Ex-NFL Players Sound Off Against Ban on Controversial Tackle Method
The NFL announced Monday that team owners had voted to outlaw a version of the “hip drop” tackle technique that caused a pair of high-profile injuries last season, saying the method—while incredibly effective in bringing a runner down—is 25 times more likely to cause injury than other tackles.
The method, in which defenders wrap a runner with both hands and then unweights them by swiveling and dropping their hips, will now be a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty in games next season. Fines and suspensions can also be assessed, depending on the severity of the tackle.
The tackle style was widely credited as the reason behind the injuries of the Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard and the star Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews, whose injury was watched by millions in a primetime game in November.