NFL looking to ban "hip drop tackle," i.e. normal tackling from behind

[steelreserve]

... “It is an unforgiving behavior, and one that we need to try to define and get out of the game,” Miller said.

NFL competition committee chair Rich McKay called the tackle a “cousin” to the horse-collar tackle, which consists of grabbing the inside collar of the back or side of an opponent’s shoulder pads or jersey, or the jersey at the name plate or above, to pull a runner toward the ground. A hip-drop tackle similarly involves a tackler grabbing a ball carrier from behind and pulling him down in a manner that prevents self-defense.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nfl-cou...050441627.html

I guess we can call this one the Pat Mahomes rule. Every good QB gets to have a ban on some type of tackle named after him.

So no tackling high, no tackling low, and now no tackling in the middle. I assume these penalties will mainly be called based on who is being tackled.

20+ years of this has turned the NFL from football into Ruleball. One more reason why I have watched only a handful of games on fast forward. So this is how they lose their position as the most popular game in pro sports.

[tube517]

[ALLD]

I remember when MLB was the #1 sport in America up until the early 1990s when a players strike killed it. The NFL kneeling and other nonsense has me down to watching highlights on YouTube...sometimes.

[Born2Steel]

The running forward and then falling backwards motion with weight and force is an injury maker. Similarly, the horse collar tackle has already been banned as well. I don’t know what the line is between player safety and game integrity, but I am for both.

[Mojouw]

What the article seems to be talking about isn't really how defenders are taught to tackle...so maybe less of a big deal than the initial responses make it out to be?

[86WARD]

What the article seems to be talking about isn't really how defenders are taught to tackle...so maybe less of a big deal than the initial responses make it out to be?

It’s not something that is taught but it could be a necessity if you are pursuing from behind. What’s next? You can’t tackle from the left side of the runner if he is looking right because “he’s defenseless”?

[Born2Steel]

It’s not something that is taught but it could be a necessity if you are pursuing from behind. What’s next? You can’t tackle from the left side of the runner if he is looking right because “he’s defenseless”?

New strategy! Don’t look at the defenders.

[86WARD]

New strategy! Don’t look at the defenders.

Yeah run looking at the turf or off to the sidelines and you’re good.

[silver & black]

if this kind of s*** continues, it looks like I'll have a lot more free time on Sundays. My team already sucks... it's not like there is a lot holding me to the NFL...lol.

[Mach1]

[steelreserve]

I just see this as another instance where it will be so random and subjective, and so difficult for a defender to adjust for at full speed, that the result will just be more random penalties that can be called at any time and frustratingly affect games in a major way.

They spend a lot of time equating this with the horse-collar tackle, but at least with a horse collar it's completely obvious when you're doing it or not, and what you need to do to avoid it. This one is going to be based on how bad it looks and how big of a star the player being tackled is. We've seen that before with roughing the passer and with helmet-to-helmet hits. Lots of penalties, lots of mistakes made by the refs, and questionable whether it's actually preventing any injuries.

[Born2Steel]

NFL fines Roquan Smith for a hip drop tackle that dislocated Chris Godwins ankle.

https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-fines-r...-godwin-season

[Crow-Magnon]

It’s hard to tell as we aren’t able to see all the videos. No penalty on the play (none all season for hip drop tackles so far in 2024).

[Born2Steel]

It’s hard to tell as we aren’t able to see all the videos. No penalty on the play (none all season for hip drop tackles so far in 2024).

This is true. I have seen what I thought were hip drop tackles, but no penalty flags. I just thought I was mistaken about what I was calling a hip drop tackle. Maybe, maybe not.

I remember a story about a review rule that the officials collectively decided they would not ever elect to overturn the call, whatever the circumstances on that particular play. I don't remember what play but let's say PI. If one official calls PI, the call will stand no matter what they saw in the replay. For some reason they just determined this amongst themselves.

Maybe that is what is going on with this hip drop tackle? Too subjective and dependent upon the angle of the viewer? Maybe. But you're right, I haven't seen it flagged yet either.