On Monday, the NFL officially adopted what is being termed the new “hip drop rule.” The rule outlaws a type of tackle the NFL Competition Committee says occurred about once per game last season and resulted in an injury rate 20 times a normal tackle.
The ‘hip-drop tackle that is no longer allowed consists of three components. Here’s the specific language from the initial rule proposal:
Grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms
Lifts themselves off the ground (not officially listed in the rule, but emphasized by the competition committee)
Unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee
The NFL Competition Committee also provided an example of these plays:
Here’s the video the NFL just showed in a press conference of what are now banned swivel hip-drop tackles (with NFL executive Jeff Miller speaking in the background).
NFL players are not happy about this rule change. Prior to the rule’s adoption, the NFL Players Association came out against the new rule, but to no avail.
After the rule was adopted on Monday morning, several NFL players went to Twitter to express their frustration, including a couple of past and present Lions players. Let’s start with the always-outspoken Darius Slay.
