Vikings offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave wants quarterback Christan Ponder to slide head first in the future.
Ponder suffered a concussion on a hit by Redskins linebacker London Fletcher last season and Musgrave believes he'll get to the ground more quickly if he leads with his head in traffic.
"We don't want to expose ourselves by being a periscope up - exposing all our vital organs. We want to give them a very minimal surface," Musgrave told the Associated Press.
The topic came up after Ponder scrambled around right end in a game last week diving head first in front of the goal line. And the quarterback says he's received criticism for doing so.
"People are tweeting at me, 'Like, dude, slide feet first. What are you doing?" Ponder said following the game. "But it's a planned deal."
Musgrave's theory is that diving head first gets a player to the ground more quickly and gives a defensive player a smaller area to target. It goes against conventional teachings that NFL quarterbacks should slide feet first in order to avoid contact and end the play safely.
The offensive coach has even provided video evidence to Ponder to reaffirm his belief that going down head first is actually less of an injury risk. He found decades worth of video to argue his case and provided his former teammate John Elway as an example of a head-first diver.
However, many are in disagreement with Musgrave's tactics. Head-first dives can cause separated shoulders, the risk of fumbling increases, and such a move is not covered by the NFL rulebook.