Can rugby tackling help save football? Rod Woodson believes so

[KamaAina]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/can-rugby-tackling-help-save-football--rod-woodson-believes-so-145824406.html

But Hall of Famer and Oakland Raiders DB coach Rod Woodson believes help is needed on the other end, too. Yes, he'll be coaching a revamped Raiders secondary that two years ago was a major liability and now might be a very solid group. But he also will be spending time in the offseason, starting Friday, helping out middle school and high school players proper football form and technique on the Pro Football Hall of Fame campus in Canton, Ohio.

Woodson is joining the inaugural Pro Football Hall of Fame Academy, a four-day symposium and demonstration this summer aimed at teaching young players how to better train and prepare for football, testing their reaction skills, and also emphasizing character development. But safety and proper tackling technique is also one of the primary areas of concentration in the program.

Woodson believes in the rugby tackle, which aims at getting low, leading with the shoulder and putting the tackler's head behind the ballcarrier. It will be a big part of the focus at the academy, and given the current climate of the game, which has a far more raised awareness of concussions and the dangers of head trauma, this could be a very important lesson to instill early on. They'll be bringing in actual rugby players to demonstrate how they tackle, which often is far different than how football players try to.

"When your head is in front of the ball, a lot of the time what happens it that his head and your head collide," Woodson told Shutdown Corner by phone. "When (the students) see the rugby players tackle — and do so without helmets, without pads — and not get nearly the number of concussions that NFL players get, I think it will be beneficial.

[T_i_B]

1. Rugby fan reporting for duty!

Last edited Sat May 7, 2016, 05:17 AM - Edit history (1)

One thing that always perplexes me about the NFL is all the bad tackling. The amount of missed tackles you see whenever they broadcast one of those games at Wembley is enough to drive you mad. So much so that you have to ask if some of those "hotshot" players would even make it to the second or third tiers of rugby union. It looks like the players are trying too hard to make big "hits" for the highlights tape rather than actually bringing their man down.