Keller Done For The Year (Tears ACL/MCL/PCL knee dislocated)

Thats kind of a messed up analogy. Youre comparing condemning a man to be another mans slave to a rule in a football game. Compare apples to apples.

When head hits were ok didnt people love head hits? Now head hits arent ok. Cant hit at the head and cant launch yourself at a defending player but part of the games culture is bred in intimidation. Its a contradiction in and of itself. Like I said, if Keller doesnt tear his knee up then its just like the same leg tackle that DB's use every week. Theres nothing wrong with it other then the fact Keller planted at the exact wrong instant.

 

No... It wasn't and no it wouldn't be on the two hypotheticals. Jokes may be made but I never want an injury this bad to happen to anyone... Ever.

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I respectfully gotta disagree with you both. This has to do with Swearinger's reckless mentality as a player. If his mentality were that of a proper tackler and were accustomed to making proper tackles his mentality during that play would've had him running those 2 yards to meet Keller with a proper wrap-up and drive tackle.

I disagree. The defenders themselves made their jobs more difficult by choosing to focus on head shots rather than learning how to actually tackle properly. So now instead of learning how to tackle, guys like Swearinger will still continue launching themselves at receivers, only now they'll launch low where they can blow out knees. The rule was meant to promote the lost art of tackling, not change the location of the dangerous hits.

 

Avoidable and unavoidable.... both completely different..... regardless of the fraction of the second you have for decision making, your form and intent take over in that time frame. "reckless" is the best way it has been put

 

You can absolutely decide if you're going to hit someone low or not in a fraction of second. That's absurd to say you can't.

 

Karma can be a *****. Dropping your head and launching yourself also puts the tackler at risk. One of these days he may try that sh*t and the next thing you know he'll be wheeling around like Stephen Hawking. Proper form tackling protects both the tackler and the offensive player from serious injury.

 

let me ask you this, could the injury have been prevented without it costing Swearinger the tackle/break up in the process?

 

Seeing this again in real time, there is no way this wasn't intentional.



He aimed for the knees. Anyone saying he didn't are either Texan fans or people who think the game has too many rules.

 

Not really honestly to the bolded. Or maybe they did...I didn't particularly.

I know what type of tackle you are talking about, and you don't go for it from that angle 99% of the time either. Also it is usually aimed at the ankles/shin not the kneecap. It was terrible form regardless.

 

If youre asking of Keller could have been tackled differently the answer is yes. Keller also could have not turned knowing he was going to get hit and tried to run upfield. But its football so he did. But that also would have prevented the injury. There are a few good ways to tackle a player but when its a 255lb TE vs a 215-220lb safety those numbers dwindle. Like I said, that play happenes every sunday and 99x/100 its without incident. If it didnt involve a Miami Dolphin would you or anyone else give 2 poops?

 

Nah. He was going low and Keller planted simultaneously. Just pure bad luck.
His helmet actually hits on Keller's thigh pad.

 

You're a 100% wrong. That is a targeted hit. There was no need for him to go that low. This is not a routine tackle. He's a dirty POS.

 

Go watch some football. That type of hit happens in every game.
Stop whining about it. It was unfortunate but it happened.

 

not to mention it opens up the potential for a missed tackle and subsequent big play.

The bottom line is- it isn't an excuse to play recklessly and put opposing players' health at risk just b/c the rules don't yet penalize defenders for plays like that. Guys like Swearinger will be responsible for a "no targeting of the knees rule" next just as blockers have rules against taking out knees. There's just no excuse for playing with a mentality/technique that's conducive for injuring players when that tackle could've been made 100 times out of 100 w/o Keller getting hurt.

 

...or a Gamecock fan.

 

Like I said, anyone saying it wasn't a dirty hit is either a Texan fan or is a person who thinks football has become to pansy. You decide where that bar is for you.

 

Yup, but you can't grab the ankles/shins and swipe the players feet out from under him if you can't see WTH you're hitting. This wasn't a "low tackle"; this was recklessly targeting low w/o seeing what you're actually hitting where the chance of injury increases dramatically. Vontae Davis tackled low, but it was proper form tackling rather than reckless abandon. Swearinger's "hitting low" excuse is total bull**** b/c he could've easily hit low judiciously with proper form and while seeing what he's actually hitting.

