NFL CTE Stats Reveal Tackling’s Loser Mentality

Letter to Romans: The tackling technique shown in “Knute Rockne” was to drive a shoulder into the ball carrier’s numbers. Later day coaches tho taught to lead with the helmet & spear a target. Wonder why “75% of NFL players dying since 2008 had CTE"?

Not that the “modern” tackling style is the sole reason for all the brain damaged football players risking becoming vegetables in their post football lives. And that goes for the tackled as well as the tackler. This Bears fan still recalls the violence painfully illustrated in the Bears’ “46 Defense” led by “hit men” Doug Plank & Gary Fencik. The two defensive backs’ kamikaze style tackling meant to decapitate an opposing ball carrier was, in fact, named “46” after Plan’s jersey number by Head Coach Mike Ditka & Defensive Coordinator Buddy Ryan. At the time, the national media marveled at how effective it was in carrying men off the field in a daze. Plank & Fencik are still alive & seem healthy enough, although Plank estimates he’s had 30 t0 39 concussions. Both have pledged to donate their brains posthumously to the Concussion Legacy Foundation. On the other hand, the obvious health consequences of “chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE became so alarming the NFL would penalize “spearing.” In recent rules reforms, the penalty for doing so was increased to the point where violators risk expulsion from a game.

The undeniable NFL death & CTE stats were revealed in a JAMA study & reported in a recent ESPN article. It’s a depressing read. Perhaps the question health wise going forward is whether the game’s law-making can keep up with the medical science. Yet, let’s go back to that iconic Notre Dame football movie starring Pat O’Brien as The Rock and Ronald Reagan as The Gipper. Isn’t the real shame that we now have proof today’s “winning is the only thing” mentality entails a cost that loses everything for the CTE victims? Maybe it’s time to re-learn how to also “win one for the Gipper” by teaching players at all levels how to tackle properly, by “wrapping ball carriers up with shoulder & arms” rather than by decapitation with a helmeted missile?

Davd Soul