Keller's injury and future leg injuries

[iced]

[nfl]0ap2000000231285[/nfl]
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000231458/article/dustin-keller-knee-out-for-miami-dolphins-season" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap100000 ... ins-season</a>

<a class="postlink" href="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/08/18/swearinger-says-rules-made-him-hit-keller-low/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... eller-low/</a>

A hit from Texans rookie safety D.J. Swearinger has apparently ended the season of Dolphins tight end Dustin Keller.

But Swearinger suggested that he might not have hit Keller as low as he did if not for the league’s emphasis on hits to the head.

“I was making a hit playing football,” Swearinger said, via Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post. “In this league you’ve got to go low. If you go high you’re going to get a fine. . . .

“The rules say you can’t hit high so I went low and I’m sorry that happened. I would think you’d rather have more concussions than leg injuries. Leg injury, you can’t come back from that. A concussion, you be back in a couple in a couple of weeks.”

Well, except for the possible long-ranging effects of what’s referred to medically as mild traumatic brain trauma, that might be the case.

Swearinger’s attitude might not be particularly enlightened, but it is real, and he’s not the only player who puts a higher value on limbs than brains.

judging by the comments people think the guy was dirty... watch the clip at the nfl.com link, i don't believe he was at all...And this is the problem with all the player safety for concussions - it's going to lead to more serious leg injuries. We all said it would happen, and now people are acting like Swearinger was targeting the guy.. My fear is of this happening to our players.... here was my 2 cents on this, even though they apparently keep deleting it

Wow - People seriously think he was actually targeting his knee? Come on. He's a rookie - why would he intentionally hurt Keller? He doesn't have a reason. In fact, after the hit he walks over to look at him (no other players did)...Then after keller gets loaded into the cart, he runs over to him again. That doesn't sound like the actions of someone intentionally targeting him now does it?

This is all because of the emphasis on "player safety" aka the NFL trying to save face against all the concussion lawsuits... You go high - you get a fine, AND a penalty, which can be the difference between making the team and not, if you're not a starter.

Someone eluded toward "going for the torso" - please, almost anytime someone catches the ball and knows a hit is coming they immediately lower their head, lean forward and cover up..I've seen plenty of guys aiming for the torso only to hit the receiver's head because he lowered his head.. not to mention defensive backs are trained to tackle bigger guys by their legs.

Everyone called it as soon as these new rules went into place - there were going to be more leg hits and more serious leg injuries. Now people are acting shocked that it's happening?

Give me a break.

 

[A55VA6]

Freak injury. ACL, PCL, MCL, and a dislocation. It wasn't a dirty play either. You gotta get low to make the tackle.

 

[RustyRay]

While i understand the don't hit high thing...and I don't think the hit was "dirty" I have never liked that kind of play. To me it seems very unnecessary.

Keller had no idea he is there and has his back turned, as soon as he turns around Swearinger (who I wanted the Rams to draft) hits him low on the knee. No way for Keller to protect himself.

Why not wrap up waist high and hit the hip with your shoulder pads like he has most likely been taught forever..? You have a pretty good sized hit target from above the knees to the shoulder pads...

I have always coached the only time you want to tackle low like that is face up with an angle and using the sideline as your friend...you can cut a guy safely when he can see you and you go through his legs.

You never want to go low straight on...fear of a knee to the head or with a guy with his back turned like Keller was for fear of a leg injury.

Just come up and either fundementaly wrap up and put em down...or come up and lay the lumber legally below the shoulder pads and above the knees..

 

[CGI_Ram]

Personally; I think he went too low. I don't like that hit - at all.

 

[A55VA6]

Personally; I think he went too low. I don't like that hit - at all.

Yeah after lookign at it, it was a little too low. I don't think it was intentional though.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Personally; I think he went too low. I don't like that hit - at all.

Yeah after lookign at it, it was a little too low. I don't think it was intentional though.

No, it wasn't intentional. I agree with Rusty Ray. I hope the coaches tell him what he did wrong. I feel bad for Keller.

 

[iced]

keep in mind the DB is outweighed by Keller, and Corners/DB's are always taught to go low on the bigger backs... how many times over the years have we seen db's go low at Jackson?

