, like I said, it's inherently violent. But why increase the risk of injury so some fragile dudes around the country will feel better about themselves because they're watching a MANLY sport?Where did I call them pussified? Link? If I went toe to toe with an NFL lineman, I'd be crushed into the ground like a bug - exactly the same way you would. WTF does that have to do with this discussion?
The topic is simple. If you don't want to play football, then DON'T PLAY FOOTBALL. It's an optional activity. Changing the game to something other than football to keep people from getting hurt only kills it little by little. Football is inherently a violent sport, which is what made it popular in the first place.
In 50 years they will still be playing something out there on a field, but it won't be football. The snowflakes (and lawyers) always eventually get their way. They don't quit until they do.
Viewership rose by 5% last year.There won't be any Golden Goose at ALL to pay ANYONE if they kill the sport of football. Eventually, people WILL stop watching, and revenue will drop off.
There won't be any Golden Goose at ALL to pay ANYONE if they kill the sport of football. Eventually, people WILL stop watching, and revenue will drop off.
Yawn.
Yawn.
In 50 years, people will be reading my posts and proclaiming how right I was.
Yawn.
In 50 years, people will be reading my posts and proclaiming how right I was.