Devon Witherspoon’s big hit a perfect tackling example in today’s NFL

RENTON — The reaction from Devon Witherspoon was immediate. His ensuing tackle was perfect.

There are many reasons to celebrate the thunderous hit that the Seahawks rookie cornerback delivered on Arizona receiver Rondale Moore on Sunday.

For those who witnessed it, the hit triggered the sort of spontaneous and instantaneous reaction that comes along maybe once or twice a season for a football team — a play that everyone in the stadium seems to feel. It was as tangible as it was indelible.

In the context of the Seahawks’ season, and their future, the play offered further validation that Witherspoon is that guy — worthy of the No. 5 overall draft pick they used on him and an obvious star in the making.

In the greater context of the sport, and the future of the NFL, Witherspoon’s hit offered a glimpse of what could be — and should be — a cleaner way to play the game, a blueprint for how to tackle without using your helmet. A way to play with tenacity without being reckless.

It can be done.

“Spoon’s hit is a good example: We can still play a violent game, and do it in a safe way,” Seahawks linebacker Jordyn Brooks said.

Brooks was quick to add a caveat: There is no foolproof way to make football safe. There’s an accepted level of risk for players who suit up every Sunday, and when elite athletes collide into each other running full speed anything can happen.

That said, Witherspoon was intentional about using his shoulder on the hit — and intentional about not targeting Moore’s upper body.

“It was a good lick,” Witherspoon said. “Just friendly competition. Just keep your head and neck out of it and make sure you don’t hit his head or neck as well. I’m glad he wasn’t hurt or anything like that.”

Witherspoon led with his left shoulder on the tackle, hitting the left side of Moore’s back initially. After he had watched replays, Witherspoon’s only gripe about the hit: He led with the wrong shoulder.

For almost a decade now, Pete Carroll and Seahawks coaches have taught rugby-style tackling techniques — the Hawk Tackle, they call it.

Linebackers coach John Glenn still teaches fundamentals of the rugby tackle to players during practice every Wednesday, and one teaching point is that defenders are supposed to lead with their “near” shoulder; Witherspoon led with his outside shoulder on the Moore hit.

A small critique. Otherwise, it was a teach-tape hit.

“That’s 100% the way you want it to look,” said DeShawn Shead, a Seahawks defensive coach.

Shead was among the first to learn about rugby-style tackling when he was a defensive back for the Seahawks from 2013-17. It’s carried on for nearly a decade, and Shead is now one of the coaches teaching it.

Carroll had adopted the rugby tackle, in part, to adapt to new NFL rules intended to take the head out of the tackle. In those early days, Carroll even brought in professional rugby players to demonstrate what the tackle should look like. Seahawks coaches found that the rugby tackle could not only be safer — for the tackler and the ball-carrier — but also a more efficient way to tackle.

“Tackling is everything. We emphasize it every week,” Shead said. “For a guy like me, I’ve been in the system [as a player]. The game has evolved with the rugby-style tackle … and everybody is taking those lessons and knowing when to take the shots and knowing how to take the head out of it.”

Today, the NFL’s stiffest penalty for an on-field infraction is centered on Rule 12, Section 2, Article 10 of the NFL Rulebook: Impermissible Use of the Helmet/Launching. A violation carries a $21,855 fine and a possible ejection.

On Sunday — the same day Witherspoon delivered his hit against Arizona — Denver safety Kareem Jackson was ejected after officials determined he led with his helmet to hit a Green Bay Packers tight end. It was the fourth violation of player-safety rules this season for Jackson, a 35-year-old in his 14th NFL season.

The NFL announced a four-game suspension for Jackson the next day. (It was reduced to two games on appeal.)

“When you think about the way the game has changed, Kareem Jackson is a dinosaur,” retired NFL safety Ryan Clark said on ESPN’s “NFL Live” this week. “They don’t want people to play football this way. So now asking a guy who’s been in the league over a decade — who developed a style of play, who is an intimidator in the inside — to be different is very difficult for him. But if he doesn’t change, they’re going to legislate him out of this game.”

This next generation of tacklers appear to be benefiting from the trickle-down effect of the Seahawks’ emphasis of rugby techniques.

In recent years, Shead said, it has become fairly common for players joining the team to say they learned rugby tackling from watching the Hawk Tackle video the Seahawks published in 2014 — or their high school coach watched it and then taught it to his players.

“It’s pretty cool to hear that,” Shead said. “Now they come in here and get the real emphasis firsthand.”

Brooks said he learned a different tackling style at Texas Tech. It was called the “kiss tackle” — with the tackler effectively asked to stick his face into a ball-carrier’s chest.

After getting penalized with two targeting penalties early in his college career, Brooks said he started to make an adjustment on his own to take his head out of it. He started to embrace shoulder tackling after the Seahawks drafted him in the first round in 2020.

“It’s just the evolution of the game,” Brooks said.

Witherspoon, listed at 6-feet and 185 pounds, is average size for an NFL cornerback. Even so, he said he has been a physical tackler for as long as he can remember — someone who takes pride in delivering big hits. He’s been able to do that even using the rugby-tackling techniques he learned early in his college career at Illinois.

“Once you keep repping it so many times, that just becomes who you are. So we practice that all the time,” Witherspoon said, adding: “That just makes the game so much more fun, the physicality. Just run and hit. That’s what we preach every day — run and hit. That’s all it is.”

Just five games into his NFL career, Witherspoon is the top-graded cornerback in the league, according to Pro Football Focus’ rankings. He has earned high praise from coaches and veteran teammates. Veteran safety Jamal Adams this week called Witherspoon one of the most intelligent rookies he’s been around, and safety Quandre Diggs was similarly effusive.

Diggs also offered a small bit of advice for Witherspoon when it comes to the big hits.

“My thing is for him just to be smart and know that you take your shots when you have your shots, and [then] be a sure tackler in other moments in the game,” Diggs said. “I’m excited about it. I’ve been excited about him since we drafted him. The sky is the limit for the kid.”