It's a freak play - just gotta love the knee jerking, professional tacklers who have all the time in the world to rewatch the play over and over, while not being on the field, making that split second decision at full speed and going for the low tackle. While he anticipated where the tackle would be, I doubt he was expecting Keller to jump and twist in mid air...

but like i said - we knew this would happen with all the emphasis on no hitting high anymore, and because so many players cover up with their heads and still draw PI's when you're aiming for the torso, I don't blame him...this is without considering the weight difference.

Cause and effect.

I seem to remember actually a safety or maybe LB (was it james harrison?) saying they were going to start targeting guys at the waist/knee's because of the rules

 

[iced]

it was james harrison - back in december of 2012..

Steelers linebacker James Harrison became the poster boy for the NFL’s crackdown on hits to the head of defenseless players last year, and after multiple fines and a suspension, Harrison says he got the message.

Unfortunately for the Steelers’ opponents, that message isn’t necessarily one that’s going to make them any safer. Harrison said on Mike and Mike in the Morning that now instead of trying to hit players in the head, he’ll hit them in the knees.

“I’ve really lowered my target area to where it’s down around the knees,” Harrison said. “Situations come along where you could tackle the guy high. I don’t do that anymore. I tackle the guy low.”

Harrison said, however, that he doesn’t think that makes life any easier on opposing players. Harrison referenced his hit to the knee of Broncos receiver Eric Decker in last year’s playoffs, a hit that caused Decker to suffer a sprained MCL, as the kind of hit he makes now that he wouldn’t have made before he was suspended last season — and a hit that Harrison doesn’t think makes the game any safer.

“I could have tackled him high, but if I had hit him high, I probably would have gotten a helmet-to-helmet or something and gotten fined,” Harrison said. “So I hit him low and strained his MCL. . . . They’re saying it’s a life-threatening injury to hit a guy in the head and he gets a concussion and so on and so forth, but I think a life-threatening injury is to go low on a guy and blow out his ACL or whatever, and he’s not able to come back the way he was before. Now he can’t make a living, he can’t feed his family, he can’t do what he does. That’s life-threatening to me.”

Harrison has long expressed doubts that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and others in the league office are sincere about their desire to make playoffs safer.

“It’s for player safety — at least that’s what they say,” Harrison said. “But the way I see it is that it all comes down to something different. You say you want to make the game safer but yet you turn around and want to add extra games. How is that making us safer?”

That’s a good question. And whether Harrison lowering his target makes the game safer is also a good question.

This was said 8 months ago because of the rule changes... i sincerely doubt the Texan DB or harrison are the only defensive players that feel this way

 

[CGI_Ram]

it was james harrison - back in december of 2012..

Steelers linebacker James Harrison became the poster boy for the NFL’s crackdown on hits to the head of defenseless players last year, and after multiple fines and a suspension, Harrison says he got the message.

Unfortunately for the Steelers’ opponents, that message isn’t necessarily one that’s going to make them any safer. Harrison said on Mike and Mike in the Morning that now instead of trying to hit players in the head, he’ll hit them in the knees.

“I’ve really lowered my target area to where it’s down around the knees,” Harrison said. “Situations come along where you could tackle the guy high. I don’t do that anymore. I tackle the guy low.”

Harrison said, however, that he doesn’t think that makes life any easier on opposing players. Harrison referenced his hit to the knee of Broncos receiver Eric Decker in last year’s playoffs, a hit that caused Decker to suffer a sprained MCL, as the kind of hit he makes now that he wouldn’t have made before he was suspended last season — and a hit that Harrison doesn’t think makes the game any safer.

“I could have tackled him high, but if I had hit him high, I probably would have gotten a helmet-to-helmet or something and gotten fined,” Harrison said. “So I hit him low and strained his MCL. . . . They’re saying it’s a life-threatening injury to hit a guy in the head and he gets a concussion and so on and so forth, but I think a life-threatening injury is to go low on a guy and blow out his ACL or whatever, and he’s not able to come back the way he was before. Now he can’t make a living, he can’t feed his family, he can’t do what he does. That’s life-threatening to me.”

Harrison has long expressed doubts that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and others in the league office are sincere about their desire to make playoffs safer.

“It’s for player safety — at least that’s what they say,” Harrison said. “But the way I see it is that it all comes down to something different. You say you want to make the game safer but yet you turn around and want to add extra games. How is that making us safer?”

