NEW YORK \u2014 Momentum is building for the NFL\u2019s next on-field rule change.
The league\u2019s competition committee, as well as its health and safety committee, are discussing how to respond to a tackling technique that their data says \u201cresults in about a 25 times rate of injury as a typical tackle,\u201d executive vice president Jeff Miller said.
The league calls the tackle in question a \u201chip-drop tackle.\u201d If that doesn\u2019t clarify the play to you, you\u2019re not alone. The league is trying to better define what does and doesn\u2019t constitute it.
\u201cIt is an unforgiving behavior, and one that we need to try to define and get out of the game,\u201d Miller said.
NFL competition committee chair Rich McKay called the tackle a \u201ccousin\u201d to the horse-collar tackle, which consists of grabbing the inside collar of the back or side of an opponent\u2019s 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.
\u201cThe defender\u2019s encircling, tackling the runner, and then swinging their weight and falling on the side of their other leg, which is their ankle or their knee,\u201d McKay said. \u201cYou can see what they do, because it can be a smaller man against a bigger man, and they\u2019re trying to get the person down. That\u2019s the object of the game.
\u201cBut when they do it, the runner becomes defenseless.\u201d
Injuries result when ankles, knees and other parts of players\u2019 lower bodies become trapped underneath a defender.
Horse-collar tackles warrant a 15-yard penalty and automatic first down, which could be legislated when the runner\u2019s knees are buckled even if they aren\u2019t pulled completely to the ground, according to the NFL rulebook.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones, a member of the competition committee, echoed McKay in calling the hip-drop tackle \u201cthe brother or the sister\u201d of the horse collar.
\u201cThey grab them around the hip and sling their body around and land on the back of their legs,\u201d Jones told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday from the league meetings. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s intentional all the time. But unfortunately, it\u2019s a deal kind of like the horse collar that when it happens, people get hurt.
\u201cIt\u2019s a very injurious play.\u201d
Jones cited recent members of his own roster who were injured on the play. Cowboys receiver KaVontae Turpin injured his ankle on a hip-drop tackle two weeks ago in San Francisco, and Cowboys running back Tony Pollard fractured his leg last the postseason when a defender hip-drop tackled him.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes also battled a playoff ankle injury that resulted from a hip-drop tackle.
The NFL met with coaches this offseason about \u201csome concern about how you officiate it,\u201d Jones told Yahoo Sports. Particularly in the box, where the NFL doesn\u2019t apply horse-collar rules against quarterbacks, questions loom. Conversations with coaches led to warnings: If this technique isn\u2019t eliminated organically, expect a vote this offseason on penalizing it.
The competition committee \u201cdiscussed it heavily\u201d at Tuesday\u2019s league meeting session, Jones said.
Analyses of 2023 data will continue to inform what eventually happens in the spring.
McKay acknowledged the criticism the league would likely get if they eliminate another tackling technique, as some fans wonder if the game is becoming either soft or unfairly favoring offensive production. It\u2019s not surprising that the league wants to improve the health and availability of its most marketable stars, many of whom play on offense.
\u201cYou\u2019re always going to have the defender come back and say, \u2018Hey, you\u2019re making it harder on us,\u2019\u201d McKay said. \u201cAnd the answer to that is, \u2018Yes, we are.\u2019 Because when there\u2019s a tactic that\u2019s being used or a technique that\u2019s creating an unreasonable risk of injury to a player, it\u2019s our job to try to find a way to regulate that.
\u201cIf we can get it out, we should get it out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n