Head Games, Bengals use drill from years past that is great for game preparation but can cause concussions, the 'Oklahoma' drill

[bayone]

'Oklahoma' drill used by Bengals is dangerous and archaic

Watch Head butting in Video of this one on one Drill , varying opinions, LT loves that its so physical 

 

The Cincinnati Bengals ran their “Oklahoma” drill Sunday, head coach Marvin Lewis’s traditional kickoff for their first training-camp practice in full pads, and it was once again a hit among spectators and the players looking on. This year, the NFL Network aired it live, and former players gushed nostalgically about its physical and psychological benefits—how it makes one’s body and mind tougher.

 

Chris Nowinski heard about it a day later, and was much, much less excited.

 

“It’s a reasonable drill,’’ he said Monday from Boston, where he is co-founder of Boston University’s Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy. “Part of the question, though, is how much repetition of it there is.’’

 

They’re a fast track to concussions and, in many cases, degenerative brain diseases like CTE, which Nowinski and his colleagues have found in several deceased athletes who had donated their brains for study.

 

The Oklahoma (one blocker, one tackler, one ball carrier going full-speed in a confined space) is one of many such drills that have been used for generations, at every level of football from the NFL down to Pop Warner—and can, and should, be eliminated, in his opinion

 

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2013-07-30/bengals-oklahoma-drill-concussions-chris-nowinski-mike-brown

 

Analysts say this is old school football and this is why bengals win in trenches

[T Y Goodbye]

They actually showed this drill in the movie Rudy...years ago...

[bayone]

They actually showed this drill in the movie Rudy...years ago...

 

remember Rudy well, but not the drill, pretty good memory for details on your part, guess I just concentrated on premise of movie, all I remember about drills were the team real players yelled at Rudy for trying so hard in practice and he said it was his job so they could be better on the field or something that meant that

[Nobody]

Ah, Oklahoma drills. Or Murder Alley. Whatever you want to call it.

[T Y Goodbye]

remember Rudy well, but not the drill, pretty good memory for details on your part, guess I just concentrated on premise of movie, all I remember about drills were the team real players yelled at Rudy for trying so hard in practice and he said it was his job so they could be better on the field or something that meant that

 

Its not about a good memory..I've just seen the movie about 40-50 times, so its ingrained in my head..lol

 

In the drill in the movie, there were actually 2 lineman, a back, and the one defender...Look at the clip starting around 2:45...

 

[bayone]

Its not about a good memory..I've just seen the movie about 40-50 times, so its ingrained in my head..lol

 

In the drill in the movie, there were actually 2 lineman, a back, and the one defender...Look at the clip starting around 2:45...

 

 

VERY COOL 

[HtownColt]

Did the Oklahoma drill in high school, I loved and hated it at the same time

[Hans Moleman]

I've done plenty of that in the not-too-distant past.

 

The Oklahoma Drill's best asset is that it gets the team hyped up. It's the closest thing you get to being a gladiator in practice, and the one-on-one aspect of it, the bragging rights...it's a high-energy thing. I think Marvin's making the right move opening camp with it because it is a crowd pleaser and opens the season with a bang.

 

That said, I agree with Nowinski that it's all about the repetition. Too many reps of it isn't good because it opens your team up for more injuries, and you lose some of the motivational aspects of it. There's definitely a point of diminishing returns with it. But as a training camp opening-day ritual? It sounds fine to me, although I don't know just how much the Bengals use it.