At Thursday’s NFL owners meeting, the NFL banned hip-drop tackles despite opposition from the NFL Players Association. This style of tackling has been a hot topic throughout the year due to the injury to star tight end Mark Andrews, but now a 15-yard penalty is imposed if a player is deemed to have made a hip drop tackle. , the opponent will receive a penalty. Automatic first down.
Current and former NFL players have voiced their opposition as well, according to Ali Meilov.
But what actually is a hip drop tackle? How will the NFL, which has struggled to tightly control passer penalties since the new rule was established, manage it?
According to the NFL, an illegal hip drop tackle is when a defender grabs an opponent, gains control, spins the opponent to “unweight” him, and drops his hips into the player’s leg and foot area. This is how Andrews got injured against the Cincinnati Bengals.
What does it mean to “reduce” a player’s weight? I don’t have a clue, but Unwait is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “reducing the force exerted on a surface (such as a ski) by changing the weight or position of the body.” It is defined as “to reduce instantly”, so please understand that. .
Here’s a video sent to franchises explaining what hip drop tackles are illegal, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Here’s a video of the NFL’s now-banned rotating hip drop tackle in a press conference (with NFL executive Jeff Miller speaking in the background). pic.twitter.com/Y4H8h6pQkW
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 25, 2024
NFL Competition Chairman Rich McKay has made it clear that it’s the rotating hip drop tackles that are taking them out of the game. When asked about the types of tackles that are legal, the answer was… a little vague.
The league emphasizes that swivels are special, but are there any legal hip drop tackles?
McKay: “If you drag someone down and you fall with your hips on top of them, that’s legal.”
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— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) March 25, 2024
Yes, that hardly solved anything. As for the ban on hip tackles in the NFL and examples of good tackling in that situation, there’s something similar in the National Rugby League, where commentators talk about illegal hip drop tackles. There is. , what’s the difference?
NFL executive Jeff Miller said. washington post The NFL has seen a 65% increase in hip drop tackles compared to the previous year, with 230 tackles in the NFL defined as hip drops. Miller also said there have been 15 hip drop tackle injuries and that number is occurring “every week.”
There are two schools of thought regarding banning hip drop tackles, the main one being that this would be an unmitigated disaster. The NFL has had major problems legislating different types of tackles, especially with the new roughing the passer rule, which is very poorly defined.
It would be unwise for the NFL to impose additional demands on referees who already have a lot to deal with and require them to make very quick decisions. While banning hip drop tackles seems sound in theory, the implementation of the rule has been questioned. Form tackles that target moving targets, such as players running at full speed and switching strike areas up, are rarely performed in the NFL. The examples shown are happening so quickly that if these plays are being made at full speed, it’s difficult to legislate them out of the game. This is very likely to end in disaster.
But some think this is a welcome change, as it means fewer players are at risk of injury and more likely to be taught proper tackling in the offseason. Of course, it takes a lot less practice to try it, especially if you don’t move the target, but it should be a net positive when you do it. As for officiating, with proper training and judgment, tackling should be eliminated from the sport.
It’s too early to say this rule change is a good thing, but it’s not too hot to begin with.
