News Article: Saban & Mike Johnson: Cut-Blocking Should Stay

[UAME]

Neither Saban nor Mike Johnson want to see cut-block rules changed | Tide Source - al.com

Saban said, "It's a part of the game. I don't know how adversely it would affect offensive football if you couldn't cut. I think it would to some degree, and it certainly would be much harder to make certain blocks.

"And it would be much more inertia created by defensive players running into blockers because they wouldn't have to play under control. If a guy was coming to block, they could just go blow him up. So that might create problems in another direction."

In the past week, I have read several comments of contempt for the Arkansas player (who was less talented) using a "cheap" technique as a last resort on a player that was more talented. I think Coach Saban's comments here dispute that claim. You can't expect an opponent just to bow down to your own superior talent and tenacity, and in the process accept defeat. A big part of Alabama's own legacy revolves around lesser players outperforming their more talented counterparts, much in the same spirit as was shown by this offensive lineman.

As Saban insinuated, what made this block work was Hightower's pursuit of the ball with reckless abandon. How many times on a toss sweep do we see Bama's playside defenders fight blocks and string a play out to the sideline, then to have offside LB's and even DL's make the play from a position of pursuit? The most effective way to counter that type of pursuit is the use of blocks like these. Just the threat of a cut block should slow a defender down enough to make him ponder his path to the ball instead of going all-out with little chance of being cut.

It's really a catch-22, but I thought it was interesting that this article places as much responsibility on Hightower for preventing his injury as it does the Arkansas player for causing it.

 

[TideEngineer08]

Watching the play, it looked to me that Hightower did play the block... he left his feet, however, but all in all it was a freak injury.

I still say it is a cheap technique and I say that knowing that Alabama does it and will do it in the future. Having said that, if the men who play the game have no problem with the cut block, then it should remain a part of the game. I know players get hurt; it's a physical game.

 

[NYBamaFan]

I have heard many coaches say that the key to avoiding injury from cut blocks is to play under control. That said, cut blocks should be made with the shoulder rolled under to avoid injury to both the blocker and the person being blocked...

 

[kskelley]

Yes, cut blocking hurts and can lead to injury. So can just about anything else in this sport we all love so much. These guys get out there every week knowing they are going to get hit. Knowing the risks. They've known them since they started playing PeeWee football.

 

[luvthat_TIDE]

I really hate to post this, but I could have sworn I saw Maze have a cut block on a safety on a screen. I don't have DVR, but they showed the replay and again the block looked low on the defender to me. Next play he caught one on the sideline. The announcers said that was Maze's reward for the fine block on the play before.

 

[TidePrideGA]

I have heard many coaches say that the key to avoiding injury from cut blocks is to play under control. That said, cut blocks should be made with the shoulder rolled under to avoid injury to both the blocker and the person being blocked...

Bingo, we have a winner.

 

[AlabamaSooner]

Hate to disagree with Coach Saban, but I still don't like the cut blocks. I understand what is being said regarding it keeping players "under control", but I've never liked it and never will. Too many bad things can happen regarding the knee. Yes, it is football and it's a contact sport, but I wish they would make a rule about this just like they did the horse collar tackle.

 

[Con]

I really hate to post this, but I could have sworn I saw Maze have a cut block on a safety on a screen. I don't have DVR, but they showed the replay and again the block looked low on the defender to me. Next play he caught one on the sideline. The announcers said that was Maze's reward for the fine block on the play before.

I saw what you were talking about. I don't know if it was Maze or Hanks, but I know one of them did use a cut block. Nobody was hurt on that play of course, so we are not even talking about it.

 

[BayAreaBama]

Actually, if you watch the entire press conference, Saban says he is torn on the issue and sees it both ways.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Actually, if you watch the entire press conference, Saban says he is torn on the issue and sees it both ways.

That's sort of what I heard also. I didn't hear any out and out endorsement...

Edit: In the past our players have said that UK used more "underhanded" tactics than any other team they played. But that's several years ago, and I think that there's been a HC change since then...

 

[TexasTideFan]

Hate to disagree with Coach Saban, but I still don't like the cut blocks. I understand what is being said regarding it keeping players "under control", but I've never liked it and never will. Too many bad things can happen regarding the knee. Yes, it is football and it's a contact sport, but I wish they would make a rule about this just like they did the horse collar tackle.

