No. I didn’t say head on. Proper tackling technique is with the shoulder pad and wrapping up. It’s the spearing below knee that is the problem. It’s the exact same kind of play the NFL has outlawed with QBs.
He doesn’t have to make himself a head first missile to tackle him. He can hit him with the shoulder pad in the thigh or above the knee and/or wrap him up. A fundamental form tackle wrapping up the legs will bring anyone down. There have been many good DBs and safeties who have used that fundamental technique. It was partly segments like ESPN‘s “Jacked Up!” in the 90s and early 2000s that exacerbated the way defensive backs attacked receivers. It became something akin to the slam dunk in the NBA. And, like the NBA, which lost the art of the short range jumper, partly in favor of posterizing another player, players saw their ability to intimidate and also to gain popularity through massive hits. It took me a while to come around to this today, because I absolutely loved players like Jack Tatum and Gene Atkinson, who destroyed receivers over the middle. Particularly with the clothes line tackle. They were arguably the greatest ever at that tackle too the NFL correctly outlawed it.
The Darryl Stingley hit was a game changer for me. And for the league.
In my view, the game can still be tackle football and still involve hitting in the proper way in which a player doesn’t have to hit with the helmet, but can still make a good fundamental tackle. But the popularity of the modern game is hindered when star players get knocked out of it because of certain types of tackles and that’s why the league is seeking to address those and talking about those kinds of tackles. the bottom line is it’s a sport that is grounded in entertainment. No one wants to see Blake Bell in place of Travis Kelce or Cedric Wilson Jr instead of Tyreek Hill. And fans certainly don’t want to see Blaine Gabbert in place of Patrick Mahomes.
Personally, I’d much rather have had Devon Achane all season instead of Salvon Ahmed, or Brooks.
