Banning cut blocks would change the sport

By Ken Rogers

Published: October 1, 2009

Alabama coach Nick Saban said Dont’a Hightower’s season-ending knee surgery was a success.

“Dont’a’s surgery went well,” Saban said after Wednesday’s practice. “Talked to Doc about it and he expects a full
recovery.”

But there are still questions about what caused the injury – a cut block that was legal.

“There’s always been a lot of discussion about cut blocking,” Saban said. “We have a cut
block rule, but it only affects a player if he’s engaged with another
player who then gets cut, which is extremely dangerous.

“I have mixed emotions. Cut blocking has been a part of the game for a long time. A lot
of players get hurt because of cut blocking, no question about that. But I
also feel that every player has a responsibility to play the cut blocks.”

Saban indicated that poor technique by Hightower on the play got him in trouble.

“You need to coach to play the blocks properly so you minimize the chances
of being injured by being cut,” Saban said. “It’s my opinion, and I tell the players,
that if the cut is in front of you and you can see them, that should never
been an issue; you should address and play that block a certain way.

“And that’s the way it was with Dont’a. I don’t know if he didn’t see him. He
should have used his hands and played the block. It’s a part of the game. I
don’t know how adversely it would affect offensive football if you couldn’t
cut.”

Senior offensive lineman Mike Johnson said it would radically change the game.

“It would limit a lot of what we do here,” Johnson said. “It’s a big part of our offense. It’s been a part of football forever.

“It was unfortunate what happened to
Dont’a, but that was a legal block. Football is a physical game and
sometimes people get hurt.”

Even Saban, the defensive wizard, said eliminated the cut block could severely impact the game.

“It would certainly be harder to make
certain blocks,” the coach said. “And there would be much more inertia by defensive players
running into blockers because they wouldn’t have to play under control. If
a guy was coming to block, they could just blow them up. So that might
create problems in another direction. I understand the issue. I don’t know
how we could correct it without really making a huge impact on the game.”