I don't like them either since most of the time the dude getting blocked is not going to be ready for it. I even saw Favre cut block a Texan Corner back in the pre-season. Poor guy got lit up on the knee-caps from a QB.

 

[KrAzY3]

I'll say this one last time because to be honest some people just seem to be missing the point.

It was not the type of block that I take exception to, it was the way the black was done. If it had been a solitary occurence I would say he wasn't playing dirty, but the way that player in particular and Arkansas in general (they were flagged for illegal low blocks as well, so I'm tired of hearing the insinuation that Arkansas was playing a clean game) played the game made it clear to me they were playing dirty.

It wasn't just going low... it was illegal blocks coupled with dirty blocks (leading with the helmet) that can result in serious injury. I don't care if Saban thinks cut blocks are ok, that was never the issue I had with the play.

To me this line of defense for the Arkansas player is a little like saying tackling is ok, so intentionally spearing someone isn't dirty.

I've seen of lot of dirty plays in football that were either not flagged or are not illegal. If you go out there and play football with the intention of causing permanent harm to the opponent then I think you're playing dirty. Sure, it might help you win and it might even be a good strategy but it's still dirty.

 

[GrayTide]

Yes, cut blocking hurts and can lead to injury. So can just about anything else in this sport we all love so much. These guys get out there every week knowing they are going to get hit. Knowing the risks. They've known them since they started playing PeeWee football.

Good comments. Anyone of us, going back to when we were kids, playing in the back yard or in an organized game have cut block somebody whether intentionally or because the defender played you off and you hit him low. It is part of the game because it is easier to take someone off their feet that way.

 

[Hal Bennett]

I never experienced ligament damage, but I have had cartilage damage in my left knee ever since 1959. Maybe this is naive, but it is my understanding that if Hightower's ligament damage is handled expertly, he might not have lasting effects from that injury. It is also my understanding that once you have cartilage damage, there is no real replacing the damaged cartilage. You can shift it around the rest of your life, but it likely will never be serviceable later for such things as playing tennis.

"Throwing a block" to me usually meant hitting the guy low, which, I guess, is the same as saying "throw a cut block." One of the biographies of Bear Bryant -- I think it may be entitled THE BEAR -- relates a statement from somebody who claimed to have seen Bryant as a schoolboy throw such a block in the secondary, to illustrate "what a showman Bear already was at that age."

Coach Bryant, in his own book, BEAR, talks about how the change to the Wishbone offense from the passing offense of the sixties involved stopping all the "belly-rubbing" and going back to run blocking. With all the passing that is going on today, we see a lot of half-hearted blocking above the belt. The Big 12 has so much of that going on that they probably don't really play a lot of defense either.

Tennessee people and others are very enamored of Eric Berry. He is like an alien from another planet. But basically what he is doing when he tackles is throwing a chop block on the runner. (Do I hear an 'Amen' on that, or am I wrong?) Somehow I think I saw a lot more of that sort of thing in years gone by, particularly on Coach Bryant's teams.

It has seemed to me that when more and more speed was injected into football, the emphasis upon blocking and tackling below the waist gave way so that the big offensive play would be prevented. If you put too much emphasis on a "good" hard tackle, you might wish that, once the speed demon with the ball had juked you, you had simply tried to get him down without letting him get around you.

 

[NativeTider]

Here is an interesting quote by Dave Wannstedt in an article before they played Navy on Sept 19th.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said the cut blocking on the defensive line doesn't bother him. He does, however, have a problem when a slot back loops around and takes out the legs of an unsuspecting linebacker.

"The middle linebacker is looking in the backfield at the tailback or their quarterbacks," he said. "That's what concerns me. In my opinion that's a lot more dangerous than the line chopping when a guy is lined up right in front of you. We can deal with that.

"Anytime you are trying to block somebody's outside leg, there is a risk of danger."

Click Here for Entire Article

 

[NativeTider]

Here is a safer way to cut block.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn0ItOYdmhw]YouTube - How to Play Offensive Guard in Football : Cut Block On Linebackers as an Offensive Guard[/ame]