That’s a good question. And whether Harrison lowering his target makes the game safer is also a good question.

This was said 8 months ago because of the rule changes... i sincerely doubt the Texan DB or harrison are the only defensive players that feel this way

Good find Iced.

I just think, when you watch that hit on Keller, Swearinger could have wrapped him up no problem. No need to lunge at the legs like that.

 

[iced]

Good find Iced.

I just think, when you watch that hit on Keller, Swearinger could have wrapped him up no problem. No need to lunge at the legs like that.

yea - it's hard for me to have an opinion that goes either way. While one I thought he could have gone a tad higher, I also remember the size,weight, height disadvantage and how they're taught to go low on bigger guys, then also adding in that players lower their shoulders/helmets and still draw PI's.

Either the receivers need to stop lowering their shoulders/heads when they make a catch or they all need to start wearing knee braces. The defense is being put in an impossible situation when they say "you can't hit high" then the receivers drop their pads low, which can lead to a head shot...

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

i haven't seen the tackle but i imagine it was exactly the same as the tackle that demolished lattimore's knee. an awful hit where it looked like the defender aimed straight for his knee.

.

 

[A55VA6]

.

i haven't seen the tackle but i imagine it was exactly the same as the tackle that demolished lattimore's knee. an awful hit where it looked like the defender aimed straight for his knee.

.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0emf6GH4Mw[/youtube]

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

thanks for putting that up a5.

nowhere near as bad as the lattimore tackle where the defender came in like a missile at the knee. still bad though. no reason he couldn't have tackled around the waist/thigh area.

.

 

[iced]

What happens when a Safety tries to tackle a Tight end in the center?

Just watch the first play from scrimmage last night - Finley just shoves Darian stewart aside like he's nothing....

 

[PowayRamFan]

Call me old-school(please), but I think you should be able hit wherever or however it takes to get the guy down (excluding facemasks). My two cents.

 

[Memphis Ram]

This is a bit off topic, but anybody think that Miami will come calling for Lance Kendricks? Their GM seems desperate this offseason and losing Keller hurts.

 

[Lesson]

This is a bit off topic, but anybody think that Miami will come calling for Lance Kendricks? Their GM seems desperate this offseason and losing Keller hurts.

I doubt they would considering they drafted a TE in the 3rd last season as well having drafted 3 TEs within the past 3 drafts.

 

[Memphis Ram]

This is a bit off topic, but anybody think that Miami will come calling for Lance Kendricks? Their GM seems desperate this offseason and losing Keller hurts.

I doubt they would considering they drafted a TE in the 3rd last season as well having drafted 3 TEs within the past 3 drafts.

But, if the liked them so much, why did they go so hard after Jared Cook only to sign Keller this offseason?

 

[Lesson]

This is a bit off topic, but anybody think that Miami will come calling for Lance Kendricks? Their GM seems desperate this offseason and losing Keller hurts.

I doubt they would considering they drafted a TE in the 3rd last season as well having drafted 3 TEs within the past 3 drafts.

But, if the liked them so much, why did they go so hard after Jared Cook only to sign Keller this offseason?

3 of the reasons why, IMO, would be they really lose nothing, aside from spending 4.5 mil on Keller for a year, Ireland had money to spend in the offseason and felt like he could spend more for an upgrade at TE, and Keller would be a decent TE as apart of a 2 TE system.

 

[Memphis Ram]

This is a bit off topic, but anybody think that Miami will come calling for Lance Kendricks? Their GM seems desperate this offseason and losing Keller hurts.

I doubt they would considering they drafted a TE in the 3rd last season as well having drafted 3 TEs within the past 3 drafts.

But, if the liked them so much, why did they go so hard after Jared Cook only to sign Keller this offseason?

3 of the reasons why, IMO, would be they really lose nothing, aside from spending 4.5 mil on Keller for a year, Ireland had money to spend in the offseason and felt like he could spend more for an upgrade at TE, and Keller would be a decent TE as apart of a 2 TE system.

IMO, it's because just about everything that I've read says that former Missouri Tiger 3rd rounder Michael Egnew was looking like a bust. Besides, one of the 3 TEs was a 4th rounder selected after they signed Keller.