Question for the old football fans

[Hugh B Tool]

Faster, stronger and better gear today yes. Less pads, no real rules to effect dirty play and illegal hits back in the day, without a doubt. Many a player would paper mache their forearms into basically cement and then wrap them with the intent on using them as a weapon. Necktie tackling was legal. There were less officials to oversee the violence. Cut blocking, clipping and tripping etc. were basically overlooked. The reason leading with your helmet into the chest and wrapping up and driving the ball carrier into the ground is todays norm is because it was a much safer and legal way to combat the various ways back in the day. Now it is too violent to lead with the crown of your helmet, too violent to head slap, too violent to hit the QB even a split second after the ball is released.

 

As to the simple math equation sure there is a bit of validity, a bit. The two forces hitting each other today are Volvos with seatbelts and safety precautions built in. Previously it was more akin to a demolition derby with no seatbelts, no airbags, but with reinforced bumpers to hit you front back and sideways.

[flemingd]

In the old days they were more violent in spirit but not in execution. They were allowed to (and did!) do a lot of things that today would not only get you penalized, you'd get ejected and likely involved in a brawl. Head-slapping, forearm shivers, clothsline tackling, body-slamming as a take-down method. However, they weren't able to inflict the constant punishment today's players can based on their sizes. 215 pound linebackers can only do so much damage, especially when they are running through molassass to get to you. Go watch some old film on NFL channel or Youtube and see how slowly those guy are moving. They just don't have the size/speed ratio to do the constant punishment today's players do. Some of those old Jim Brown runs have the defenders almost running in place.

 

 

Today there's another factor at work - the helmet. Go look at the old film you just watched again. Jack Lambert. Ronnie Lott. Dick Butkus. Jack Tatum. LT. They are all arms, chest, and shoulders. You almost never see a hit with a helmet. There's a great series on Youtube called Most Feared Tacklers. Ronnie Lott is out there pounding guys, decleating them all over the place, rocking worlds - all hitting with his shoulder. LT was famous for draping himself over the guy like a mink coat - he never put his helmet into a guy's back or head like today's guys do. I was surprised to see how often Butkus and Lambert dragged the guys down from the side rather than going right through them. They didn't have the protection, and they were taught not to. I still remember being taught tackling technique in 5th grade - shoulder to belt, head to the side, eyes on his eyes (to keep head elevated and not ducking).

 

Now, these guys get so much more protection, and so much more attention for "big hits" (which is a total joke) from helmet shots they frequently don't bother trying to actually make a tackle, they lead with their heads every time and hope they don't miss. There is far more contact being initiated by the helmet, and of course with that extra size/speed ratio behind it. The first ones I remember seeing do this were Atwater and Rodney Harrison and no one really noticed much. Now all of a sudden here we are. The influence of Sportscenter, the pervasive media attention even down to the high school level, Youtube, and now social media have all helped emphasize the WOW over the techniques.

 

Now go watch Ray Lewis on that Youtube series. Nearly every tackle is one with his head down, leading the way. He's not necessarily dirty about it, and of course he doesn't actually miss many tackles, but that's a great example of how they play now. And it makes today's game much, much more dangerous and much, much more violent.

[skhyatt]

In the old days they were more violent in spirit but not in execution. They were allowed to (and did!) do a lot of things that today would not only get you penalized, you'd get ejected and likely involved in a brawl. Head-slapping, forearm shivers, clothsline tackling, body-slamming as a take-down method. However, they weren't able to inflict the constant punishment today's players can based on their sizes. 215 pound linebackers can only do so much damage, especially when they are running through molassass to get to you. Go watch some old film on NFL channel or Youtube and see how slowly those guy are moving. They just don't have the size/speed ratio to do the constant punishment today's players do. Some of those old Jim Brown runs have the defenders almost running in place.

 

 

Today there's another factor at work - the helmet. Go look at the old film you just watched again. Jack Lambert. Ronnie Lott. Dick Butkus. Jack Tatum. LT. They are all arms, chest, and shoulders. You almost never see a hit with a helmet. There's a great series on Youtube called Most Feared Tacklers. Ronnie Lott is out there pounding guys, decleating them all over the place, rocking worlds - all hitting with his shoulder. LT was famous for draping himself over the guy like a mink coat - he never put his helmet into a guy's back or head like today's guys do. I was surprised to see how often Butkus and Lambert dragged the guys down from the side rather than going right through them. They didn't have the protection, and they were taught not to. I still remember being taught tackling technique in 5th grade - shoulder to belt, head to the side, eyes on his eyes (to keep head elevated and not ducking).

 

Now, these guys get so much more protection, and so much more attention for "big hits" (which is a total joke) from helmet shots they frequently don't bother trying to actually make a tackle, they lead with their heads every time and hope they don't miss. There is far more contact being initiated by the helmet, and of course with that extra size/speed ratio behind it. The first ones I remember seeing do this were Atwater and Rodney Harrison and no one really noticed much. Now all of a sudden here we are. The influence of Sportscenter, the pervasive media attention even down to the high school level, Youtube, and now social media have all helped emphasize the WOW over the techniques.

 

Now go watch Ray Lewis on that Youtube series. Nearly every tackle is one with his head down, leading the way. He's not necessarily dirty about it, and of course he doesn't actually miss many tackles, but that's a great example of how they play now. And it makes today's game much, much more dangerous and much, much more violent.

 

 

Agree, good post.

[MikesVikes]

Horse collars were admired back then. It was more violent back then. For example Conrad Dobler wouldn't be allowed to wear a 15 pound cast on his arm to use as a club in today's game. But the players today are bigger, stronger, and faster. They make so much more money today do they don't " tough it out" like in the old days.

[kryptonite]

Questions like this make me chuckle... Seems every generation looks back and says, "Well, in my day...." Its like asking if 20 degrees is as cold as -20, ya know what, it is still COLD...lol... Was warfare in the past more violent than today, no, a bullet still stops a human....add more armor and you will find a new weapon to take the opponent down...

 

So here is my point, it is a violent today as it was back then... There are advances in safety and protection and there are advances in the type of physical human that is playing the game now... Does one think that the human specimens that are now playing the game were just created in the lab for the sport of it all? No. This type of athlete was always on the planet, he just was not in the NFL. The game calls for a different type of gladiator to play in the arena. The athletes are different, not better. The game is different.

 

The game has changed. NOT the violence. It is still as physical then as it is today. For sure, we are more AWARE of the violence and in some cases appalled at the violence but at the end of the day, it is as violent today as it was when I first started watching in the early 70s...

 

I played into High School so I cannot really comment on what it was like on NFL gridiron then or today...these are observations...with a touch of history...make better armor and I will make a better weapon...