08-02-2017, 11:55 AM
If this is a live drill, It's a nice tackle. He read the play, filled the hole and made the tackle. You can't expect defensive players to 'hold up' in live drills. Gio shouldn't participate in live drills if he's not ready.
However, if this was a wrap up drill like some here are saying, that's a completely different story. Wrap up drills exist for players to learn & recognize their assignments at speed. Ball carrier or receiver gets wrapped up above the waist and the play is over. If Burfict made a tackle during a wrap up drill, that would be a B.S. move and totally wrong. He's essentially hitting and tackling someone that wasn't expected to be hit and tackled. That's a recipe for major injury and you just don't do that to a teammate.
But I'll give Burfict the benefit of the doubt on this. Maybe it was live, or maybe his instincts kicked in and he forgot that it wasn't live. Little brawls happen often at camps. Most are pretty benign. Most coaches dismiss them as non-issues (except obviously in New England). The thing that bothers me a little is that he shoved a coach with no apparent consequences. That's where, in my opinion, the line must be drawn. If Burfict actually hit and tackled during a wrap-up drill, he absolutely deserved an earful from the coach. But regardless, seeing Burfict shove a coach just shows that the inmates are still running the asylum, a hallmark of M.L. coached teams, and apparently that hasn't changed.
However, if this was a wrap up drill like some here are saying, that's a completely different story. Wrap up drills exist for players to learn & recognize their assignments at speed. Ball carrier or receiver gets wrapped up above the waist and the play is over. If Burfict made a tackle during a wrap up drill, that would be a B.S. move and totally wrong. He's essentially hitting and tackling someone that wasn't expected to be hit and tackled. That's a recipe for major injury and you just don't do that to a teammate.
But I'll give Burfict the benefit of the doubt on this. Maybe it was live, or maybe his instincts kicked in and he forgot that it wasn't live. Little brawls happen often at camps. Most are pretty benign. Most coaches dismiss them as non-issues (except obviously in New England). The thing that bothers me a little is that he shoved a coach with no apparent consequences. That's where, in my opinion, the line must be drawn. If Burfict actually hit and tackled during a wrap-up drill, he absolutely deserved an earful from the coach. But regardless, seeing Burfict shove a coach just shows that the inmates are still running the asylum, a hallmark of M.L. coached teams, and apparently that hasn't changed.
