Oklahoma Drill

[GleefulGary]

NFL teams rarely ever did the Oklahoma drill, or anything similar.

Just a feel good rule.

 

[AKCheese]

Huge difference between what you guys did in JR High with your buck and a quarter bodies bumpin into each orher and what happens at any D-1 (my experience) program much less the NFL. The idea of NFL caliber players nut crackin today is to put it plainly.... absurd (and pointless) Maybe some D-1 scrubs or UDFAs on a slow day in a backwards thinking program

 

[Mondio]

Huge difference between what you guys did in JR High with your buck and a quarter bodies bumpin into each orher and what happens at any D-1 (my experience) program much less the NFL. The idea of NFL caliber players nut crackin today is to put it plainly.... absurd (and pointless) Maybe some D-1 scrubs or UDFAs on a slow day in a backwards thinking program

Not really. you don't have to line them up 10 yards apart to do the drill. you confine the space. The level is raised for competition and you can test physicality without just cracking heads. It's not something you'd do every day, but you could certainly use it to find out who's who on your team.

 

[Sunshinepacker]

someone needs to send that to NFL bigwigs.

American football is pretty much a full contact sport, injuries are going to happen whether during a game or even training/practice. they have, from what i can tell, made so many rule changes to try and protect players, but at the end of the day the NFL can only be held responsible for very little injuries. As anyone who has worked in any kind og health and safety role knows, risk can pretty much never be reduced to zero, even the law(UK) maintains that EMPLOYERS must bring risk down to As Low As Reasonably Practicable.

at one point the rule makers need to man up and realise they have done all they can do with current knowledge and technology

If the NFL wants to continue as a sport then it has to evolve. Part of that is trying to reduce injuries where they can. I understand the macho excitement of "proving you're a man" in some drills but let's be real, these guys are NFL players, they're ALL tough. You don't make it to the NFL by NOT being tough.

 

[Sunshinepacker]

between the cba restrictions and this it just seems like guys are getting softer and will end up with even more injuries.

Are we to assume that not letting guys run into each other at full speed one-on-one actually builds some kind of calluses against injury later in the year?

 

[Mondio]

If the NFL wants to continue as a sport then it has to evolve. Part of that is trying to reduce injuries where they can. I understand the macho excitement of "proving you're a man" in some drills but let's be real, these guys are NFL players, they're ALL tough. You don't make it to the NFL by NOT being tough.

compared to joe schmoe on the street? sometimes. There are plenty of softies in the NFL, especially when put up against their peers. and mentally? more softies than you think.

and no, it's not about building calluses against injury later, though practicing like you play will certainly harden some players. But I think making preseason easier has just pushed those injuries into the first third of the season rather than have them happen in TC. is it making a difference? maybe in timing. I think more guys used to get injured in TC, but then they were done and replaced then. now I think teams are having to replace more of those injuries in the earlier part of the regular season.

and you don't have to line them up and run them into each other at full speed. Maybe our drill was different. Depending on skill levels we'd lay on stomachs or backs and be facing towards the chute or away. Sometimes you'd have to flip turn and attack the chute. Other times you just popped up and attacked in the chute depending on what the coaches wanted to see and who you were against. I think you can tell a lot about a player doing those just by head up or down. and you can give an advantage to either guy and see how they respond. and you can enclose the space to keep it about desire, will, and competition and less about bashing heads together or running at each other full speed.

 

[scotscheese]

If the NFL wants to continue as a sport then it has to evolve. Part of that is trying to reduce injuries where they can. I understand the macho excitement of "proving you're a man" in some drills but let's be real, these guys are NFL players, they're ALL tough. You don't make it to the NFL by NOT being tough.

i understand that, but the players themselves play this sport as a voluntary risk, the governing body can only do so much to mitigate injuries. why should they be held accountable when i know i can get hurt by playing this sport? i choose to do this knowing the risks

 

[Deleted member 6794]

i understand that, but the players themselves play this sport as a voluntary risk, the governing body can only do so much to mitigate injuries. why should they be held accountable when i know i can get hurt by playing this sport? i choose to do this knowing the risks

That European approach doesn't work with Americans

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

If the NFL wants to continue as a sport then it has to evolve. Part of that is trying to reduce injuries where they can. I understand the macho excitement of "proving you're a man" in some drills but let's be real, these guys are NFL players, they're ALL tough. You don't make it to the NFL by NOT being tough.

I could be wrong, but its all a balancing act for the NFL, if blood and broken bones made them more money, it wouldn't shock me if that was where they would lean towards. Public cry that their is too many injuries, then they try to figure out a way to reduce those. Threatened lawsuits due to CTE, cover thy NFL collective ***es.

I'm not saying that there aren't people who do care about players safety, but the NFL is a business and they are going to put the product out there that sells the best, water it down too much by playing flag football and they know their product won't sell.

 

[sjb12681]

I've said for a long time, the best way to minimize the injuries is to take out the protection.

I don't mean make them play in street clothes or rugby gear, but go back to an older leather like helmet style, and minimize the pad bulk. Take away gloves, eye guards, compression sleeves, etc.

It would take a season or two of adjustment, but I think a player will be less apt to launch himself face down,head first at another person at 15-18 mph if it means his skulls gonna crack.

Human nature is to take precautions to protect themselves. Adding helmets and thick pads helps to lower that inhibition and make them feel invincible when wearing what is nearly equivalent to full scientifically engineered body armor.

Take that away, and yeah, likely going to be brutal for a year or 2, but after that, players will learn to tackle better, as well as protect themselves better.

The game would be a bit worse off as the exciting hits would go away, but it (imo) would be safer and a purer version of football.

 

[gopkrs]

Nice story! Didn't realize football was "gladiators" in the early years:

"In 1903, 25 players died from football injuries."

"made today’s cage fighting look like patty cake."

Anyone have the YouTube video?

This was the earliest I could find:

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The music is great!

 

[sjb12681]

Like this:

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[gbgary]

Are we to assume that not letting guys run into each other at full speed one-on-one actually builds some kind of calluses against injury later in the year?

that's not running at full speed. coaches complain all the time about not having enough padded practices. the only reason to wear pads is because there'll be contact. blocking and tackling drills are basics they're not getting enough of. how do you teach techniques without contact?

 

[RicFlairoftheNFL]

Here we go with the flags and two hand touch