The way the game is trending in the National Football League is lighting up some interesting discussions, especially about hits.
During the wild card game between the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers, Bills center Connor McGovern hit Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. in the back while he was trying to bring down Stefon Diggs.
The Twitter account MLFootball commented how it was disgusting and it brought a rare tweet from Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith, who broke down why hits like this were coming.
This type of hit is encouraged in oline rooms …it won’t be flagged as long as it occurs near a ball carrier fighting for yardage
O-line/TEs hit like this in every game. Not hating on offense, I get trying to help the ball carrier advance. However modern era gotta be addressed https://t.co/eoHOxsLsIg
— Harrison Smith (@harrismith22) January 16, 2024
It’s nice to see these kinds of explanations from players, as it adds necessary context that most people don’t have, as they don’t spend time in meeting rooms.
In the same thread, Smith was asked about Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph whose low hit tore the ACL of Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee, three weeks after the same hit tore the ACL and MCL of Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson.
They aren’t very similar plays…do I like the Joseph hits? No.
But coach him up…what would you recommend he do?
The rules have encouraged more hits like that from the DB position…most effective way to protect that area of the field without penalty… I don’t like it either
— Harrison Smith (@harrismith22) January 16, 2024
What Smith said is something that hasn’t been discussed nearly enough in the space of both media and social media. The hits from Joseph aren’t dirty but a consequence of trying to improve concussion rate in the NFL.
Knowledge is power and we got some from Smith.
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