“Hit what you see and see what you hit” (football adage)

“Hit what you see and see what you hit” (or “see what you hit and hit what you see”) is an American football adage. A player who has his head down to make a tackle often makes a poor tackle and may cause injury to himself or the tackled player.
 
“The (coaching) rule in football is see what you hit; it also is hit what you see” was cited in print in 2002 in an article about late hits in the NFL.
 
 
Google Groups: rec.sport.football.college
Bryan S. Slick 
10/13/02
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He’s supposed to not lead with the crown of his helmet, moron.
See what you hit.  Hit what you see.
   
11 November 2002, Sporting News, “On recent late hits in the NFL”:
SOUND BITES
On recent late hits in the NFL: “The (coaching) rule in football is see what you hit; it also is hit what you see.”
 
Los Angeles (CA) Times
Games arrive to rescue college football from the most off of off-seasons
After a summer of turmoil at so many schools, it’s time to decide winners and losers on the field.
August 31, 2011|Chris Dufresne
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Monte Kiffin says he’s simplified his fancy NFL “Tampa” defense. It really comes down to “See what you hit; hit what you see.”
 
Packers.com (Green Bay Packers)
Hit what you see and see what you hit
Posted Jan 24, 2012
By Vic Ketchman, packers.com editor
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There’s an old coach’s saying: Hit what you see and see what you hit. Good running backs and good tacklers have one thing in common: They keep their eyes open at all times. When I see a picture of a guy with his eyes closed and grimacing as he’s getting hit or hitting someone, I can’t help but wonder about his fondness for contact.
   
WVU Pressbox
College Football: Should the New Targeting Rule Even Be an Issue?
By Michael Walker
Published: July 23, 2013
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COMMENTS
Tim McGhee
Posted July 25, 2013 at 11:24 AM
I think by now the “see what you hit and hit what you see” coaching adage has saved a lot of spinal injuries. Another one: Football is played from the waist down, so tackle the waist and below.
 
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FruitNinja
‏@CoryBorup  
See what you hit. Hit what you see. #tacklingtechnique @chris_spielman
4:30 PM - 2 Aug 13