I was listening to a Manny Diaz interview where he said it’s hard to practice tackling because of possible injuries and depth at rb. Which made me think of an old wrasslin reference that kinda connects with tackling. Growing up I was a big wrestling fan, I was a smart mark before that was a term.
I listen to a lot of podcast’s by former wrestlers that talk about their days on the road. they always mention that taking a bump isn’t natural to your body , kinda like tackling They also say the less bumps you take the worse your body reacts when do take them. Your body eventually gets used to the contact with the mat , the more reps the better your can handle it , It’s like your body gets callused / hardened by the constant bumping and the reps become second nature with how you fall.
Which brings me back to tackling . Tackling is like anything else , you need reps. Just like a jump shot or taking swings in the batting cage. Using a tire , a sled or thud isn’t tackling another man. Injuries are part of the game but you have to take that chance with something as big as tackling. It’s the most important part of the game.
Back when I started playing ball I was very tentative and intimidated by tackling and tackling drills. But one thing our coaches did was have multiple tackling days , different drills that challenged you from different angles and different positions to help with reaction. I ended up one of our better tacklers and tbh we were a really good tackling team. Thats a far lower level but I know for a fact it’s necessary, practice makes perfect.
I also believe like taking a bump tacking and being tackled trains both parties on how to handle the contact and how to go to the ground. I don’t recall one injury in our tackling drills , in the three years I played. I’m not saying you should have physical war daily but the results match what I’ve always heard about our practices , they lack physicality versus other programs.
The proof is in the pudding , Miami is the worst tackling team in the country. We have a minimum of 20 every game and 30 last game. If that doesn’t tell Manny about his practice habits nothing will.
This is why I’m so pro Mario and Alonzo. Smart people that are competitive , believe in physicality , toughness and knows what Miami is supposed to look like.
Your experience matches mine to a tee.
I learned what football was when I was 9 years old. We had a guy that eventually signed with Indiana and went on to make some practice squads in the league. He was by far our hardest hitter and would blow guys up in every matchup. One day in a 1 on 1 tackling drill I was the ball carrier and I counted the line to see who my match up would be. Oh lord! IT’S HIM! When I got the ball, I tried to tip toe thinking it would reduce the impact. Oh the silly things that cross a child’s mind. That mu****er exploded out of his stance and hit me SO HARD. Shoulder in the gut, air lifted and slammed on my back. I like to died right there on the field. When I finally was able to breath, I said “Never again”. I would mimic the tackling and blocking technique the coaches showed and attack whoever was in front of with everything I had. Anything else just gets you hurt was the lesson I learned that fateful day.
Even through high school we NEVER got serious injuries in full contact tackling drills. Worst case was getting the wind knocked out.
Serious injuries are usually fluke plays. Stepping in a cleat hole, leg trapped under you when you fall, someone falling on your leg, landing on your hand or shoulder wrong. The ground causes most of this stuff.
It is absolutely true that repeated contact hardens the body. Look at martial arts. They slap rocks gently but repeatedly for a half hour to hour a day and it makes your hands like steel. They use hard wood or bambo dummy’s to practice strikes that toughens bones and flesh over time.
When you you developed a fiery, aggressive team that is REALLY killing each other in practice THEN you can dial it back a little as you get into the dog days of the second half of the season. But spring and summer are wide open, full contact game simulations to get you sharp.
I am glad people are talking like this. We wonder how ALL of our players can look so bad and you find out we mostly thud against bench warmers. Those guys don’t move as fast or hit as hard. When we get to game day, we have not been accurately prepared for what we will actually face.
Guys look like they never played before sometimes because they are not sharp and there is a big disconnect between practice speed and game speed. The game is WAY, WAY faster than it looks on tv or even from the stands.