 

Sounds like Kellen Winslow Sr.'s knee injury.

 

blah blah blah, yup let's needlessly jeopardize players' health & careers and have defenders not give two sh**s about learning how to tackle just b/c hits like that do occasionally happen and b/c injury is just "part of the game". That's fuggin' ridiculous.

 

I don't see any Dolphin players or coaches crying cheap shot so why should the fans.
And yes a defender should be able to tackle an offensive player. That is his objective. Get it.

 

So does that mean he should be allowed to bring a chainsaw out with him too? I mean- since "any means necessary" seems ok by you.

 

"The Last Boy Scout"

 

I admire Keller for gambling on himself and only signing a 1 year contract but then again, he's an example of why I don't gamble.

 

With the loss of Keller, the TE position has gone from an area of strength to a huge question mark for this team. Clay has been inconsistent since he came to the Dolphins. Sims may turn out to be the best TE now on the roster, but right now his remains a rookie who is still trying to learn to play in the NFL. I really have no faith that Egnew is a player the Dolphins can rely on.

Keller was the TE who other teams had to game plan for. None of the TE's on the roster right now are the type of players other teams will worry much about. I was never a big Fasano fan, but he is still far better than any of the TE's now on the Dolphins roster.

I do hope Keller is able to have a full recovery from this serious leg injury, whether he signs with the Dolphins next year or not.

 

We run a zone blocking scheme, our linemen are going after the defender's ankles and knees all game long, even defenders on the backside of the play who have little or no chance of making an impact on the play. So I think it's unfair to call defenders out for attacking a guys knees, especially when he has the ball.

And I'd like to get your thoughts on Keller's mid air pirouette. You're an offensive guy, you can't tell me that's not an ill advised move to make. Granted, Keller seemed to want the ball to the outside and RT put it on his inside shoulder (ironically, to protect him). Still, Keller reads coverages, he should know whether or not he has time to get cute on the catch. If the defender is responsible for showing restraint on potential kill shots then it's only fair to hold offensive players responsible for protecting themselves. Keller caught that ball like he was in a 7 on 7 drill down in Davie. If he turns/pivots instead of jumping, gets his head around to find the defender, lands a split second later or earlier, etc etc, we're not even having this discussion.

 

Swearinger was also one of the first guys to come over and check on Keller after he went down.

 

Might be a good time to offer him an extension, preferably a below market extension...

 

You think he put it there on purpose Gm?

 

Sure, in the heat of the moment. Where are all the cheap shot comments today from the team like we are seeing from the fans?
I haven't seen any.

 

It wasn't a dirty hit, those hits happen 1,000 times during the season. [Deleted]

 

As sad as the injury is, this is so true.

 

Just a bad break for Dustin, every Sunday, we see a lot of those type of hits.

 

So, 1,000 times a season, a defender intentionally launches himself at the knees of a receiver leading with his helmet and/or shoulder pads and tears up the receiver's knee? Nothing like face up wrap up form tackling is there when you can just throw yourself around like a reckless out of control fool instead, putting yourself at as much risk of a permanent injury as it does the offensive player. Swearinger's neck and spine won't last 5 years in the league if he keeps doing that.

 

While he did tackle him too low (the knee), I don't think that was the intent. Dustin Keller jumped for a pass, and Swearinger got low, to take him off his feet. In the end, Swearinger misread his thigh/hips, and went too low, in the end. Plain and simple.

I've never heard a coach every suggest a player tackle high. Ever. In any circumstance. That's a new one.

You keep stressing that he was aiming for his knee. I don't see it that way. He was aiming low to the thigh/hip. Dustin Killer was in mid-air when catching that pass. Swearinger gauged where his body would impact Keller's. A torn up knee is the sad result.



The reaction from Miami fans against Swearinger are no different than the reaction to LaRon Landy after Reggie Bush got hurt last year. Everyone screaming cheap shot, when the replay clearly showed accidental contact to his knee.